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Is electro-magnetic field (EMF) hypersensitivity a real thing?

Dysfunkion

Senior Member
Messages
145
Can you please be more specific?



AFAIK the goal of grounding is to neutralize excess charge, not to shield or attract EMFs.

Faraday Cages (cage being the operative word) are designed to shield against RF, and while grounding can enhance their effectiveness against low-frequency fields, they don't necessarily need to be grounded for high-frequency RF, really depends on your goal and the materials you use for the shielding. The idea is to have a proper setup that effectively shields, which is more than just randomly placing aluminium foil around.



Do you have some evidence to back up this claim? I can't find any scientific evidence to support the human body acting as more of an RF antenna when using a properly installed earth grounding mat? I don't think a HAM radio can be compared to a human body.

I did find the following information though, both pros and cons:
https://earthinginstitute.net/research/

https://groundingproducts.com/understanding-the-science-behind-grounding-mats/

https://www.emfanalysis.com/is-grounding-good-for-you/



I'm really sorry to hear about your hypersensitivity. I'm sorry if you've already shared this elsewhere but might you be willing to share what supplements you use and maybe some of your dietary suggestions please?


I mentioned the Carrington Event in my first post on this thread, just a brief summary in case anyone is interested:

It was the most intense geomagnetic storm on record in 1859. Triggered by a massive solar coronal mass ejection (CME) hitting Earth's magnetosphere.

It led to widespread telegraph system failures across Europe and North America, some operators experienced electric shocks, and telegraph papers caught fire. Auroras were seen worldwide, even in tropical regions highlighting the impact of solar activity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrington_Event

Has anyone else noticed a correlation between solar activity on their EMF hypersensitivity? For example from about March 19/20 to the end of March this year there was much more solar activity than usual and I felt my hypersensitivity particularly triggered to the point where I could barely function and basically shutting down all electronics and sources of RF like mobile and wifi helped a bit plus sporadic grounding, though I admit sometimes grounding is more effective than other times, I guess one's body knows when it's helpful and when it's not...

Sorry for the late reply here. It's alright, things are what they are currently and I'm hanging in here. Also read what I typed over and realized how many things didn't make sense or weren't worded the way I wanted them to be but fine example of my brain being my brain. I try to be happy that I still have a job right now at all part time that I can handle and a place that's safe enough. Currently it's magnesium malate 100 mg, a capsule of the Now brand propolis every morning, 1000 mg of vitamin C, 1000 mcg methyl-b12, and 100 mcg Mk7 K2. I'm thinking of adding 500 mg niacinamide to it but I'm not sure at the moment. My stack has changed a lot over the past 6 or so months but I don't think it'll change much more since nothing in it is causing issues for me and I'm also dealing with an EMF unrelated condition too which is largely why it changed so much but this stack seems to be working well for everything in keeping me afloat.

Diet wise it's minimal and vegan, there's not much to see there and I eat basically the same things all the time. Recently cut out peas because I feel better without them. I eat a lot of cauliflower and broccoli though, my body doesn't mind those. bean sprouts, garlic (I use black garlic every week now in meals), and avocado isn't bad either. For breakfast in the morning I have some plain homemade peanut butter with nothing added to it and some chia seeds, keeps me going. Wanted to cut out all seed oils but I can't find anything better that my body runs on there for the morning that doesn't cause issues so it's staying where it is. Usually seasoning things is just natural sea salt, black garlic, and a couple good pinches of dried sichuan pepper. Not much but I'm satisfied enough with it.

I haven't paid attention to solar flare activity, where can I get a read out on that live because it'll be interesting to see if there is any correlations with how I feel and what it's doing. Though my EMF exposure from day to day doesn't vary too much in my unit here. My neighbors constantly have their wireless garbage online and whenever I boot up the Electrosmart app to get a read it's about the same every time of the day, maybe a bit less if I'm the only one around. It's about at the end of the yellow spectrum all the time so it's pretty bad here. nothing else left I can disable in my place either.
 

Dysfunkion

Senior Member
Messages
145
Yeah sorry that wasnt really sensitive of me. I Just have a hard time of understanding the concept of EMF hypersensitivity.

