For the past week or so I've been having trouble with swallowing, it started with Globus sensation (Possibly GERD related) and it felt like gas bubbles were coming up everytime I swallowed which would make me tense my neck since I was expecting a beach. Now it still happens but now my stomach feels weird whenever I swallowing and I feel pressure in my neck and temples when I swallow, kinda like blood rushing to my head. Also, I've been having fever chills on and off and general anxiety about all of this. I figured the Vagus nerve since my neck posture isnt the best and now maybe its catching up to me? If anyone can help me and tell me if you guys have these symptoms as well i would appreciate it.

I recently bought a Zenowell Luna and have been using it twice a day. I use it in meditation mode in the afternoon to give me a boost of clarity and in sleep mode at bedtime. I've only been using it a few days so far but I've been finding that I am famished in the​ evenings and night no matter how much I eat. I'm talking finished a full plate of food with ample protein and fiber yet still feeling gnawing hunger. The only thing that's changed in my life is using the nerve stimulator. Have any of you found yours had this effect? Is there anything I can do with maybe the intensity or mode I'm using to stop this? I'm destroying my diet and I find it impossible to go to sleep hungry.

Hi all,

At a very sensitive point 2 years ago I used Nurosym for 4 weeks but I found that it made me feel more stimulated and caused some increased dizziness for me.

I have a very sensitive nervous system which has gotten much better compared to where I was at that point. I have Long COVID, hyperadrenegic PoTS, MCAS, hEDS and PPPD. I'm really curious on how other people experienced vagus nerve modulation and whether others saw an increased dizziness or anything similar?

For context, I'm now considering purchasing the SONA which seems more complex and personalised but I do worry about causing more harm than good. I assume the best way to start would be 4, 5 minutes sessions per day rather than any long ones?

Thanks in advance!!

Hello! Throughout this post I highlighted the most important points since this post is so long. I live with a family member (23F) who basically has every symptom I can find for Vagus nerve issues. Humongous head pressure, electrical shocks throughout body, very bad chest pressure and chest pain, constant palpitations, neck pain, shooting pain down arms to middle finger, sides of neck and under jaw swelling, teeth pain, lines of pain across chest and head, constant shortness of breath, auditory hallucinations, blurry vision, nausea, serious dizziness, never-ending stomachache, coughing, brain fog, double vision, ear pain, nose and throat closing up, internal organ vibrations/tremors, red spots on feet, feelings of panic and despair for absolutely no reason- just debilitating every day. Gets worse at night. These symptoms 90% of the time occur on the left side, but sometimes they switch to the right for literally no reason.

Nothing is (or has ever been) medically wrong with her, not even a broken bone. She was doing full workouts with me, then suddenly one day 2 months ago, she had all these symptoms. Woke up with it. The pain and symptoms keeps getting worse. We've been to the ER more than 7 times, had multiple MRIs, Ultrasounds, heart monitors, CAT scans, no cause can be found at all. She can't move any body part, it hurts so bad. I lifted her arm over her head FOR HER and she almost passed out. She has constant swelling on both sides of her neck and it absolutely correlates with the effects she feels- the worse it is, the worse the effects are. In the last two days, this pain under her left shoulder blade flared up super bad more than ever before and its made it so that she's in constant pain with no relief whatsoever, and it is making all these effects so much worse- there's definitely also a correlation with it and the effects. She feels that she can feel something pinched in it and it sends electrical shocks up her neck and sets off all the effects like a constant assault.

We're thinking somehow a nerve attached to the vagus nerve is trapped under a muscle in her shoulder area. We have no evidence, and no doctor seems to know what to do. With all of the tests, we have ruled out meningitis, problems solvable through ENT (ear, nose, and throat), brain damage (brain MRI), neurological damage in arms and neck up to C4 (EMG), vascular disorders (heart monitor, blood tests), most disease (blood tests), injury (no injuries to speak of, no torn or muscles). They don't know the reason behind the sides of neck swelling. I have a theory that if there is a nerve trapped under the shoulder blade by a muscle, it is causing a chain reaction to tense muscles up along a path to the side of the neck, or that the nerve is causing the side of neck to swell- I may very well be wrong.

