Hummingbird vs ICES vs PEMF

maui_girl

New Member
Hi all, I'm looking to purchase and try one device (for now) with my little budget, around $400. Brief history: 47 yr old female, was very healthy + athletic until several years ago when I became quickly disabled by severe ME/CFS. I have oodles of symptoms of course but the biggest hurdles are a) crippling fatigue, b) brain fog, c) severe body wide pain + neck/head pain. I assume they are all connected and no device will fix what's broken at the core but am hoping something can provide even slight improvement of symptoms (esp fatigue) beyond the supplements, meds and diet because this ship is sinking fast.

I've been eyeballing the ICES A9a device (still trying to figure out the difference between all the units Micro-pulse sells, I'm totally confused), the Oska Pulse (of which I've heard mediocre reviews) and the Hummingbird by Vital Motion. (is it ok to link to products??)
https://www.micro-pulse.com/collections/frontpage
https://www.vitalmotion.com/

I understand the Hummingbird is not a PEMF device but with sedentary life, poor circulation and challenged lymph it is of interest to me. I know this is kind of comparing apples to oranges.

Does anyone have experience with these devices? Any input, advice, thoughts are greatly appreciated as it's becoming more difficult to research/learn and make decisions. In the past I was a quick researcher and could hunt down and find the perfect widget whenever I needed to. Now though I need help from my friends :)
 

S.A.

Member
Hi maui_girl,

I have the Micro-Pulse M1 model. My reasoning for purchasing at the time was to stimulate the vagus nerve, after reading that vagus nerve dysfunction could be partially responsible for ME/CFS. However, that was a while ago, and now I tend to use it for more concentrated pain, e.g., pelvic, sciatica, migraine, and see small but significant improvements when used daily for a couple of hours. It's tiny and easy to wear. The pulsations can be somewhat calming as well. The functionality is simple and very user-friendly, and it includes everything you need, including back up nodes and an extra battery. The M1 was attractive because of its size and the ability to choose different protocols (the configuration of the PEMF, or "pulses") and intensity. However, I haven't done a lot of research on the advantages of the different protocols, so I usually use the default. I've only ever used the M1, so I don't actually know how the efficacy compares to other models or brands. The customer service is excellent - they were knowledgeable and responded quickly to the many questions I asked before ordering.

If you decide on any of the Micro-Pulse options, I found a couple of coupon codes from the self hacked site:
For the A9 and M1 models, use the $50 off coupon code: SAVE50
For the C5 and B5 Models, use the $100 off coupon code: SAVE100
https://www.selfhacked.com/blog/ice...-fatigue-and-inflammation-cure-upgraded-pemf/

Their customer service team might offer a better discount since the A9 and M1 have been out for a while.

I was also great at researching in my "past" life, and it took forever to decide on a model, or if I should order one at all. I've since seen several youtube videos and tutorials for Micro-Pulse models you might want to take a look at to help with your decision.

If I had to do it all over again, I would probably make the same decision. It's in no way a catch-all fix or a life changer for me, but it seems to help reduce some of the pain with consistent use.

Best of luck!
S.A.
 

maui_girl

New Member
Thanks so much @S.A. I did go ahead and order the Hummingbird (it's got a 60-day guarantee and that will be a good trial run) so I can work on circulation and my feet for now. I really appreciate your thorough info about the Micro-pulse units (and the coupon codes!), it's definitely next on the list. It's great to know they have excellent customer service, so important in my book. For now I probably need to pull out my dusty tens unit and at least work with that too, I read some posts about using it for vagus also but ya know, with brain fog and limited energy, these projects takes months and months to get organized. Ah well, full time job now, healing. I'll update later once I've used the Hummingbird for awhile.
 

S.A.

Member
Thanks so much @S.A. I did go ahead and order the Hummingbird (it's got a 60-day guarantee and that will be a good trial run) so I can work on circulation and my feet for now. I really appreciate your thorough info about the Micro-pulse units (and the coupon codes!), it's definitely next on the list. It's great to know they have excellent customer service, so important in my book. For now I probably need to pull out my dusty tens unit and at least work with that too, I read some posts about using it for vagus also but ya know, with brain fog and limited energy, these projects takes months and months to get organized. Ah well, full time job now, healing. I'll update later once I've used the Hummingbird for awhile.

