PeterPan Posted February 25, 2021 Posted February 25, 2021 Hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Someone was telling me today it's the bomb for concussions. I've clearly reinjured my head sledding, so at this point sitting in a chamber that magically fixes it sounds perfect. Any experience with this? How would I know I'm finding the kind that will fix me? 1 Quote
ktgrok Posted February 25, 2021 Posted February 25, 2021 No, but growing up my friend's dad owned a company that developed and sold the chambers! He would show us all these before and aftr photos of gangrene and wounds that were treated in them, lol. So gross at the time! 2 Quote
PeterPan Posted February 25, 2021 Author Posted February 25, 2021 14 minutes ago, ktgrok said: No, but growing up my friend's dad owned a company that developed and sold the chambers! He would show us all these before and aftr photos of gangrene and wounds that were treated in them, lol. So gross at the time! We need our WOW emoticon back! 1 Quote
BlsdMama Posted February 25, 2021 Posted February 25, 2021 There are people who swear they are better for neurological function. I’ve heard of it in ALS circles, but I’ll just say if they worked as well as they’re sold to work, every ALS patient wold own one, so I’m awfully skeptical. Have you googled: hyperbaric concussions nih to see if you get any hits on real studies? 1 1 Quote
PeterPan Posted February 25, 2021 Author Posted February 25, 2021 46 minutes ago, BlsdMama said: There are people who swear they are better for neurological function. I’ve heard of it in ALS circles, but I’ll just say if they worked as well as they’re sold to work, every ALS patient wold own one, so I’m awfully skeptical. Have you googled: hyperbaric concussions nih to see if you get any hits on real studies? Yeah, I'm googling and the first study I read (remember my brain is really wigging me, hard to read right now) said good for significant concussion and more sketchy for mild. But the issue was one the small sample size, two how recent/long ago the injuries were, and three that it was hard to make sham treatments. So even the evaluators of the data thought it was just hard to say too much about. My person said 4 treatments = miracle. To me, four treatments is a nothing. But I think the data on the "soft" HBOT is looking more sketchy, and that's what the ASD circles online talk about to the tune of big bucks. So I'm gonna call tomorrow for a place that has the hard and they have multiplace units that you sit in and wear hoods (vs. monopods that would be claustraphobic). My person said it was obvious after the first treatment it was doing something, so I figure I'll know at that point. Quote
PeterPan Posted February 25, 2021 Author Posted February 25, 2021 Fwiw, I've been prone to headaches for some time now and simple fresh air does seem to help. So at least for me, it doesn't seem so outlandish to think more all at once could be good. Quote
BeachGal Posted February 25, 2021 Posted February 25, 2021 (edited) I belong to a group where members use oxygen therapies to treat different health problems or to improve their general health. One member has done about 400 hbot sessions to treat severe brain injuries from playing football that had left him suicidal. It has worked well for him. He eventually bought his own chamber to save money. For a concussion hbot is the #1 way I’d choose to treat it myself. Shai Efrati, an MD at Tel Aviv University in Israel, has been doing a lot of research using hbot to treat concussions, traumatic brain injury, stroke, etc. If you search for him, you'll be able to find out more. Not sure if this is a decent site for finding a physician who offers hbot but it might be worth a try: http://www.hyperbariclink.com/treatment-centers/treatment-centers.aspx If you do try it, I’d be curious to hear how it works for you. Hope you find something that helps! Edited February 25, 2021 by BeachGal 1 1 Quote
klmama Posted February 25, 2021 Posted February 25, 2021 Interesting. I hadn't heard it was used for concussions. I know someone who took her two autistic dds to get HBOT treatments back in the early 2000s. The dds were very different, and as happened with most things they tried, HBOT helped one and not the other. The one it helped was non-verbal; after a couple of HBOT treatments, she started speaking. It was pretty amazing. 2 1 Quote
Starr Posted February 25, 2021 Posted February 25, 2021 13 hours ago, ktgrok said: No, but growing up my friend's dad owned a company that developed and sold the chambers! He would show us all these before and aftr photos of gangrene and wounds that were treated in them, lol. So gross at the time! Many years ago I accompanied a hospitalized patient in Florida to his treatments. The chamber was used for treating people with the bends from scuba diving but they were starting to see results with the massive wounds. In his case he lost his leg eventually. It was weird being inside and having someone on the outside controlling your oxygen. Quote
Carol in Cal. Posted February 25, 2021 Posted February 25, 2021 I know a brain doctor who uses this, and a friend of mine took her mother to him and it improved her dementia quite a bit--not cured but much better. He has other methods as well that are also kind of cutting edge. They are all pretty noninvasive so it's not that hard to try them. I know there are some contradindications though, so I'd want to go through a doctor that is careful rather than just a practitioner. 1 1 Quote
Spryte Posted February 25, 2021 Posted February 25, 2021 Not concussions, but I was in a support group for people with - essentially - brain infections. HBOT was a fairly common treatment, and people reported good results. All anecdotal, of course. 1 Quote
