To Better Days Patches Review For Chronic Pain

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[ Update 2023 : Sadly the To Better Days brand has ceased due to lack of funding for their development ]

A little while ago, a brand called To Better Days got in touch with me. Without requiring anything from me, they asked if I’d like to try some of their patches. I’m always keen to try new things in the lifestyle, health and wellness categories so I wanted to share my thoughts here. The To Better Days patch is an incredibly innovative product that could serve as a super convenient management tool for some individuals with occasional or chronic pain, and they now also produce specialised patches for migraines.

About The Brand

This is a contemporary, warm and light-hearted brand that works on the level of the customer. The products are designed with the user in mind and they seem genuinely enthused about making sure their customers are satisfied. 

The brand is new but already it continues to innovate and develop, so I can see To Better Days growing greatly in popularity and going from strength to strength in the future. 

To Better Days Patches : What Are They?

These are pain patches with a difference. You might have come across other patches, like I have, designed to help with pain, often ones that provide a warming sensation. I’ve never come across anything quite like these in the To Better Days range, so I was really intrigued when I learned more about what’s in them and how they work. 

They come in two sizes: Small Joint Pack & Big Joint Pack. The former are smaller, thinner strips, and the latter are large rectangular patches for bigger areas. They also offer a trial pack which comes with 6 small and 3 large patches so you can give them a try and see what you prefer. To Better Days is a very focused brand, so the range is small and concise but is due to grow with the inclusion of migraine patches. I think the concentrated effort is a positive here.

The patches themselves are a bit like thin, light-coloured plasters that you just apply to an area of your skin where you’re having problems with pain, then you leave it there to work its magic. They’re designed to last & give benefit for at least 24hrs on your skin.

How Do To Better Days Patches Work?

This is a fresh, innovative product based on scientific theory that combines the simple but effective power of Vitamin D and Dextrose.

Vitamin D is vital for the healthy functioning of our bodies, particularly when it comes to healthy bones, muscles, nerves and joints. The To Better Days patches release a dose of this so-called “sunshine vitamin” directly to that area once it’s on your skin. Topical application like this gets the Vitamin D quickly and efficiently to your body and, if you have nerve-related pain, the brand claims that the vitamin is “absorbed by your body to the damaged nerve”. 

Related Reading : The Sunshine Vitamin – Why Vit D Is So Important

Dextrose is a simple sugar derived from corn, chemically identical to blood sugar or glucose, commonly found in pharmaceuticals as well as foods and sweeteners. Being a simple sugar means the body can utilise it quickly for energy, which is a speedy pick-me-up when your blood sugar’s low.

So, why this combination?  The mix of 30mg dextrose and 30,000IU Vitamin D to the skin’s epidermis provides non-medicinal, targeted pain relief in hours by affecting the nerve endings below the skin associated with pain. 

To Better Days provides further evidence on their website, but essentially they refer to research indicating how low blood sugar can relate to chronic pain. From this, it’s thought that the application of glucose directly to the pain-specific nerve cells, called nociceptors, can help them function more adequately and reduce pain. To get to those pain receptors it needs a boost from Vitamin D.

To Better Days undertook consumer research in 2020 to see how their products impacted pain on real people. Unfortunately this was a very small sample size of only 29 people, but 83% of them reported an improvement to their pain.

How long do they take to work? From this same research, it was found that 80% of the participants that benefited from the patches said they noticed an improvement to pain within the first day of use. Of those people, 63% noticed that improvement within a mere 30 minutes of the patch application.

Who Are These Patches Suitable For?

The To Better Days range is designed for all adults experiencing ongoing pain. They’re free from lactose, gluten and latex, but they’re not suitable for vegans. The brand is looking for a vegan-alternative vitamin D for the concentrations required in the product. 

The brand states these are suitable for most people, including those who’ve previously experienced adverse affects from painkillers, those with IBS, and those with lactose intolerance. Patches are also a good alternative for those that struggle with oral tablets for whatever reason. 

The brand notes that these are safe for diabetics because the quantity of sugar is so low, below what’s usually contained in food. Nonetheless, always speak to your doctor if you have any queries before taking Dextrose products when you have diabetes.

No specific guidance is given for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding other than to speak to your doctor first.

To Better Days Migraine Patches

To Better Days have been working hard to create a new product for this line specifically for migraine sufferers. These patches take the same style as the regular joint and muscle packs, but they’re small, circular patches that you can put where required, such as your forehead or temple to help with migraines or headaches.

Pain Patches : Convenient Use

• These are mess-free. Just peel off a patch, pop it on your skin and forget about it. This makes them particularly convenient for use anywhere, any time. 

• Only use these on clean, dry, unbroken skin. Having things like moisturiser or oil on your skin may impact the adhesion. 

• You can use more than one patch at a time, and you can cut patches to shape if required. 

• They’re non-invasive and fast acting so they get to work quickly targeting your pain, joints, muscles and nerves. 

• Without medications and associated side-effects, they’re a pill-free alternative that could be used solo or alongside your usual treatments and medications. 

• To Better Days patches are safe to use and without known interaction to other treatments. That said, things work differently for everyone so in the unlikely event the product causes any issues or irritation, discontinue use immediately and speak to your GP if you have any concerns. I’ve personally found these to be perfectly okay in use, with no side-effects and no problems at all to report.

To Better Days Pain Patches : My Experience

I admire the brand’s user-centric warm and inspiring approach. The products themselves are innovative and different to anything else on the market, yet they’re still so simple and versatile to use. It’s great to have such a fuss-free, convenient product at hand for when you want it. 

Any product or medication will work differently for anyone. I like these for my shoulders and knotted muscles in that region, but I don’t notice a massive difference and they sadly don’t do anything for the debilitating pain in my back and hips as a result of nerve damage and metal tacks in my back, nor my inflammation-related migraines. Tramadol (a synthetic opioid) does help to keep me functional but it doesn’t take away the pain and nothing else even comes close to helping. That’s just me. That said, I still use other products like heat pads, ice packs, rubs and so on, and so To Better Days pain patches are another such another tool to help people manage their experience. These can then be complimentary to physical therapy, pacing, stretching and any other ways you find to support your wellbeing and physical health.

Such things like heat pads and rubs don’t touch the pain for me in any meaningful way, but they do make the experience a little more tolerable and they’re all tools in the toolbox that I’ve come to find some comfort in.

I’m hesitant to share how these do or don’t work well for me because that doesn’t really mean much. What works for one person may not work for the next; you’ll never know if or how something may work for you unless or until you try it. I’ve had a look through testimonials, the brand’s social pages and other reviews and there seem to be a lot of people who love these and find them beneficial for managing pain and keeping them more mobile to go about their daily lives. I’d say they’re well worth giving a try.

I personally see these as an add-on product for managing pain and making yourself a little more comfortable, while also being a way of practicing self-care and of keeping mobile. That may be in addition to prescription or OTC medications, pacing, alternative therapies like acupressure, physiotherapy or any other services and products you may use.

In a nutshell? It’s a warm, innovative company that cares about their users and creates top-quality products designed to help with a very real problem. The products may support some people to go about their day to day lives as they manage chronic pain, and every little helps in making such an intolerable thing a little more bearable. As these are much simpler and safer than many alternatives, they’re a brilliant option to try.

Have you come across the To Better Days brand before? Is this product range something you’d like to try?

Caz  ♥

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[ These products have been freely gifted by the brand ]