It was Not OK being Like this however and i Apologize.

And pray that you never have to, it's natural to doubt it though but like I said proving the existence of this specifically is extremely difficult so I also don't have much to convince people with. I just speak up regardless though in a sea of disbelief and trolling wherever the topic is posted about online. I'm happy about this place though, at least people here get it in certain ways. I mean people go about their lives every day bathing in what would seriously harm me and not noticing a thing and because of that they literally never think about it since they never been forced to. I guess it's similar to multiple chemical sensitivity where people can also do things like burn candles, use air fresheners, or essential oil diffusers and not know that what they are using constantly daily could seriously harm someone else but even that is more visible and understandable to most people.
 

hapl808

Senior Member
Messages
2,130
I'm happy about this place though, at least people here get it in certain ways. I mean people go about their lives every day bathing in what would seriously harm me and not noticing a thing and because of that they literally never think about it since they never been forced to. I guess it's similar to multiple chemical sensitivity where people can also do things like burn candles, use air fresheners, or essential oil diffusers and not know that what they are using constantly daily could seriously harm someone else but even that is more visible and understandable to most people.

Yep, all of that. Some people get EBV or Covid or a vaccine or whatever, and go on living their healthy lives. Some of us were one unlucky break away from lifelong disability.

That's why I don't really agree with the people who think everyone will have Long Covid eventually. Nope. Some people can get Covid or malaria and have lifelong issues, others can be fine. Luck of the genetic lottery I guess. My guess is many people will end up with nonspecific health issues they won't ascribe to Covid, others will be fine, and some unlucky ones will effectively have their lives ended (even if they don't die).

If I weren't affected by this stuff, I wouldn't be on this forum or reading research papers or following medical science. I'd be out living my life - traveling, having dinners with friends, building a family.
 

Dysfunkion

Senior Member
Messages
145
Yep, all of that. Some people get EBV or Covid or a vaccine or whatever, and go on living their healthy lives. Some of us were one unlucky break away from lifelong disability.

That's why I don't really agree with the people who think everyone will have Long Covid eventually. Nope. Some people can get Covid or malaria and have lifelong issues, others can be fine. Luck of the genetic lottery I guess. My guess is many people will end up with nonspecific health issues they won't ascribe to Covid, others will be fine, and some unlucky ones will effectively have their lives ended (even if they don't die).

If I weren't affected by this stuff, I wouldn't be on this forum or reading research papers or following medical science. I'd be out living my life - traveling, having dinners with friends, building a family.

I likely have some chronic infection with this too, I got diagnosed with lyme months ago since it wasn't active at the time of the test (not sure what they used, having trouble accessing my online portal with the actual results) and they wouldn't give me antibiotics. I just went with herbals and made a lot of progress with osha root and cistus incanus. I likely have other viral and bacterial issues too and have had mold toxicity before from my old place so I know I'm extremely sick with something but I don't have the money to find out what. Chronic infections are probably just a fun part of the EMF sensitivity package.

That too, if I didn't have to pay attention to this I would be living it up right now. As much as I find research and making progress where I do interesting, I'm also only focusing on it all the time because I need to. Instead I'm drained and confined to my room often doing nothing enjoyable and barely having the energy to even use the internet. It's embarrassing how limited everything is for me. Instead of doing what I want to do I'm rationing the energy to write something, go the store, and download some new music. If I wasn't sick right now I'd love my life. Which makes it even more insulting when people discredit me. Please tell me why I'd want to fake an illness that completely locks me out of society, forces me to spends hundreds upon hundreds of dollars on things I don't want, makes even choosing new technology needlessly complicated, and turns me into the most pathetic version of myself possible.
 

hapl808

Senior Member
Messages
2,130
As much as I find research and making progress where I do interesting, I'm also only focusing on it all the time because I need to. Instead I'm drained and confined to my room often doing nothing enjoyable and barely having the energy to even use the internet. It's embarrassing how limited everything is for me. Instead of doing what I want to do I'm rationing the energy to write something, go the store, and download some new music. If I wasn't sick right now I'd love my life.

