High Dose oxygen therapy. Experiences?

[globalpilot]

That's great Athene. I am going to be starting next week. My protocal is a bit differetnt though. 6litres/minute instead of your 10 for 2 hours a day for 18 days. I imagine if it helps this will be ongoing.

 

[froufox]

Hi Justy,

Just to share my experience, I am having weekly HBOT sessions at my local MS therapy centre at the moment...Ive had about 12 so far this year...I had already had 2 sessions last yr a few months apart and i definitely noticed some benefits in stamina after each of those treatments, so decided to experiment with weekly sessions. The MS centres do often recommend doing a course of intensive treatments with 2-4 sessions per week and although I know that some people with ME/CFS can tolerate these intensive courses, personally I found that I can feel rough after each session, so i have just stuck with the weekly sessions and the centre that I go to were happy for me to do this.

So far I have had 4 sessions at 16.5 feet and have gradually increased to 24 feet. As I say I usually feel worse after each session but not necessarily during the session or even on the same day....usually over the following 2 days ... I think thats partly PEM from the effort of getting to the centre, but its also due to herxing - I have lyme and other infections and people with lyme and other bacterial infections are known to herx from HBOT ... since a lot of us PWME are harbouring chronic infections I would definitely advise to start at the lowest depth at first just to see if u can tolerate it. When I herx my brain gets more inflamed and I feel depressed (both typical herx symptoms for me)....but once that passes I notice that I do feel a bit better than before so that proves to me that it is a herx.

I also assume that the feeling worse might be partly due to oxidative stress. As JDJ says in her blog in regard to treating autistic children they recommend checking for glutathione first before treating as otherwise the oxygen can create too much oxidative stress (also fitting in with Cheney's ideas of oxygen toxicity)....I have low glutathione I guess like a lot of us and this might also explain why I feel worse after each session. I do take glutathione aswell as other antioxidants eg vit C, CoQ10, astaxanthin and vit E after each session....they do seem to help though i can still feel rough the next day so they dont protect against it completely.

Despite the feeling worse aspect, I have also noticed that in general I seem to have a bit more stamina and my brain has been working a bit better at times since starting the HBOT eg better concentration. However, I am pretty up and down generally and for me its really important to keep my gut/diet under control, aswell as not overdoing things physically, so that my inflammation levels dont get too high generally, otherwise everything goes belly-up and i get a lot more inflammation from the HBOT. So basically if ive been "good" with my diet, I reap the benefits of HBOT more.

Just to add like you I also tend to have low ferritin, and have been doing the vit B2/manganese like Aquariusgirl, and this seems to be enhancing iron/oxygen utilisation/metabolism in my case too. I also think that the B2 has at times decreased the oxidative stress that ive had from the HBOT, maybe because it recycles glutathione.

Hope that helps and good luck if u try it!

 

[jenbooks]

I don't think you generate that much oxidative stress in the body with hbot at reasonable levels, given that you're already having much worse free radical damage due to hypoxia at a cellular level.

Keep your eyes closed to avoid oxygen across the cornea, and try to do 1.5 or below. Higher is not necessarily better.

 

[justy]

Thanks for all the replies - its such useful information to have. The increased oxidative stress is worrying as this is abig issue for me - i have low glutathione and selenium and gene blockages on SODase. BUT the B12 injections are helping with that.

I think i am going to have tophysically go down to the centre and talk to them - maybe try a couple of sessions a week at low levels to see how it goes.
Thanks!

 

[froufox]

I don't think you generate that much oxidative stress in the body with hbot at reasonable levels, given that you're already having much worse free radical damage due to hypoxia at a cellular level.

Keep your eyes closed to avoid oxygen across the cornea, and try to do 1.5 or below. Higher is not necessarily better.

Ok thanks jenbooks, I dont know if what I have experienced is too much or just "normal". However I have to say that it does seem to be getting better, thankfully. If it wasnt, I'd go back to a lower depth. Part of the feeling worse afterwards is due to PEM and the exertion expended to get to the centre.

