My Magic 'Tao' Patches

These are truly magical...

Taken from the Taopatch website -

1. Taopatch uses the latest advances in nanotechnology to convert your natural body heat into microscopic beams of light which help heal your body. Using acupuncture and laser therapy techniques, this light stimulates your central nervous system and strengthens its connection with the rest of your body by improving the health of your body's neurons.​

2. While most treatments are focused on slowing down neurodegeneration, Taopatch focuses on rewiring your brain, enhancing the connection to your spine and strengthening your neuromuscular system.

3. ​As a result, Taopatch re-educates, re-tunes, and re-programs your body along the signals from and to your brain. It reminds your central nervous system how it is meant to naturally communicate with the rest of your body.​

4. Taopatch is currently the only technology that has been shown to not only slow down neurodegeneration, but also improve the condition of people with multiple sclerosis.​

Summer 2020

My journey with Taopatch began after stumbling across the Light Therapy and MS Group on Facebook. At first I was dubious about the patches - probably more so as my husband was asking question like 'how do you know whether these might cause cancer?' etc... I understand his concerns but we are very different when it comes to our bodies and choices we make. I am definitely someone who will try anything and yes, I've probably wasted money over the years but I am always willing to try and have a positive outlook that this could be the 'big thing!' So, I put aside his concerns and went with my gut (I do this a lot, it really is worth listening to) and purchased two packs of Taopatch START. I will do a separate post on how to use the Taopatches as this is critical to seeing success, but for now I will just tell you about my journey with them.

The first couple of days I didn't really feel any different, by Day 4 I could definitely sense a change but couldn't quite pinpoint it. On Day 10 I tweeted this:

Day 10 - I’ve been on 8hrs since Mon. Y’day I got off my chair, then realised I just did it without touching anything or thinking about doing it

I think having been a member of The MS Gym for over a year at this point I was very in-tune with my body and hence I could notice the small changes perhaps more so than someone who doesn't think about their movement in fine detail. The first 11 days were great but then my brain kicked in - almost like it was saying 'what the hell is going on?' and all of a sudden I felt rubbish, like I had taken 10 steps backwards. BUT, I remember the words of Trevor Wicken and reminded myself that the brain has to process changes and this means it can't focus on other things. I have seen other people in the Light Therapy Group taking their patches off at this point - DO NOT DO THAT!! This is part of the process, and believe me it will happen again and again but each time you will be stronger afterwards. It might last a couple of days, it might last a week or longer but stick with it and just remind yourself why it is happening - have faith in the process... see this happened in Week 4....

Day 2 of going 24/7 with my #taopatches & boxed with my stepson. Normally fall down onto my jump box behind me. I was so stable, didn’t sit down once & hence stronger punches. This never happens must be the magic patches

After a couple of weeks, I purchased some more START patches so they I could experiment in different areas of the body. I purchased a book which details all the acupuncture areas on the body and the symptoms that those areas can assist with. Did you know there are over 400 places on our bodies! It's a great book to use alongside the patches -

As my key issues are foot drop and leg weakness & spasticity all in right leg, edema in my ankles on both legs, dry eyes and urination urge. So I went through the book and focused on these areas for a month to see if they helped. GB40 (Gallbladder 40) - helps with foot drop and other things

KI3 (Kidney 3) - helps with frequent urination, strengthens lower back and knees, urgent urination and other things Kidney 7 - helps with edema (swollen ankles), strengthens kidneys, regulates urination and other things

ST33 (Stomach 33) - treats pain and stiffness of leg and knee and more

ST36 (Stomach 36) - helps with abdominal fullness, constipation, edema and more

ST38 (Stomach 38) - helps with foot drop, shoulder stiffness and more

ST43 (Stomach 43) - foot drop, edema, toe pain and stiffness and more TW2 (Triple Warmer 2) - helps with dry eyes and other things

To be honest it's hard to evaluate whether it was the patches in some of those places or the key C7 and sternum ones that you wear from the onset or whether it was the pyramid protocol that I did from day 1 but there were definitely changes in my body during that period. Some people believe the Taopatches have a placebo effect and this may be the case for some users at the beginning, but it wasn't only me seeing the changes within my body. My osteopath - Joe - who I have been seeing regularly for years noticed the difference after a few weeks:

Wk6 #taopatches & my PT is blown away by my continuous improvements, less use of upper body to move legs, great stability & more. I've now got 6 extra patches to try more acupressure points to work on improving bladder, spasticity etc..

and also my good friend Caroline (aka my personal trainer) - I see her once a week for a workout gym session - we do things like TRX squats, sit to stands, weights, boxing, floor work etc... We've been doing this since 2018 so she has seen me change throughout that time. She is constantly amazed at how much I am progressing with the Taopatches:

Week 7 #taopatch feeling good. Had a great workout with my personal trainer. Did boxing with no balance issues & therefore more powerful punches

During Month 2 and Month 3 of the Taopatches you do a liver and then a kidney detox. These were hard work but are vital for enhancing the cellular activity and is something that should be done at least twice a year (not looking forward to doing it again!) Without a doubt this made me feel awful - I was peeing more than usual (and believe me I pee a lot) and I was so tired but no pain no gain so I stuck with it and made it through the two months. I had a few minor successes along the way but I wasn't expecting how amazing I felt two days after I had finished

Such a great day body wise - for anyone who has #MS you will understand how tiring life can be. I can't explain the science behind #Taopatches but I can tell you how amazing I feel. There have been moments (seconds) today when walking almost felt normal

Autumn 2020

October was a pretty good month in terms of how I felt - the detoxes are definitely worthwhile doing and in November, I decided to purchase a pack of the PRO Patches to see if the extra strength they have would improve my walking. I tried placing them in the C7 and sternum spots but didn't really see any additional benefits. I have seen people in the group revert back to START patches so I decided to do the same. I still used the PRO patches in various places but so far, my walking still hadn't improved - but I still loved my patches and the way they made me feel. My stiffness had decreased massively and my balance was so much more stable both major bonuses and most likely key to future improvements.

At the end of November it suddenly occurred to me that if the patch works at C7 for balance, then why not try the patches long my spine. It was a moment of clarity for me. So, with the help of Joe we positioned the patches on L2 – Hip flexion, L3 – Knee extension, L4 – Ankle dorsiflexion, L5 – Great toe extension and one just above the coccyx and wow I definitely noticed the difference. I am not sure if Taopatch have looked into the benefits of placing the patches along the spine but I truly think this needs more research as it could benefit so many people.

It's hard to believe now at 6 months of wearing them how far I've come - my spasticity is reduced - my knee bends way more easily than it used to and in my last few visits to Joe he has noticed that finally my ankle (which has been like a rock for years) is starting to move - this is massive. If we can get my ankle moving better then my foot drop will reduce and my walking will improve because as amazing as the Taopatches are I haven't yet seen a real improvement in my walking. I am definitely more balanced and have short bursts of walking faster with my walking poles but I still rely on the poles and some days can barely walk a few metres.

And just to show you how magical they are - this is an exercise I do regularly with Caroline - whereby I have to hold my leg for 3-5 seconds - up until two days ago I could barely do this for more than a second, as my leg just crashed down with no ability on my part to hold it up. On Monday in my PT session we tried it and I really focused and manage to hold it with the leg almost straight for a couple of seconds and when she whacked me with Mc Spoon (a story for another day). Then that evening this happened.....

And I did it again last night woohoo!! This is a major improvement in my hip flexor and hopefully one that will transfer across to my walking in time.

And just so you bear in mind that if you go down this Taopatch journey (and you should if you have MS) then please note for the last few weeks my inner right knee has been hurting at times - this is actually GOOD NEWS! It means my muscles are waking up.

I thought a list of all the little things I have experienced would be useful so here it is (well what I can recall) - please note that some of these have only occurred once or a few times. None of them are present permanently at the moment:

1. Knee bending when I walk

2. Ability to clench my buttocks

3. Getting up from a chair without thinking about it or holding on

4. Wiggling my toes on my right leg

5. Bending down and picking something up without wobbling or feeling like I would fall

6. Balanced walking down my corridor

7. Boxing with stability and strength

8. No longer use my FES as it has become unstable due to changes within my body I feel safer without it now

9. Posture is much straighter

10. Getting up off the floor without touching anything for support (that only happened last night for the first time in a long time)

I have faith that all the small changes I am seeing with the Taopatches will combine into one big change that will happen in the future (fingers crossed)

I will write another post with more specific details on how to use Taopatches and if I can help one person with MS find joy from them like I have then I will be happy.

Please share your experiences with me in the comment section.

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