TENS machine

Das Kitty

There's a TENS machine in Lidl today if anyone is interested!

http://www.lidl.ie/ie/home.nsf/pages/c.o.20110224.p.3_in_1_Electronic_Muscle_Stimulation_Kit

amiable

Das Kitty wrote: »

There's a TENS machine in Lidl today if anyone is interested!

http://www.lidl.ie/ie/home.nsf/pages/c.o.20110224.p.3_in_1_Electronic_Muscle_Stimulation_Kit

My partner got one from Boots i think the last time she was pregnant and only used it a bit.
We're expecting another in the summer and the TENS machine is still gathering dust.
Have people on here found them good?

wmpdd3

I did find it brialliant for the 1st 3hrs, but I had to take it off to move wards and when I put it back on it just really annoyed my. I still use it the odd time for sciatica.

tfitzgerald

I use one for back and muscle pain and I find it great

January

I used one on most of my early labour on number 2. The battery ran out though and it was the middle of the night (I was in hospital) so I couldn't replace it... so I just coped until I could have gas & air...

Squiggler

I got an email from my lovely husband earlier to say that he picked me up one of these this morning. Hopefully it will help, but if it doesn't help me during labour it should be useful as both of us have existing back problems.

lou.a.d.

are those tens machines in lidl ok for use in labour. said it to the doc and he said make sure they're suitable ones for labour. looked at the box and the advert and says nothing bout labour. has anyone used the lidl ones in labour?

Moonbeam

Probalby suitable but not as good as labour ones.
I got the Elle tens from Amazon found it good but it messed with the machines so unfortunately was back to just gas and air.
Dunno if it worked but it definitely distracted me and will def use it again.

How Strange

The midwife in our antenatal class said to check that those ones are strong enough for labour as they're usually designed for sports injuries.

I rented mine from boots and I found it fantastic from the irregular contractions to full dilation stage but it was a nuisance when I was pushing.

Gumbo

ok so i picked up one of these today for the GF.
on page 4/5 of the manual it states :

NOT TO BE USED WHILE PREGNENT

miss_shadow

damn!picked one up in lidl today!

ah well, can always use it for backache I suppose

Squiggler

I'm pretty sure the reason you're not to use them while pregnant is that they might induce premature labour. Which isn't something you'd be worried about if you're actually in labour.

January

Might be worth ringing Lidl to find out... does it have a boost button??

Cat Melodeon

Most of these work the same way. They are not supposed to be used in pregnancy as a previous poster said because in rare cases the pulses can stimulate premature contractions. However there is no harm at all in using them in labour. The only problem with the non-obstetric TENS is that they are not strong enough to counter-effect the intense surges of labour - the proper ones have a boost function specially designed for this.

I looked into all the various models and types of TENS when I was pregnant and eventually decided on renting one from Medicare as it got the best reviews. I never got to use it though, my labour was quite quick and I forgot all about the TENS in my bag. While I can't comment on the machine itself, the rest of the service from Medicare was excellent - they didn't charge me for extra rental even though I was a week late returning it (overdue baby + distracted new parents).

If anyone is interested, the one that can be hired from Boots also got good reviews and is cheaper. The Mothercare one got poor reviews - apparently the pulses weren't as strong and the pads lose their stickiness after a short while. Any machine not designed for labour got very poor reviews. (Reviews based on non-scientific feedback I gathered from around 20 women on 4 different UK & Ireland parenting websites in 2009 - I took the job of researching my pain relief quite seriously!).

How Strange

Bring some sticky tape too (not Sellotape but the kind you'd get in a first aid cabinet) as I found the pads moved and then lost their stickiness. You've enough to be worrying about during labour without trying to fix loose pads too! Also it's quite hard to adjust them when the machine is turned on and again you dont want to have to turn it off during labour to readjust the pads.

pollypocket10

Even the ones for labour have the "not to be used in pregnancy" warning on them. I checked with a midwife and she said they are perfectly fine once in labour but not recommended for use before 37 weeks of pregnancy.