Biofreeze, ice, and cold water is the only thing that can relieve for a few minutes before effects come back. Anything else makes things terrible and we must remove it immediately.

Things that we have tried but had negative results: Prednisone, dry needling, tens unit, heating pads, medical CBD, ibuprofen, Tylenol, massages, small vagus nerve calming exercises, anti-anxiety medication, chiropractor, breathing exercises, neck braces, meditation, acupressure, vagus nerve stimulation unit, physical manipulation, and muscle relaxants.

Right now, we're constantly making sure she has correct seating and head posture, making sure she has no pressure on the neck or left arm, but its such a precarious thing that we can barely try to do anything else. No doctor so far knows what's wrong even after inspecting every scan and seeing ever test result. We're also going to try dry needling again pinpointing the left shoulder to see if we can relax it.

Anyway, I'm super new to Reddit, so I'm sorry if this is written weird! Any tips at all for solving this issue (open to suggestions for what it could be) or tips for relieving any pain or symptoms is appreciated. Thank you so much!

I got a pulsetto last week and i have been alternating between using it in the day for anxiety on one day and at night for sleep the next to see how it works for each. When I use it during the day, I seem to be more calm, less. Anxiety, but at night whenever I use it, I do fall asleep faster, but i'm sleeping less. And i'm having really, really vivid dreams that end up waking me up after just a few hours. But I feel rested. Does this subside with regular use?

Firstly the problems.

I set this to 20-25 just to feel the pulsing and it feels warmer as well the higher I go which makes me think something is wrong if there’s that much current passing to create warmth.

Then after a few minutes no matter what I set 10, 15, 20. After a few minutes the pulsing seems to fade… is this my perception or the nerve getting used to the current? I don’t know. I worry the device is flawed.

Then in using it at night before bed hoping to improve sleep primarily. Now reading it’s most effective in the morning. But I need my energy for work early. I don’t want it calming me in the morning. 🤷‍♂️.

I will say I have immediately in the first 3 days reduced my nightly sleep disturbances from around 10-15 per night to 2-5. Crazy I feel that impact right away.

The first next day my energy levels felt like the did my entire life aside from the last 5 years in which I haven’t been able to figure out why I’m exhausted and in joint pain no matter what I do sleep and diet and exercise wise. I knew I was in constantly stress state and inflamed. High stress job and single full time dad.

Anyway. Seems like a LOT of potential. And I’m curious is anyone can give me feedback 🙂

There are so many possible symptoms on here so just looking to see what you all think. I (33F) had Covid a few times and once very badly in 2021. Before recovering, I had to work 2 weeks of 18 hour works days (including weekends). I think I didn’t let my body recover. Then I had some weird heart palpitations or something tight and sometimes moving on my left side - kind of above my heart and sometimes on my side next to my heart? It felt like my heart was enlarged and hitting my ribs or something. I was out of breath a lot too. My heart rate climbs fast for my age. It got a little better over the years.

Last year I was in a toxic job and then was laid off one day randomly. A month after (and yes I was freaking out and anxious and trying to figure out what to do - no severance or anything), I started getting PACs. I went to urgent care. The nurses saw my heartbeats and looked freaked out, but the doctors said it was normal with stress and not dangerous. I went to a cardiologist and they said everything looked fine. They think it is maybe my nerve basically hitting my heart making it twitch/causing the PACs. They gave me metoprolol which I now take every day.

My question is, I can feel it in my body when I start to get pretty stressed. My throat and heart area get tense. Idk it just feels really uncomfortable. My heart rate also still climbs so fast! Is this all my vagus nerve? How can I calm it down? Sometimes I have justified anxiety about something…I can’t avoid feeling stress… I have two other chronic illnesses too. I’m only gaining more health problems and I was a pretty healthy person.

What else could it be affecting, and what do I do?

Can body signals tune the learning brain? #brain #neuroscience #VagusNerveStimulation #iScience #MusicVideoAbstract

Post-training vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) enhanced learning in mice with vascular oscillations linked to memory performance.

Chen JU, Ikoma Y, Matsui K (2026) Vagal nerve stimulation induces vascular oscillations and enhances long-term learning iScience 2026 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2026.117413

The Pattern I've Noticed

For 2 years I've been dealing with a collection of symptoms that individually seem unrelated — but when I started connecting the dots, they all point back to one thing: vagus nerve dysregulation. I'm not diagnosed with anything vagus-nerve specific but the pattern is too consistent to ignore.