Yeah, please do update re: the Hummingbird when you've had some time with it. I'd like to know your opinion as a user of the technology in general. Hope it provides you with some relief!
 

maui_girl

New Member
**Update: I've been using the hummingbird for 5 weeks. There may be some slight improvement in the gnarly edema in my right foot (left foot has always been fine) but it's not super obvious yet. I had to re-start using the hummingbird at lowest level for 5 minutes as my first few sessions at mid-level and 20 minutes made me ill (detoxy type reaction). Note, Karen @ customer service is fabulous! So that first reaction told me the device was doing SOMEthing, i just needed to back off and start slow... no surprise, sensitive bunny here.

The most obvious change, and not at all what I expected was SLEEP! Holy wow, my sleep has been significantly changed for the better. Before hummingbird, my circadian cycle was completely upside down (bedtime after dawn and sleep til dusk) and usually takes massive amounts of sedatives, herbs, sleep aids, enough to leave me uncomfortably stoned and yet still unable to sleep much of the time. Within two weeks of using the hummingbird I couldn't keep my eyes open past 7pm, no sleeping aids needed. Sleep time gradually increased from 4 or 5 hours to now some nights that magical 11 hour deep sleep session. I do take half a dramamine when I get up to pee, just for good measure, but it's laughable compared to what I've had to take in the past. (I'm no longer falling asleep at 7pm but can go to bed at whatever time I want, pretty easily. you know, like normal people!)

I have been down every road imaginable and tried everything, just like most of us have. Some things have had significant effect but most crap out after two weeks max - so I don't get interested or excited until there are at least two weeks of consistent results. Again, it's only been just over a month and I am curious to see if anything else happens. But for me, the ability to sleep has already made the hummingbird worth the price of the unit. I've been sleep deprived for years. Now... disclaimer - it's still not rejuvenating sleep, I have extremely severe ME/CFS and POTS, and a good night's sleep doesn't fix that right away. But I know it is the essential foundation for healing.

Also, just ordered and received the ICES A9 model yesterday so will be experimenting with that too. I've only used it one day, on various body parts, and it did seem to help with severe endometriosis/pelvic pain (this is exciting!), and somewhat on my low back and neck (orthopedic issues).
 

rrrr

Member
**Update: I've been using the hummingbird for 5 weeks. There may be some slight improvement in the gnarly edema in my right foot (left foot has always been fine) but it's not super obvious yet. I had to re-start using the hummingbird at lowest level for 5 minutes as my first few sessions at mid-level and 20 minutes made me ill (detoxy type reaction). Note, Karen @ customer service is fabulous! So that first reaction told me the device was doing SOMEthing, i just needed to back off and start slow... no surprise, sensitive bunny here.

The most obvious change, and not at all what I expected was SLEEP! Holy wow, my sleep has been significantly changed for the better. Before hummingbird, my circadian cycle was completely upside down (bedtime after dawn and sleep til dusk) and usually takes massive amounts of sedatives, herbs, sleep aids, enough to leave me uncomfortably stoned and yet still unable to sleep much of the time. Within two weeks of using the hummingbird I couldn't keep my eyes open past 7pm, no sleeping aids needed. Sleep time gradually increased from 4 or 5 hours to now some nights that magical 11 hour deep sleep session. I do take half a dramamine when I get up to pee, just for good measure, but it's laughable compared to what I've had to take in the past. (I'm no longer falling asleep at 7pm but can go to bed at whatever time I want, pretty easily. you know, like normal people!)

I have been down every road imaginable and tried everything, just like most of us have. Some things have had significant effect but most crap out after two weeks max - so I don't get interested or excited until there are at least two weeks of consistent results. Again, it's only been just over a month and I am curious to see if anything else happens. But for me, the ability to sleep has already made the hummingbird worth the price of the unit. I've been sleep deprived for years. Now... disclaimer - it's still not rejuvenating sleep, I have extremely severe ME/CFS and POTS, and a good night's sleep doesn't fix that right away. But I know it is the essential foundation for healing.

Also, just ordered and received the ICES A9 model yesterday so will be experimenting with that too. I've only used it one day, on various body parts, and it did seem to help with severe endometriosis/pelvic pain (this is exciting!), and somewhat on my low back and neck (orthopedic issues).

hi @maul_girl, just wondering if you have an update on the hummingbird device? thanks for what you write already so far! helpful!

rrrr
 

Sleepyhead

New Member
Aloha, Maui girl. I'm checking in to see if your sleep has still shown improvement.

Also, someone posted on one of my ME/CFS Facebook groups that her sleep has vastly improved after using the Hummingbird. I'm wondering if that was you. If it wasn't, that means two people saw sleep improvement after using the device.

One more thing - has the device helped with brain fog and/or fatigue?

Thanks!
 

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