Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
This post describes my experience with hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). It is not an endorsement of whether or not it would help you, but a description of my experience with it.
I was talking about trying this treatment with my walking partner one morning, and it turns out his wife had recently heard about it at her job. One of her regular patients (she’s a dental hygienist) owned a facility that does HBOT. He had given her a case study or two of patients with IBM who had gotten results from this treatment. One of the women in the case studies had gone to HBOT therapy for wound healing and found some relief in her IBM as well - both in hand strength and swallowing. She sent me a copy of that study and I stopped in to see what it was all about. It looks like a little submarine showroom, as the chambers are lined up in a U shape.
Dr. Borsand at RX-O2 (where I receive care) described HBOT treatment as delivering extra oxygen into the body, mainly by increasing the pressure the body is normally under. Increased pressure allows oxygen to dissolve and saturate more effectively in the blood system, primarily the plasma, yielding a broad variety of positive psychological, biochemical, and cellular effects. This noninvasive therapy is a medically accepted way to increase oxygen levels in all body organs.
Here is my experience:
First, I spent nearly an hour with the on-site doctor discussing what I hoped to get from the treatment and his assessment of whether it would help me. It was on that first visit I told the staff I was claustrophobic. They took me to a chamber and asked if I wanted to sit in it to try it out. I did okay with that, and then I asked them to shut the door but stay there in case I freaked out. I decided it was pretty roomy and said I would try one treatment at least.
They start out with low pressure while breathing 100% oxygen through a nasal cannula. They put a timer on the window so you can see how much time is left. That helped me remain calm. I stayed sitting up the entire time, but lying down would’ve been possible. Many people take a nap, I am told. My ears initially hated the treatment because it is like takeoff and landing when they adjust the pressure. On the second visit, I learned they had an equalizing device that would help my ears pop, and it made a huge difference.
After this first treatment, I was really tired. I just went to bed early and slept 11 hours. After that, I was fine for my regular day after most treatments. Once in a while, if I had not slept well the night before, I would go to bed early also. I am finding I have much better sleep since doing these treatments. I also have a noticeable difference in hand strength. Before treatment, I could not even open a simple water bottle. Now I am opening many kinds of bottles. Also, I was able to unplug our Tesla and open the dishwasher. My hubs had made me a tool to do that, but it is unnecessary now. I do not expect that my hands will be cured, though. It just gave blood flow to those muscles I still have, and until they become affected, I may have some skills back for a while. Now, I hope to start seeing some help with my trouble swallowing.
My family commented on how good my skin looked, like blood was really flowing into the tissues and putting color back in my cheeks. I have gone more than 16 times now and have much improvement, as I said, in my hands and maybe a small improvement in swallowing. I do hope I experience more relief with swallowing since it was one of the things one of the women in the case studies reported after her HBOT treatment.
One of the clinic staffers thinks my treatment would be a great case study, which is exciting. I’m happy about my own results and would love it if others could also experience improvement. Meanwhile, I’ll let you know how it is going.
Some links for more information:
“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
This blog post is based on personal experiences and is not meant to provide medical advice.
Always consult your healthcare professional for personalized guidance on your health journey.