Exactly all that. It's embarrassing. And a fundamental difference with depression. People I know who are depressed - nothing makes them feel better. Even if they look happy. If I have a fun phone call - I'm genuinely happy for those 15 minutes, but then I crash for two days - and that's not very sustainable. If I could just have energetic phone calls every day and enough cognitive energy to write creative things - I could be happy enough.
 
Messages
8
Currently it's magnesium malate 100 mg, a capsule of the Now brand propolis every morning, 1000 mg of vitamin C, 1000 mcg methyl-b12, and 100 mcg Mk7 K2. I'm thinking of adding 500 mg niacinamide to it but I'm not sure at the moment.
Thanks very much for sharing those! I've tried a few, some help a bit. I tried Magnesium chelate, not sure if that's similar.

I haven't paid attention to solar flare activity, where can I get a read out on that live because it'll be interesting to see if there is any correlations with how I feel and what it's doing.

So basically the best website imho is swpc.noaa.gov for the latest data. What you want to look for first is solar flare activity, second is current geomagnetic storm conditions.

Then lately I've been noticing a correlation with the interplanetary magnetic field between the sun and earth as it switches between field connect and disconnect indicated by "Bz". If Bz is negative (aka south) it means the earth and sun's magnetic fields are connected. If it is positive it means the earth's magnetic field is intact (north). Aurora's are caused by Bz negative/south.

Here are some screenshots from the website:

currentconditions.png


On the left is the X-ray flux. You will notice a big spike on the red/orange line if there is a solar flare, if it enters the M or X zones you know it's a big one. It can affect you immediately or up to days later depending on if it results in a geomagnetic storm. The proton flux rarely changes but if it goes over the warning threshold then you know there's serious activity. The "Estimated Planetary K index" is the strength of the current geomagnetic storm if there is one. Any colour other than green generally means there's an active geomagnetic storm and many people report sensitivities to these as they affect the earth's magnetic field lines a lot, potentially exacerbating EHS. If you are feeling triggered there is a button on the graphs to zoom into different ranges of data, 6 hours/1 day/3 day/7day.


overview.png


Solar wind speed can be affective to, anything over 400-500km/sec usually means a solar flare's plasma is causing a speed increase before it hits earth. Solar Wind Magnetic Fields like I mentioned before Bz is the field orientation relative to the sun's magnetic field. Personally I find my symptoms are way worse when Bz is positive/north. Others report the opposite. Bt is the strength of the field, the higher the number the stronger the impact of any effect. 10.7cm Radio Flux is a measure of overall activity. 125sfu is pretty low considering we are at solar maximum right now. It was up to 200 in March and those were tough days for me. I generally experience a fairly immediate affect from large M/X flares or within hours, my stress levels go up and I get way more triggered by EMF. Also I find grounding during Bz negative/south is much more relieving compared positive/north, but that's just me.

Btw, if I could suggest getting an EMF/RF meter? I just got one recently and found an RF source coming from a common wall and just put up a shield against it today. I use the GQ-EMF 390, it's on the relatively "cheap" side compared to some of the others. If you get a meter I highly recommend getting one that measures both EF/RF at least as there are some cheaper ones that claim to measure EMF, but only have EF/MF (magnetic field), but no true EMF readout or RF. Also I find incandescent bulbs to be the best. But generally if I'm triggered I will shut down everything and disconnect everything including turning lights off if that doesn't help.

I recently shut down one of the two circuit breakers for mains electricity in my home and immediately felt much better. Those AC cables carry fields even if there's nothing plugged in or on. I have a fridge with an inverter motor that I got during covid, and I'm regretting it now as it throws out a lot of RF. You'd be surprised how much RF all those little mobile phone chargers/electronic device power supplies etc throw out too. It drops considerably at a short distance, but I've stopped charging anything in my bedroom now.
 
Last edited:

Dysfunkion

Senior Member
Messages
145
Thanks very much for sharing those! I've tried a few, some help a bit. I tried Magnesium chelate, not sure if that's similar.



So basically the best website imho is swpc.noaa.gov for the latest data. What you want to look for first is solar flare activity, second is current geomagnetic storm conditions.