I got the lidl ones but didn't even occur to me that we might need a stronger one for labour. Hopefully it will be of some use anyways.

Squiggler

My husband tried out one of the massage routines on Saturday on about 1/3 power. He said it was good.

All going well it'll get a labour test from me in the next 3-6 weeks so I'll post a review

daisydood

Hi wondering what would be the best tens machine to buy on inhealth.ie.theres an obi tens,elle tens and medi tens. all ranging in price. Just wondering is there actually a difference between them as they all seem to have a boost button. Its for labour i want it but have decided to buy one instead as renting as have a bad back anyway so will be usefull after. Thanks in advance

Moonbeam

I did a lot of research and the Elle tens seemed to get the best reviews so I bought it.
I think it was good but never used any other one.
Amazon was the cheapest place to buy it at the time.

Moonbeam

I have merged this with the Lidl Tens machine thread as I think they will end up having the same information.

Rach

Gumbo

after summing up all the rental option we decided to buy one on amazon.com
worked out at roughly 10e more than the rental price from boots and some other rental place that i dont know the name of (GF's area ), and the fact its then ours that e can keep for future use.

jeeney

Bumping this thread up again.

I'm looking to see which tens machines work best other than the boots one. I rented the Boots one on my last baby and while I found it good for first while, when contractions got bad I didn't find it quick enough to react. Just got frustrated with it!

Just looking for any up-to-date opinions please.

Thanks

wmpdd3

Do you mean when ypu pressed the boost button, it was too slow to face off the contraction? I thought this to about the hospital one.

Lola92

I had a MediTens XP which I found great. I did end up with an epidural after getting syntocin to speed up my labour so I only used it up to about 3cm. I found it v. good for early labour and a good distraction too! I would advise getting a few sets of the sticky pads though as after a few hours or repositioning they can lose their stick.

jeeney

wmpdd3 wrote: »

Do you mean when ypu pressed the boost button, it was too slow to face off the contraction? I thought this to about the hospital one.

Thanks wmpdd. To answer your question - yes and no! The different settings drove me cracked at times. Think there was three different type settings, if I remember correctly, depending on how severe contractions were. There was no boost button as such, you just kept your finger on button and it boosted up then (as far as I can remember now, correct me if I'm wrong!). So yes, it was too slow to adjust sometimes and I didn't get the full effect so to speak. So for someone that doesnt have patience at best of times with finicky technical stuff, it did frustrate me!

Thanks Lola re MediTens XP. Good to know about the extra pads. I didn't have that problem with the Boots one have to say. So I guess there are pros and cons to them all.

Moonbeam

Nearly all the ones for labour will have a boost button.

wmpdd3

the hospital one had a boost button but near the end it was a half a second too late for each contraction, pressing the button too quickly was more painful than the transactions.

2xj3hplqgsbkym

Firstly I have never used a TENS machine but I have had a baby so just offering my opinion.

I can't imagine that any little machine could possibly ease the intense pain of labour contractions. Personally when I was in labour I was getting up walking around, sitting on my yoga ball, curling up on the bed etc.. so anything attached to me would have been a complete nuisance. At times I was in so much pain I couldn't manage to put the gas mask on my face, my husband had to do it, so having to stick things on my back would have been completely impossible and would have agitated me even more.

Perhaps it could help women manage the pain for before the hospital but for me that was quite manageable anyway.

wmpdd3

I used it up until 6cm, true after that i was eating the gas thing and begging for an epi! It does seem like a pain in the ass but some people labour with the monitoring machine attched.

But while pregnant this time i had very bad sciatica. I was told to take paracetamol every 4hrs while awake. My stomach couldnt take it and i still couldnt walk. After 28 weeks i could use the tens and after using it in the morning and night, i could walk again. Its does work. Mine is tiny too its like an iphone with 2 sets of earphones hanging out of it.

How Strange

I used it from the start of my contractions. I honestly can't say if I found it good or not but I used it throughout. I found it a complete nuisance at the pushing stage. I concentrated on my yoga breathing and some gentle birthing techniques both of which kept me sane. I was totally hooked on the gas and air too though!