I think I'd struggle to keep my eyes closed to be honest as I get bored in there and have books & newspapers with me to read, but it does concern me and I remember reading about the problems you had with your eyes from HBOT, so I know that there are risks and I'll certainly keep an eye on things, pardon the pun Did u do an intensive course of dives? What depths did u go to? I cant remember now. Thanks.

 

[Athene]

I did read some research saying that HBOT and EWOT do not increase oxidative stress, provided you take antioxidant supplements.
I'm afraid I cannot remember where I read it, but it was a proper research paper, definitely respectable.

 

[heapsreal]

I work in emergency health care field, there are studies coming out saying that oxygen should only be given to those with low oxygen levels as oxygen therapy can increase oxidation etc etc and can worsen conditions that are routinely given oxygen like chest pain/heart attacks unless oxygen saturations are low, also the same is for head injuries and other conditions in general. Evidence of these studies is being put into practise in australian hospitals.

I just mention this for people to consider. Also studies and good effects people get from hyperbaric oxygen chambers for heeling injuries etc.

what to do , what to do??

cheers!!!

 

[xks201]

I'm experimenting with bronchodilators. I had asthma as a kid and feel like maybe I still do. My breathing is very shallow and infrequent.

 

[heapsreal]

bronchodilators also have effects on the heart and central nervous system, so like a stimulant, so these other effects could help you??

 

[jenbooks]

Please see my extensive post correcting some significant errors on Jamie Deckoff-Jones' blog on hbot. She first said there were no de novo cataracts from deep dive hbot; the literature says otherwise. I gave her the citations, but her erratum left some out, and even her erratum misquoted the one (a woman developed cataracts after finishing 48 sessions, per a pubmed abstract, and Deckoff-Jones mis-cites that as 150 sessions. I asked her to correct that but she has not.)

http://forums.phoenixrising.me/show...-Jamie-Deckoff-Jones-Blog&p=256455#post256455

As to keeping your eyes closed, frou, for deeper pressures it's important. Astronauts and pilots have cataracts earlier and at higher rates (36 of 39 astronauts, and a significantly higher number of pilots) than the general population. That's from ionizing radiation. I suspect a good retrospective study of hbot participants deep dive over say, a 20 year period, would find a higher rate of cataracts than normal. I wish such a study would be done.

If that bores you, just buy some welder's goggles or sportsman's goggles and read or watch a movie through those.

As to oxygen toxicity--I think doing it every day at high flow rates, whether under pressure or not, might be questionable for lung health long term and would talk with a pulmonologist about that if you're planning it as a treatment option. But that's just intuitive on my part, a lung specialist would have a better idea.

 

[froufox]

Thanks jenbooks I'll read through your post. There are obviously more risks to the eyes than are acknowledged, as u say it would good if they did more research into this. Does the risk of cataracts just apply to those wearing a hood though? In the diving bell I dont wear a hood, I breathe the oxygen through a mask over my nose and mouth, so presumably that cuts down/eliminates any risk to the eyes?

 

[jenbooks]

Hi frou, that definitely cuts it down. Under 2.0 and using a mask is safer--but of course, only limited studies have been done.

 

[soulfeast]

are you all using a 10 or 20 psi machine and Athene, if you catch this, how is the EWOT going?

 

[Abha]

I have been doing intense oxygen therapy for 18 months.

I have a tankof oxygen at home beside an exercise bike and I breathe oxygen at 10 litres/minute for 20 minutes, while cycling slowly - the movement ensures the oxygen penetrates into all the cells. It is fantastic, I feel much better when I do it. I have had periods when I have lapsed, and then felt myself declining in energy and general health.

I also take a brief puff of oxygen when I get brain fog - which it usually clears up miraculously - and it also often can cure a headache in a matter of minutes.

Hi Athene,

Glad to hear that your treatment is helping you.What type of oxygen tank are you using?Was it costly? Today I was looking at a recent Dr Mercola interview video where he interviewed Dr. Robert Rowen, an expert on oxidative therapy.It was mainly about ebola but interesting all the same.

Re Ebola/Sierra Leone....
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/01/04/ebola-ozone-therapy-
This interview awakened my interest in oxygen therapies again.