Then lately I've been noticing a correlation with the interplanetary magnetic field between the sun and earth as it switches between field connect and disconnect indicated by "Bz". If Bz is negative (aka south) it means the earth and sun's magnetic fields are connected. If it is positive it means the earth's magnetic field is intact (north). Aurora's are caused by Bz negative/south.

Here are some screenshots from the website:

View attachment 53723

On the left is the X-ray flux. You will notice a big spike on the red/orange line if there is a solar flare, if it enters the M or X zones you know it's a big one. It can affect you immediately or up to days later depending on if it results in a geomagnetic storm. The proton flux rarely changes but if it goes over the warning threshold then you know there's serious activity. The "Estimated Planetary K index" is the strength of the current geomagnetic storm if there is one. Any colour other than green generally means there's an active geomagnetic storm and many people report sensitivities to these as they affect the earth's magnetic field lines a lot, potentially exacerbating EHS. If you are feeling triggered there is a button on the graphs to zoom into different ranges of data, 6 hours/1 day/3 day/7day.


View attachment 53724

Solar wind speed can be affective to, anything over 400-500km/sec usually means a solar flare's plasma is causing a speed increase before it hits earth. Solar Wind Magnetic Fields like I mentioned before Bz is the field orientation relative to the sun's magnetic field. Personally I find my symptoms are way worse when Bz is positive/north. Others report the opposite. Bt is the strength of the field, the higher the number the stronger the impact of any effect. 10.7cm Radio Flux is a measure of overall activity. 125sfu is pretty low considering we are at solar maximum right now. It was up to 200 in March and those were tough days for me. I generally experience a fairly immediate affect from large M/X flares or within hours, my stress levels go up and I get way more triggered by EMF. Also I find grounding during Bz negative/south is much more relieving compared positive/north, but that's just me.

Btw, if I could suggest getting an EMF/RF meter? I just got one recently and found an RF source coming from a common wall and just put up a shield against it today. I use the GQ-EMF 390, it's on the relatively "cheap" side compared to some of the others. If you get a meter I highly recommend getting one that measures both EF/RF at least as there are some cheaper ones that claim to measure EMF, but only have EF/MF (magnetic field), but no true EMF readout or RF. Also I find incandescent bulbs to be the best. But generally if I'm triggered I will shut down everything and disconnect everything including turning lights off if that doesn't help.

I recently shut down one of the two circuit breakers for mains electricity in my home and immediately felt much better. Those AC cables carry fields even if there's nothing plugged in or on. I have a fridge with an inverter motor that I got during covid, and I'm regretting it now as it throws out a lot of RF. You'd be surprised how much RF all those little mobile phone chargers/electronic device power supplies etc throw out too. It drops considerably at a short distance, but I've stopped charging anything in my bedroom now.

Interesting! I'll be keeping up on it then from here on out. I used to have one but I lost it, should get one again and see exactly where it's coming from currently. My room though is luckily in a position where I think last time I checked is at least a couple rooms away from any wifi transmitters and I also felt somewhat better when I unplugged some wires that were plugged into my power strip going to nothing that I didn't know were there and this is a weird one but decreasing the main volume on my sound system my computer is wired to from 14 to a baseline 10. I actually tested that one somewhat recently. I turned without any audio on my sound system to the max volume which was so loud that you even with no audio could hear light static from the tower speakers. I actually started getting sick just being in the room. Another time I left it on when I was sleeping and couldn't sleep either. When i looked up how volume knobs work it made sense though.

So now in my room I only have plugged in what I need at any given moment. I've also noticed some chargers can be really bad myself, used to have one for a camera that I actually had to move out of my room when it was charging that it was so bad. My phone charger is really quick and I don't have it plugged in enough to notice anything from it, it's really small though and electrical fields effect me in minutes. High electrical fields in general make me really sick so it's not just wireless and radiation from computer processors or screens. I used to have a music project but had to stop because every time I plugged in all of my stuff even with a EMF protection thing on I would get ill. I remember once I pushed through it anyways and nearly went deaf in my right ear with insane pressure in there, it's been months and the pressure with tinnitus is only just starting to decrease more. Been to numerous concerts before but never experienced anything quite like it so it wasn't sound induced (volume when I'm playing at home isn't even loud). Even pressing buttons on my keyboard/mouse on my computer too much can give me issues which is one of the biggest things that makes me mad about this. So even just relaxing on my computer and playing some online games because of how much frequent button pressing I'm doing makes it feel like my brain is wired to an electrical generator after a while. I don't know how long it generally takes though with consistent keyboard or mouse presses though. All I know there is when all of a sudden it feels like I have electrical currents going through my forehead, I have a certain dullness and vague feeling of doom/dread in my mind, and my digestive system starts to act up then I know I played for a bit too long.
 