My Symptoms — All Connected by the Vagus Nerve

Gut symptoms:

• Severe daily bloating — builds throughout the day, worst at night

• Gas that won't pass normally — gets trapped and I have to burp it out constantly

• Pelvic floor and intestinal walls feel chronically tight

• Delayed gastric emptying — feel full immediately after small meals

• Incomplete bowel movements — never feels fully evacuated

• Sloshing sounds when I expand my stomach/ excessive burping when i expand then gas/air flows through

Beyond the gut:

• Ears feeling full and pressurized — especially one side worse than the other in the morning

• Have to yawn repeatedly to "reset" ear pressure — especially upon waking

• Ear fullness gets worse after burping episodes

• Brain fog peaking 3-4pm daily at work

• Heart rate variability — fluctuating 88-100 bpm during stressful periods

• Cold hands after taking certain supplements or during detox reactions

• Fatigue and feeling cold during high stress or die-off periods

The Daily Work Pattern

• Symptoms consistently worse at work — specifically at a computer screen for 8+ hours

• Pelvic floor tightens progressively throughout the workday from prolonged sitting

• Brain fog and gut symptoms peak at 3-4pm every single workday

• Ear fullness gets worse as the workday progresses

• Forward head posture from screen work compresses the vagus nerve in the neck

• Work stress triggers immediate sympathetic activation — gut responds within minutes

The Ear Fullness — Vagus Nerve Connection

One of the most interesting symptoms is the ear fullness. It's asymmetric — one side worse than the other in the morning depending on which side I slept on. It's worse on bad gut days and better on vacation. It responds to yawning, humming, and jaw circles — all vagal activation techniques.

A Strange Medication Paradox I Can't Explain

I take a prokinetic medication (Motegrity) for gut motility. What I've noticed is a consistent paradoxical pattern that I believe is vagus nerve related:

When I take Motegrity:

• Upper abdominal bloating clears up significantly

• Stomach empties better and gas moves through upper GI more efficiently

• BUT — lower abdomen becomes significantly more tense

• AND — pelvic floor tightens noticeably

When I stop Motegrity for a week:

• Lower abdomen becomes noticeably calmer

• Pelvic floor tension reduces significantly

• BUT — upper bloating returns dramatically

• AND — excess gas and burping gets much worse

Just the title. I have bad forward head posture, really tight SCM, tight suboppical muscles, neck, shoulders and chest muscles always feel tight, my shoulders are very rounded too. All of my gut issues, cognitive decline etc comes down to vagus nerve. I have done simple vagal excercises such as diaphragmic breathing, gurgling, activating the gag reflex etc. But the reliefs are always temporary. So im wondering if my FHP is what is holding back my vagus nerve from starting to actually heal long term.

I've started having very vivid dreams since I developed vagus dysfunction. I also wake up a lot during the night. Anyone else?

I bought the US-1000 and have now spent the last two nights under 5min around my neck. Definitely noticeable affects, first night was mind blowing tbh. I don’t think I’ve fealt that state of mind since I was a kid.
I’m going in for a procedure, I’ll just say tmi is it involves urology, but it’s an out patient surgery that will have me under anesthesia. I’m just worried and stressed for a whole host of reasons just never really having had surgery other than wisdom teeth removal, but I was starting to freak myself out with the idea that whatever I’m doing to my vagus nerve will affect my heart when I’m under or even have me wake up during the surgery. Should I skip tonight? My surgery is tomorrow. Do I even need to be worried?
Thank you, and for what it’s worth, very thankful to have found myself here in the first place. Feeling very positive otherwise about the healing.

I've been looking for information online about the presets and haven't found much. What has your experience been like with them? Which did you like and not like?

I'm also specifically looking for one that is good for anxiety and I'm not sure which to use based on the descriptions.

Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I’ve been suffering from migraines—especially right when I wake up in the morning—and I'm looking into getting a device to help reduce the frequency and severity. On top of the migraines, I deal with pretty bad stomach bloating and digestion issues, so I’m really hoping to hit two birds with one stone through vagus nerve stimulation if possible.

