Review of Omron Electro-Therapy Device

This review is not service dog-related, but it does have to do with fibromyalgia and chronic pain.

My readers probably all know I have chronic pain. I have back pain due to degenerative disk disease and a couple of herniated disks. I also have osteoarthritis in my knees and hands. And I have fibromyalgia, which causes pain in all sorts of places. 

I can’t take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) like ibuprofen because I had gastric bypass surgery. I take used to have prescription pain medication but no one wants to prescribe it anymore. I’ve tried some other treatments, like chiropractic adjustments, physical therapy and steroid injections, which provided a little relief. Acupuncture helps. I am also on meds for the fibro. I still have pain on a daily basis, though.

I was at a local drugstore, looking at warming ointments like Bengay, when I spotted the Omron electro-therapy device. It is similar to a TENS unit, if you're familiar with those. I was curious about it but not certain it would really help with my pain. But it was on sale, marked down from $59.99 to just $39.99. So I decided to give it a try.

The device comes with two sticky pads, which are actually electrodes. These are placed on the body, on either side of the area where one has pain. For instance, to relieve pain in my elbow, I place one pad on my arm just above my elbow and the other on my arm just below my elbow. The pads are connected to the device with wires. It kind of resembles a CD player with earphones that are connected by wires.

The control has three settings: one designed to relieve arm pain, one designed to relieve back pain and one designed to relieve leg pain. It sends out little tingly zaps of electricity to the sticky pads, which vary in pattern somewhat depending on which setting you choose. It feels like tingling and tapping. You can see the muscle jumping a bit under the skin, which is rather odd-looking.

You can adjust the intensity level of the stimulation from one to five. When I put the pads above and below my elbow and selected the setting for relieving arm pain, I couldn’t feel a thing on the lowest setting. When I increased it to two, I could feel it, but barely. When I increased it again to three, I could feel it well. I suspect it would have been uncomfortable on a higher setting, but I wasn’t brave enough to actually try it. Every time you turn on the device, it starts out at level one. That way you’re never surprised by a greater level of intensity than you want or expect.

The device shuts off automatically after 15 minutes. The instructions say not to use it for more than 30 minutes at a time and not more than three times a day, though I didn’t find an explanation of why it was recommended not to use it more than that. After 15 to 30 minutes, I feel ready to turn it off anyway, though. It’s a kind of strange sensation and I wouldn’t like having it on all the time.

The one thing I don't like is that the sticky pads get un-sticky after a while and need to be replaced and that gets expensive. The package says they are supposed to last for 150 uses, but if I use the device daily, that means they just last a month or two. Then they don't stick well.

I love this device, though. When I use it on my elbow, I have no pain at all while I’m using the device. When I stop using it, the pain returns, but it’s so nice to have a break from the pain which has been constant for the last few months. When I use it on my back, I have no pain while using the device and my back feels better, though not completely pain-free, for a while after using it. I know it’s not a cure for the problems that are causing my pain, but it’s absolutely marvelous to experience some relief and to be able to get relief regularly and reliably, even if just for a short time. I highly recommend trying this if you have ongoing muscular-skeletal pain.

Review of Starmark Treat Dispensing Pickle Pocket for Dogs

This is Mr. Pickle, also known as the ickle pickle.

It is one of Isaac's favorite toys.  I don't know who came up with the idea of a toy pickle for a dog, but he really likes it.

You may recall that we lost Mr. Pickle at one point and I couldn't find it anywhere so finally had to order another. When the new one arrived, Isaac was absolutely delighted to see it. He licked it for a long time, then when he needed to go out to go potty, he insisted on carrying his pickle outside with him. 

If you can't tell by looking at it, there are grooves in the pickle where you can put treats.  The only thing I don't like about Mr. Pickle is that it is hard to clean those groves.  Isaac gets it all slobbery and there are little bits of treats in there and it's gross.

But Isaac loves it.

 It is also really durable.  Isaac is a champion chewer, after all, and Mr. Pickle does not even have any tooth marks.

Review of SoFetch Natural Cleansing Wipes

I am going to start including some reviews of certain items on my blog.  There are a couple reasons for this.  One is that I have received some items at a discount, or even free, in exchange for providing an honest and unbiased review.  I promise not to tell you it's a good product unless I really like it!  The other reason is that there are some products I really, really like for dogs in general and/or for service dogs in particular.  I think these reviews can be helpful for people.

So, my first review here is of these SoFetch Natural Cleansing Wipes.  They are like baby wipes for doggies, but not only for use on their bottoms.

If you read this blog much at all, you know how Isaac loves to play in the woods, swim in creeks, roll in stink stuff, and just generally get dirty. Since Isaac is a service dog, I need him to be clean, to look and smell nice, when he accompanies me into public places. Sometimes I need to run errands after we've gone for a walk or played outside and I don't always have time to go home and bathe him first. I've been trying to clean him up with a spray bottle of water and a towel, but thought these wipes would come in really handy instead.

Please note, if he is too dirty or smells bad, he does not accompany me to public places. I make other arrangements. And I generally plan my day so that I don't take him places where he is likely to get really dirty before we have to go someplace else where he should be clean and presentable.  But, dirt happens.

So today we went to one of our favorite parks and he ran around and swam in a pond and rolled in something that smelled quite bad. Afterward, I used a couple of these wipes to clean him up. They are soft and pretty big and worked really well. Isaac not only looked clean but smelled good, too!

The environment is important to me and I do not generally use disposable paper products. At home, for instance, I don't use any disposable paper products. I use cloth napkins and cloth rags instead of paper towels. I use cloth wipes instead of toilet paper. I use cloth menstrual pads. I wouldn't use disposable wipes for my dog all the time, because it's just not ecologically friendly or sustainable.

However, there are times that these wipes will really make my life easier and I feel OK about using them occasionally. And I like that the box these come in is small and cardboard, so It can be recycled (inside the box, the wipes are in a small plastic bag). And I like the fact that these wipes use natural ingredients, so they are good for my dog as well as for the environment.

Disclaimer: I received these wipes at a discount in exchange for my honest and unbiased review, provided here.