Wishful

Senior Member
Messages
5,764
Location
Alberta
I mean our bodies operate using the laws of physics and chemistry, which involves electromagnetic fields etc.
Yes, that's true. Molecules interacting involve electromagnetic fields. Electric fields are involved with fatty acids positioning themselves to form a membrane. The problem is when people try to extend that beyond its appropriate limits. Electric fields arranging molecules does not mean that the field from house wiring is also arranging those molecules. If you solved the equations for it, you'd find that the electric field experienced by the molecules would be too low to affect them. Marketing scams like to leave out that sort of detail.
If sufficiently large, these currents could cause stimulation of nerves and muscles or affect other biological processes."
Yes, but "sufficiently large" is probably way higher than most people expect. A recent MRI machine uses an 11.7 Tesla field, which is ridiculously much higher than anything we experience in daily life, yet there was no report of the patients complaining about nerve stimulation or involuntary muscle movement. Again, if you solve the equations governing field interaction with bodies, cells, and molecules, you'd get the actual forces applied, which will probably be much lower than necessary for noticeable effects.

Acupuncture needles induce circulating currents in the body.
A quick search didn't show up any studies supporting that claim.

Biomagnets affect circulating currents.
I didn't find any support for that claim either. I'm not claiming it's false, just that I couldn't find any studies supporting it. As with the other cases, solving the equations for static magnetic fields on cells, molecules, or electrical currents in the body will probably show the forces are too small to have an effect.

I had to look up the meaning of "circulating currents". See: https://www.anttilehikoinen.fi/research-work/what-are-circulating-eddy-currents/ . Here's the answer: "These are purely mathematical concepts, mind you. In reality, we have the conductor currents and that’s it." There's also a definition that applies to electric motors, which doesn't apply to the human body. I can't see how circulating currents applies to the human body. Maybe it's just a "sciency" term used in health scams?

I noticed that paper about microcurrents published in some other journal (Biomagnetism?). A quick skim gave me the impression that it was rather flakey. I can't properly judge the details of the study; it's just my impression that it was making unsubstantiated claims. That they got it published in other journals doesn't mean that it's solid science. I'll await further studies.
 

Wishful

Senior Member
Messages
5,764
Location
Alberta
I used to have a small mag light, hanging from a short lanyard, and I put it around my neck and both hands are free, it lights up the ground below for walking and you can chop vegetables.
I live offgrid and need to go outside in the dark often (outdoor kitchen). I tried a couple of headband mounted lights, but found they flopped around too much. My solution is a small flashlight with a plastic case which I hold in my mouth when I need use of my hands. It's easy to direct the light where I need it.

People keep giving my husband flashlights that cause permanent blindness.
My most-used flashlight uses one low-power LED (from one of those solar outdoor nightlights) powered by two AA cells. I've been using batteries other people threw out (because one battery in their stack got weak first) and I swap them only when the light gets too dim to be useful. I have another much brighter light I use when a task requires more light.
 

hapl808

Senior Member
Messages
2,130
A recent MRI machine uses an 11.7 Tesla field, which is ridiculously much higher than anything we experience in daily life, yet there was no report of the patients complaining about nerve stimulation or involuntary muscle movement. Again, if you solve the equations governing field interaction with bodies, cells, and molecules, you'd get the actual forces applied, which will probably be much lower than necessary for noticeable effects.

My last MRI (not even a 3T) led to a crash and permanent worsening of my condition. I have no way to know if it was just coincidence from the exertion, but I've wondered if something about the MRI itself affected me. In any event, it's academic as I never recovered (more than five years ago). I'd like to get another MRI, but not sure it's worth the risk.
 