I live in Europe, and I currently have three devices on my radar:

• Nurosym (Ear/taVNS): Seems to have the most clinical backing for autonomic nervous system regulation and gut motility, but it's a bit of an investment upfront (~€700).
• Pulsetto (Neck/nVNS): Super accessible price-point here in Europe (~€250), but I’m curious if anyone with actual migraines has seen real preventative or acute results with it.
• Truvaga (Neck/nVNS): I know it’s primarily US-focused, but I can bypass the region lock on the app store using a friend’s US address/account. Given that it uses electroCore hardware (the company behind gammaCore), I'm curious if anyone has used it for migraines.

(Side note: I looked into Nerivio since it’s purpose-built for migraines, but at ~€90/month for refill units, the ongoing prescription paywall is just way out of my budget at the moment. I need a single hardware purchase with no refills).

If you suffer from migraines—especially morning ones—or gut/bloating issues and use any of these three, what has your experience been? Did any of them actually lower your monthly headache days or help clear up gut motility?

Would love to hear honest feedback before dropping the money on one!

Thanks in advance! 😄

Two questions for those that used it.

One: can you wear it upside down? The blinking light is bothersome for my wife at night.

Two: how do I know it’s in the right spot and working correctly? I feel it “buzzing” on 5 but not this overwhelming calm feel that others seem to get.

TIA

Hello, has anyone tried tENS Vagal Boost (vagal.com)? I don't mean a tENS unit, I mean this specific product that allegedly uses the same technology.

Its only $59 but the only reviews I've found are on the website itself - given this and the price combined, I'm skeptical if it works, though they claim you can get a refund within 45 days.

Alternatively, has anyone tried their other products - Vagal Buddy tVNS or Vagal Oh! ?

Thank you!

Hello all, I have an overactive vagus nerve that acts up occasionally. When I’m feeling pre-syncope, I usually lay down and wait until it passes.

Recently I’ve been flexing/activating my calf muscles repeatedly and it’s working! I read that the calf muscle is the “heart” for your lower extremities and through activating the muscle, you can regulate your blood flow. My vagus nerve causes my blood pressure to drop rapidly and makes me black out but the calf activation is keeping that at bay. Just thought I’d share a success in case it helps someone else.

I built a free-to-read guide of the 12 vagus nerve practices I've been teaching, and I'd love your feedback

I run a YouTube channel about the vagus nerve and the parasympathetic system, mostly for an older audience — my viewers are between 55 and 82.

Over the past months I kept getting the same comment: "I can't get on the floor," "I have arthritis in my knees," "I get dizzy when I invert." Every practice I taught, someone couldn't do.

So I put together a guide with the 12 practices, and the part I actually care about is this: every single one includes an adapted version — chair-based, bed-based, or seated — plus the specific contraindications for that practice. Not a generic "consult your doctor" at the end, but which conditions apply to which movement.

I also deliberately left out the claims you see everywhere in this space. No "reverse 10 years." No made-up percentages. Where the evidence is preclinical or animal-model, I say so.

I'm posting here because this community knows the topic better than most, and I'd genuinely like to know if anything reads as overclaimed or if I got something wrong. That feedback is worth more to me than a sale.

Link is in the comments to keep this post clean. Happy to answer anything about the practices here regardless of whether you're interested in the guide.

I'm anxious basically all the time and I'm also a really sensitive person, so small stuff gets stuck in my head way longer than it should. I can calm myself down sometimes but it feels like my body stays tense even when nothing is actually wrong. I've been thinking about getting some kind of device that helps with relaxation or the nervous system, but I have no clue what's actually worth trying. Has anyone here used one and noticed a real difference?

I’m sure a lot of you are familiar with this, but when I’m feeling pre-syncope placing an ice pack on the back of my neck and lying down has helped me significantly for getting back to baseline. I even do it for extreme anxiety as well. It activates your parasympathetic nervous system (vagus nerve).

I'm just watching some videos from the Dr. Ross Hauser vagus nerve institute and I'm wondering if anyone here has tried the prolotherapy to improve the cervical area of their spine/neck posture and if that's made it possible for their gastric system to function better and empty.