PeterPan Posted February 26, 2021 Author Posted February 26, 2021 Well I'm back! I did two sessions today at 1.5, which they're saying is concussion protocol. I went in with nausea from vertigo, headaches, disorientation, brain fog, talking at half speed, etc. After the first session my neck and back popped all up and down and I got my range of motion back. I wasn't even expecting that. My headaches are down dramatically and much more localized rather than diffuse. (I expect that to resolve with more cranial sacral, because that's how it feels, like it's fascia.) I was still noticeably stiff and sluggish after the first but started improving during the break. With the 2nd, I came out more like my ADHD energetic bouncy self, chatting up a storm. Now I'm thirsty and very TIRED. I normally don't go to bed for 3-4 more hours, so that's pretty dramatic. I wondered if my improvement was just getting rest, but it's not or I wouldn't now be YAWNING! So I'm going to do at least 2 more sessions and see where I'm at as well as some more cranial sacral to fix that tight spot. I'm excited to see how I feel in the morning after my body has had time to USE what got put in. It kinda feels like when you have a really good day at the beach and spend hours and hours walking. Like all that clear headed, really awesome feeling. Also I think I'm part mermaid, because the dab of extra pressure feels really good. I can see why they suggest it for spectrum, because it's really good. And when you go in, it's so QUIET. You watch tv with a piped feed, but all the noise of the world (tech, etc. ) is gone. It's so peaceful, just bliss. So I'm super glad I did it. For the comparatively low price, it's definitely worth a try for something that seems like it might possibly respond. I'm not totally convinced they aren't motivated to extend it out and keep the pressures low to extend sessions. But what matters is it works and didn't hurt me, only good so far. The vertigo is the weirdest thing. I kept having to redo the exercises because it kept coming back, coming back, and it seems like the HBOT calmed something in there down. We'll see if it holds. I assume their answer would be more sessions, hahaha, 7 Quote
BeachGal Posted February 26, 2021 Posted February 26, 2021 I’m glad you’re feeling better after your first sessions! Just think, cruising might be in your future again soon so might as well work on those concussion symptoms now.😊 Some of the people on the hbot forum that I mentioned do have to do an extra session or so every now and then after their initial treatment. They are usually former football and rugby players who experienced multiple concussions. It doesn't sound like yours was too bad so maybe your initial treatments will do the trick. Thanks for sharing your experience and I hope you continue improving! Quote
PeterPan Posted February 26, 2021 Author Posted February 26, 2021 3 hours ago, BeachGal said: I’m glad you’re feeling better after your first sessions! Just think, cruising might be in your future again soon so might as well work on those concussion symptoms now.😊 Some of the people on the hbot forum that I mentioned do have to do an extra session or so every now and then after their initial treatment. They are usually former football and rugby players who experienced multiple concussions. It doesn't sound like yours was too bad so maybe your initial treatments will do the trick. Thanks for sharing your experience and I hope you continue improving! Yeah I’ve wondered about that. I can feel that a touch up every so often would fix things that log up on me. We’ll see how many sessions. I’m doing two more today then off for the weekend. I probably also have a high threshold for pain I let go. I’m likely to undertreat in that sense. So I’m watching for improvement vs saying was is tolerable. If I’m improving I should continue. But it’s definitely doing something. Theyre claiming inflammation holds gasses. So I have previous injuries and issues that are doing stuff (hurting one session, popping the next). It’s weird but good lol. Quote
PeterPan Posted March 4, 2021 Author Posted March 4, 2021 On 2/24/2021 at 10:39 PM, BeachGal said: I belong to a group where members use oxygen therapies Hey, do you have a link for this? I'm having questions and could stand to discuss more. I'm trying to make sure I'm doing this optimally. I've been having fatigue from it, which they said could happen, but I've been concerned about letting that go and want better answers. I'm also not sure whether the treatment protocol (1.5 each time, never changing) is ideal for my situation. It's easy for them as operators but it may be extending the number of sessions unnecessarily, don't know. Quote
BeachGal Posted March 6, 2021 Posted March 6, 2021 On 3/4/2021 at 8:35 AM, PeterPan said: Hey, do you have a link for this? I'm having questions and could stand to discuss more. I'm trying to make sure I'm doing this optimally. I've been having fatigue from it, which they said could happen, but I've been concerned about letting that go and want better answers. I'm also not sure whether the treatment protocol (1.5 each time, never changing) is ideal for my situation. It's easy for them as operators but it may be extending the number of sessions unnecessarily, don't know. Try contacting Dr. Paul Harch to ask for his opinion on your treatment. Your best bet is to work with an MD who has significant experience using hbot. https://hbot.com/dr-paul-harch/ Quote
PeterPan Posted March 6, 2021 Author Posted March 6, 2021 2 hours ago, BeachGal said: Try contacting Dr. Paul Harch to ask for his opinion on your treatment. Your best bet is to work with an MD who has significant experience using hbot. https://hbot.com/dr-paul-harch/ Thanks, I wrote him. So if you want the nitty gritty, there's a doc in our state who's doing it, and he's the doc who made me sick with all kinds of chelation and crap years ago. I literally have scars from a burn I got and the way it didn't heal because I was so nutrient deficient despite taking all his stuff. He had zero clue what he was doing then and probably doesn't now. And the guy running the machines is doing the work, not the doctor. He's just jack of all trades, peddling things. (that's a rant) We'll see if this Dr. H writes me back. He's probably not allowed to say much or will have to be generic, sigh. Whoa, there's a Raisin' Canes near his office! Haha, maybe it's a sign I should go. No seriously, that's nuts. This local clinic is using the same machines, so it's just a matter of using them optimally. Are there any studies on it or a general conscensus on forums? I think partly it's unrealistic to think that I can have 4X as many injuries as the friend who referred me and expect to heal in the same amount of time. However I do think if you're going to do 10-20 or more sessions you want to do them optimally. So we'll see. I seem to be having trouble getting that question answered. Quote
PeterPan Posted March 6, 2021 Author Posted March 6, 2021 (edited) 3 minutes ago, Seasider too said: LOL as an old scuba diver, my goal for many years was to AVOID a chamber ride! Oh but you don't know how FUN it is!! You get to chew gum and watch movies for 90 minutes and there are NO KIDS and NO DISHES and no stresses. Just blissful peace and quiet. Even my tinnitus goes away and nothing hurts. I'm half worried I'd keep doing it just for the mental health. LOL Edited March 6, 2021 by PeterPan Quote
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