Wishful

Senior Member
Messages
5,764
Location
Alberta
I find it frustrating when people argue with you - whether it's the ones who tell you yoga will actually cure you, or the ones who tell you magnesium isn't really helping and it's your imagination.
I'm not arguing that turning your router or main breaker off doesn't make someone feel better. I'm arguing that without proper double-blinding, the reason why it works may not be due to the EMF signal. I've been convinced of various things affecting my ME which on better experimenting, proved to be wrong. I'm really bad about knowing which tooth is the cause of pain. Whenever I'm convince that it's one tooth, it turns out to be a tooth next to it. Humans are great at totally convincing themselves about things that are actually false.

This is the argument from certain back alleys of psychiatry. All ME/CFS is just SSD - people who are hyper fixated on 'real' symptoms, but to an unreasonable degree.
I don't mean to misapply the argument to all diseases. However, it might be valid for some situations. Yesterday was nice and sunny and not snowing, so I went out to do some chores. I found that my leg aches and flu-like symptoms prevented me from concentrating on doing tasks. Instead I went for my first bike ride of the year. That didn't make the symptoms go away, but pedaling is a kind of mindless activity that isn't affected by those symptoms. The mind is actively balancing, watching for hazards, etc, which doesn't seem to allow room for those distractions that would affect me if I was trying to tidy up my yard.

Now you're advocating the opposite. "Don't believe your senses - you're probably mistaken."
Nope. In this argument I'm saying "What you're sensing may not be due to the theory you believe is responsible." Turning off your router makes you feel better: no argument. That it's due to the wifi signal is still debatable. It could be psychological, it could be an ultrasonic signal from the device, it could be the light from the LED on the router that you are subconsciously aware of, or some explanation I can't even think of. The lack of (properly done) studies that prove that humans can sense or be affected by wifi signals makes me think that other explanations are more likely. I'm skeptical about claims about biological effects that are strong enough to for people to notice, yet somehow can't be verified in a lab. If humans can sense wifi signals, that should be easy to verify in a lab setting using double-blinding.

Possibly cumin didn't help you, but you thought it did so you stopped focusing on the physical symptoms?
No, the first time was a complete surprise. I took some cumin because it helped the first few times years ago, so I kept testing it a few times a year just in case it started working again. It wasn't until my expected PEM following strenuous activity I had to do didn't show up that I looked back in my journal to see what might have blocked the expected PEM. I did several tests of exertion with and without cumin before posting the results in a thread about a possible PEM blocker. Benefits after that could have been psychological, but there were plenty of incidents when I simply forgot to take my scheduled cumin and was reminded by getting PEM. The same occurred with T2: it was easy to forget when the 21 days was up, but I'd start feeling lousy, and when it occurred to me to check my journal, sure enough the symptoms started 21 days after my previous dose. I think it's highly unlikely that my subconscious mind was keeping track of the days since my last dose and gave my psychosomatic symptoms.

Early on in my ME, I was convinced that I was reacting to citric acid, since that was in several of the foods I reacted to. My doctor set up a single-blind experiment (the pharmacist made bottles of capsules of citric acid and something else), which showed that I wasn't reacting to citric acid. I do accept the results of properly run experiments. BTW, I still reacted to those foods, but accepted that my theory was wrong.
 

hapl808

Senior Member
Messages
2,130
I'm not arguing that turning your router or main breaker off doesn't make someone feel better. I'm arguing that without proper double-blinding, the reason why it works may not be due to the EMF signal. I've been convinced of various things affecting my ME which on better experimenting, proved to be wrong.

Sure - it's not a double blind trial. I don't know if it's EMF or a specific part of wifi or what. But do you think you were completely mistaken about cumin, all your amino acid theories, etc? Maybe it all was just the placebo effect?

I'm skeptical about claims about biological effects that are strong enough to for people to notice, yet somehow can't be verified in a lab. If humans can sense wifi signals, that should be easy to verify in a lab setting using double-blinding.

This was exactly the argument why DDT and other pesticides were safe. The residue was so small, and humans could not even detect it. Very few people would claim now that pesticides are completely harmless at normal dosages just because you cannot consistently verify pesticide effects in a double blind taste test?

