relieving bloodflow cutoff to head

I hang with the Captain’s Hook and recently I’ve noticed that my head is blue when I am finished hanging. This never used to happen with lighter weights but now that I’ve moved up to 10 lbs for 20 minutes times 3 sets I’m noticing it.

Any tips for aiding blood flow to the head? I tried placing it up higher closer to my body but it just slid down and actually felt worse.

Thanks guys

I should mention that I wrap with a kleenex and some kind of bandage netting.

machtenx-

Lowering your weight and/or cutting your set time down might help. Obviously, if you only just noticed this as you went up to ten pounds the problem has more to do with your unit adapting to more stress.

Questions:
1. Have you been able to note at what point in the 20 min set discoloration happens?
2. Have you experimented with your wrap (materials/degree of tightness)?
3. How long after your set does the discoloration fade?

One other thing, you should try to keep your Wench in the same place on your unit that has always worked.
Moving it closer to the base will only create more skin stretch. Good if that’s what you’re after, bad if it’s not.

—Cap

Captn,

My idea was that I needed to make an adjustment to the Wench because previously the way I could tell when it was too much weight was by when I felt too much stress on the ligaments, or too much stress on the skin. I felt neither of these last night, only the blue head when I took it off.

1 I believe the discoloration happens towards the end of the set, perhaps in the last 5 minutes. I check the head for temperature throughout the set by touch, however since I’m doing btc, it’s rather difficult to see. Next time I will stand up and check it occasionally.
2 No! I need to do this! probably will solve my problem. What’s your favorite wrap to use with the Wench?
3 The discoloration fades immediately after the wench is removed and I rub it.

Any more ideas about what is causing the bloodflow to be cutoff?

I have the same problem with my bib, I have only not had it once, and I am still trying to figure out what I did differently. Think wrapping and hanging further from the head may have had something to do with it.

Blueness goes away after I remove the Bib also.

Until I can figure out what it is…I don’t think I’ll be hanging. Not worth risking injury. I’ll experiment with different wrapping techniques until I get it right I guess. If I find anything out I’ll report back…until then advice is still appreciated =)

Buy some doctor latex gloves and cut them to make a good and firm wrap, and after a set on PEing use a hot wrap to help circulation and loose that blue color..! :)

Peace!

Mach-
Please keep in mind that all I or anyone else can do is relate information and suggestions gathered from personal experience and consensus. How you process that and use it is entirely your call, and I would never encourage you to go against your own better judgement; if you feel it best to cool off on the hanging you should.

That said, given all of the information you have provided it appears to me that you are experiencing a pretty common problem. The fact that you can hang lighter weight - as well as the ten pounds up until a point - and not suffer the discoloration, suggests vascular stress and general conditioning as the culprit.

Regardless of the device you use, circulation to the glans is partially restricted. This is due to a combination of the device itself shutting off some of that blood flow as well as stress being applied to the veins and capillaries of your unit.

As these blood channels become conditioned to stress, blood flow improves.
As we go up in weight and add new stresses to them, blood flow decreases.
In many cases, the stress becomes overwhelming and blood flow completely stops.

Think of it in the same terms as your maximum weight: You know not to exceed a certain weight amount because it causes physical pain to do so. As you become more conditioned, you will one day be able to exceed that weight, and more.
The same thing applies here: The veins and capillaries in your unit have met their max weight - but instead of crying out in pain they reveal their stress in the form of discoloration. The stress has stretched and thinned them to the point of shutting off blood flow.

My personal opinion is that working through this will yield better results than stopping a routine. Not hanging will cause these internals to decondition and likely make the problem worse - or at the very least make the problem a persistent one.

The good news came when you said the discoloration quickly fades and a normal, healthy pigmentation returns. Blood flow has been shut off for a time, but not long enough for damage to be done. This is why set time is kept to a standard 20 minutes (never exceed 20 minutes!). Tissue damage caused by oxygen deprivation usually begins at around the 17 minute mark - and given that discoloration generally happens late into the standard 20 minute set we are keeping ourselves within a safe range.

Mild jelqing between sets does a great job of fully restoring circulation to the glans.

Whatever you decide, always approach complications like this with a great deal of caution. Be smart. Be careful. Especially be on the lookout for numbness; although it is a totally different issue (pressure exerted on nerves) it is a villain.

>I check the head for temperature throughout the set by touch, however since I'm doing btc, it's rather difficult to see. Next time I will stand up and check it occasionally. <

Periodic touching of the glans is very useful, so keep doing that. A way around the BTC “glans out of sight” issue is to keep a hand-held mirror nearby and use it to observe the glans. Make sure to keep the area well lit so you get a very accurate idea of how your color looks.

Do not confuse blood spotting and bruising for tissue death. I personally have not come across a report of tissue death - I can’t say for certain that it hasn’t happened - but I see plenty of instances of bruising et al. These battle wounds usually fade pretty quickly.

I hope this all helps.
-Cap

mach,

What cap said.
+
How much did you jump in weight to get to 10 pounds?
+
My moneys on the wrapping being the problem.

SS4

Thanks for the replies, I think I’ll try the doctors glove wrapping. I recall when I use a lighter setting on cable clamp circulation is fine, but it slips off. with teh aid of the gloves stickiness maybe it will stay. Knowing that the blueness does not necessarily mean I’m causing permanent damage helps as well. That was the fear driving me. Good idea with the mirror, that will comfort me to be able to see that my head is not being torn life from limb! :) jk

SS4Jelq, I went from 3 lbs to 5 lbs within a week, then 8 lbs the next week, and 10 lbs the following.

mach,

>SS4Jelq, I went from 3 lbs to 5 lbs within a week, then 8 lbs the next week, and 10 lbs the following.<

OK, work on the wrapping and take Cap’s advice. Drop weight to say, 7 pounds, and increase by 1 pound per week. If you get the problems after increasing weight, then stay at the current weight for a while longer. But definitely get the wrapping sorted.

SS4

Mach,

I’d definitely agree with SS4. I am still amazed how quick you guys jump up in weight! I just can’t do that.