I think it's highly unlikely that my subconscious mind was keeping track of the days since my last dose and gave my psychosomatic symptoms.

I find it highly unlikely that the couple of times I had weird unusual headaches (no PEM, etc), it turned out the router had reset and was on. Could be - the same way all the cumin effects could be psychosomatic.

Nope. In this argument I'm saying "What you're sensing may not be due to the theory you believe is responsible." Turning off your router makes you feel better: no argument. That it's due to the wifi signal is still debatable. It could be psychological, it could be an ultrasonic signal from the device, it could be the light from the LED on the router that you are subconsciously aware of, or some explanation I can't even think of.

I haven't particularly championed any theory. I'm not really sure why - and I don't really care unless it's helpful to know. I've found that both the router wifi and repeater both seemed to worsen my headaches - the repeater I noticed only in retrospect comparing my Garmin BB numbers and headaches. The router didn't affect me turning it off at night (in another room), but did seem to affect me turning it off during the day (sitting a few feet away). Maybe it's wifi, maybe it's ultrasonic, maybe it's something else.

Are you offering a useful theory beyond psychosomatic? Because that's all I hear you coming back to over and over again. If we wanted that, we could go see a psychiatrist and accept we don't really have the fake disease ME/CFS.

Maybe the taste of cumin reminds you of better times when you weren't sick and it has nothing to do with any component of cumin. Maybe PEM is in your imagination, since your manifestation of it seems different than everyone else's?

I find all this particularly strange as don't you live pretty much off the grid? Why do you do that?

Anyways, this is a waste of time because you're not offering anything helpful but seem to think you are offering some brilliant analysis.
 

hapl808

Senior Member
Messages
2,130
No, the first time was a complete surprise. I took some cumin because it helped the first few times years ago, so I kept testing it a few times a year just in case it started working again. It wasn't until my expected PEM following strenuous activity I had to do didn't show up that I looked back in my journal to see what might have blocked the expected PEM.

I find it so funny that you think your own experiences are conclusive, even though obviously that's far from any double blind test. I found the same with the repeater, and even my experience turning off the router at night which seemed to do nothing (although I thought it would help), and turning it off during the day later which I expected nothing but it made a big difference. And then a few times when it was reset without my knowledge and gave me splitting headaches.

But of course your own experiences are more rigorous and valuable than anyone else's.
 

hapl808

Senior Member
Messages
2,130
My last MRI (not even a 3T) led to a crash and permanent worsening of my condition. I have no way to know if it was just coincidence from the exertion, but I've wondered if something about the MRI itself affected me.

This is not me putting forward any elaborate theory. Just noticing that my last MRI correlated within 48 hours of one of my worst crashes and permanent worsening. Why? I have no idea - exertion, EMF, magnetic, ancient Egyptian curse?

I rarely put forward any definitive theory - because we don't even know if ME/CFS is one disease, many similar diseases, many different diseases. I always push back when people think they know anything - because you can't know anything for sure when you don't understand the problem.

Although I also push back when people decide to psychologize any aspect of the illness that they personally don't experience. Those who believe MCS is fake, or mold and CIRS, or MCAS, or severe ME/CFS, or PSSD, or whatever. I don't know if the theories of any of those illnesses are accurate, but I'm not discounting their experience and that their experience is not imagined.
 

Wishful

Senior Member
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5,764
Location
Alberta
This was exactly the argument why DDT and other pesticides were safe. The residue was so small, and humans could not even detect it.
I expect that they were well aware of the danger of higher doses. The residue was small and no effects were noticed at those levels. They missed bioaccumulation in the food chain. Likewise asbestos was proven safe by the studies at the time. We have learned lessons about the need for longer-term studies. That doesn't invalidate the lack of studies showing short-term effects of wifi signals. If normal levels of wifi signals cause significant symptoms in people within minutes or hours, that should be fairly easy to prove in a proper dobule-blind study ... but we're still waiting for such a study with that result.

Are you offering a useful theory beyond psychosomatic?
I am not saying your responses are psychosomatic. I'm saying that the theory behind the responses is unproven and unsupported by known science. The latter doesn't disprove the theory, but it does require more evidence than a theory that does have an explanation supported by known science. For my "proven to me" responses, I don't have theories for why/how they had their effects.

If I had a noticeable, repeatable response to wifi signals--or 60 Hz or whatever--I'd definitely want to do some proper experiments to figure out what was actually involved. It's a bit harder to do that with chemicals. I did try, such as testing whether cumin worked when taken only sublingually, or if the digestive system had to be involved (seems not). Imperfect experiments, but that was within my ability and willingness. Experiments that required a lot more effort were unlikely to lead to a full understanding of how it worked, and even less likely to lead to a treatment/cure for ME, so I didn't pursue it further.

I find all this particularly strange as don't you live pretty much off the grid? Why do you do that?
The nearest powerlines are ~4 miles away. I bought the property for the lack of neighbours and the natural beauty (surrounded by trees, and a creek next to my cabin), not for expected health benefits from reduced EMF levels. I didn't notice any improvement in my ME due to the change in environment. I didn't notice a change when I switched from wired internet to wifi linked.
 
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So even just relaxing on my computer and playing some online games because of how much frequent button pressing I'm doing makes it feel like my brain is wired to an electrical generator after a while. I don't know how long it generally takes though with consistent keyboard or mouse presses though
If you ever find your EMF meter or get a new one I'd be curious to know what kind of EF reading you get from your keyboard/mouse. Even if they are low voltage they can carry EF from other devices connected to your computer. It could also be proximity to other devices near your computer setup or the computer/monitor itself.

For instance, I've noticed that ethernet cables and associated devices that use 1gpbs instead of the slower previous standard of 100mbps tend to induce a 1kV/m EF reading which by itself isn't that bad. But the problem is that this EF spreads to any device they are connected to and if snaked around other electronics I also noticed they will induce an EF reading into those devices. For instance I had an LED monitor that was off and disconnected from power but had the ethernet cable running right under it and it read a uniform 1kV/m across the entire surface of the monitor.

So I'm wondering what other electronics cables you might have criss-crossing around or near your computer that might also introduce EF into anything else connected or nearby? EF like a 1kV/m (1000V/m) reading I was getting dissipates at a short distance but if it spreads into anything nearby even if it's off/unplugged, it can increase the surface area and exposure. I found it even spread onto an aluminium tripod I had a tablet on connected to ethernet.

I was thankfully able to remove the 1kV/m reading from parts of my ethernet by introducing a grounded ethernet surge protector between the modem/router and the device I use most, dropping the readings to nearly 0V/m. Whilst grounded ethernet surge protectors aren't specifically designed for this purpose, I found the Ubiquiti model to do the job and wasn't too pricey and it's a reputable brand. If you're outside the US though be warned that it might not come with a ground/earth cable, so I would suggest checking that first and sourcing one.

There are other ethernet grounding options out there too, but I wouldn't recommend getting anything that doesn't come with an earth/ground cable specifically designed for your country unless you know where to get a cable beforehand.
 
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I rarely put forward any definitive theory - because we don't even know if ME/CFS is one disease, many similar diseases, many different diseases. I always push back when people think they know anything - because you can't know anything for sure when you don't understand the problem.
I agree, even with EHS, it's a bit like groping around in the dark trying to find what helps and what doesn't. If there was a one size fits all solution we wouldn't be here discussing it.

But there's enough people reporting sensitivities to EMF to definitely suggest a correlation, so hopefully further scientific research into this phenomenon will lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms and offer concrete solutions.

I recently read that in Germany 10% of the population reports EMF sensitivity, so it's not really possible to dismiss it as a minor issue anymore. And that's only people that are able to connect the dots between their symptoms and their environment. I would guess a lot of people aren't aware of the connection, so the real number might be much higher.
 

Wishful

Senior Member
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Alberta
But there's enough people reporting sensitivities to EMF to definitely suggest a correlation, so hopefully further scientific research into this phenomenon will lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms and offer concrete solutions.
People also report sightings of ghosts and flying saucers, so "lots of people reporting x" doesn't necessarily mean that x is real. I certainly support studies to see whether there are any health effects from EMFs of various frequencies and power levels, but the rise in claims of EMF sensitivity might correlate better with the rise in scientifically unsupported health scare magazine articles.