• Welcome to Phoenix Rising!

    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of and finding treatments for complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

    To become a member, simply click the Register button at the top right.

Long-term daily mHBOT and full recoveries w/ ongoing maintenance

Messages
35
Thanks.
The last thing I want to do is take antibiotics as I think the Rifaxamin/Flagyl SIBO treatment in September 2016 tipped me into CFS.
I was tested for Lyme.
Regardless, I wanted to share my success in the hopes that it could help someone.
 

frederic83

Senior Member
Messages
296
Location
France
Thanks.
The last thing I want to do is take antibiotics as I think the Rifaxamin/Flagyl SIBO treatment in September 2016 tipped me into CFS.
I was tested for Lyme.
Regardless, I wanted to share my success in the hopes that it could help someone.

How long were you sick ?

You say that the antibiotic treatment triggered your CFS, but you were sick before. You did not have typical CFS symptoms before the antibiotics ?
 
Messages
35
I was not sick before the course of antibiotics.
I slowly became ill Fall of 2016. I started hyperbaric in July 2017. I started to feel better a few weeks later, in August.
 
Messages
35
I had tested postive for methane SIBO. I had digestive symptoms such as bloating. But I wasn't ill.
I can't say for sure that the antibiotics tipped me into illness. I finished the antibiotics in September and began to feel ill in October. It took a few months to get bad.
 

frederic83

Senior Member
Messages
296
Location
France
This is similar to what happened to my son. He had Giardia and was given Flagyl - a few weeks later, he woke up with ME symptoms

That happened in Norway too. Could it be the flagyl that induces ME ?

I had tested postive for methane SIBO. I had digestive symptoms such as bloating. But I wasn't ill.
I can't say for sure that the antibiotics tipped me into illness. I finished the antibiotics in September and began to feel ill in October. It took a few months to get bad.

Would you say your SIBO is cured or you feel better, in remission and you plan to follow your diet and supplements ?
 
Messages
35
Hi Frederic,
I would say I don't care about SIBO anymore. To be clear, my diet is crazy strict and weird. It's no grains, starches or yeast. It's like a bagel and a Chardonnay would kill me. I eat lots of low fat protein and vegetables. I've lost over 25 lbs, but for me that's a good thing. I started eating like this last December when I got it in my head that certain foods were causing some symptoms. It's true that if I'm careful, there's no bloating. My brain fog, bloating and mood are better with very low carb. But I'm not saying it's healthy. I don't know.
It seems to me that SIBO is impossible to cure and may be a symptom of other root causes. Dr. Mark Pimentel writes about chronic constipation causing it and the need to take care of that condition or the SIBO will come back.
For me, all those years of FODMAP, SCD and other diets only controlled symptoms. There was never any cure. But I do believe that diet is critically important for reducing inflammation and controlling symptoms. I eat a lot of homemade chicken soup with low fat protein and vegetables. For me, I felt the effects right away - within 4 days.
Does your son have ME? I'm so sorry. Does anything work?
Maybe we had a certain balance of bacteria (maybe in our gut) and the Flagyl wiped out our good bacteria allowing the bad stuff to take hold? I'm very wary of probiotics and I don't take them. But other people report good results. Also, remember that hyperbaric works by suppressing bacteria growth.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC429203/
 

Hajnalka

Senior Member
Messages
910
Location
Germany
Hi @Laurajnyc, Thanks for sharing your story! You mentioned that your ME started last September/October and that you took part in a Lipkin study. Just out of interest, may I ask how long you were ill when you were recruited for the study? Thanks!
 
Last edited:

boohealth

Senior Member
Messages
243
Location
south
Thanks.
The last thing I want to do is take antibiotics as I think the Rifaxamin/Flagyl SIBO treatment in September 2016 tipped me into CFS.
I was tested for Lyme.
Regardless, I wanted to share my success in the hopes that it could help someone.

Yeah I can understand that. All I am saying is the likeliest answer for your "ME" and your response to high-pressure hbot is lyme as a sentinel infection. Could be other reasons, too, but fairly likely. In which case, hbot is a good ongoing therapy.
 

frederic83

Senior Member
Messages
296
Location
France
@Laurajnyc How would you rate your CFS state and your current state with this scale ? :

0 - Bedridden constantly
1 - Mostly bedridden
2 - leave house once a week, concentrate 1/hour a day
3 - leave house several times/week, two hours work/activity at home a day
4 - 3 to 4 hours of work/activity a day
5 - four to five hours/activity a day
6 - six to seven hours/activity a day
7 - able to work full-time but with difficulty
8 - near-normal activity level but still symptomatic
9 - normal activity level, mild symptoms
10- fully recovered

The scale is not perfect, so you can overlap several scales. For example, I consider myself to be between [3-4].
Thanks.

Hi @Laurajnyc, Thanks for sharing your story! You mentioned that your ME started last September/October and that you took part in a Lipkin study. Just out of interest, may I ask how long you were ill when you were recruited for the study? Thanks!

It is an interesting question. If I understand well, she fell sick (CFS) in September 2016, and the study was released in April 2017 ?
 
Last edited:

cigana

Senior Member
Messages
1,095
Location
UK
How does this fit in with the evidence that MECFS is associated with endothelial dysfunction (e.g. Fluge & Mella, Newton)?
Maybe endothelial dysfunction makes it harder for oxygen to be properly supplied to small blood vessels and HBOT overcomes this problem?
 
Messages
35
Hi @Laurajnyc, Thanks for sharing your story! You mentioned that your ME started last September/October and that you took part in a Lipkin study. Just out of interest, may I ask how long you were ill when you were recruited for the study? Thanks!
Hi Joh,
I would say I have CFS and not ME. I may be wrong but to me, ME suggests a condition where you are bedridden. I couldn't manage socializing or working outside of the home, but I could make it to a park and I could talk on the phone.
I was referred to Dr. Lipkin through my CFS doctor, Susan Levine. They work together. I began to get ill the end of 2016. My samples were collected by the Lipkin group in April or May 2017.
L.
@Laurajnyc How would you rate your CFS state and your current state with this scale ? :

0 - Bedridden constantly
1 - Mostly bedridden
2 - leave house once a week, concentrate 1/hour a day
3 - leave house several times/week, two hours work/activity at home a day
4 - 3 to 4 hours of work/activity a day
5 - four to five hours/activity a day
6 - six to seven hours/activity a day
7 - able to work full-time but with difficulty
8 - near-normal activity level but still symptomatic
9 - normal activity level, mild symptoms
10- fully recovered

The scale is not perfect, so you can overlap several scales. For example, I consider myself to be between [3-4].
Thanks.



It is an interesting question. If I understand well, she fell sick (CFS) in September 2016, and the study was released in April 2017 ?

I was stuck between 3/4. Now I'm 8.5/9.
Are you able to work from home? I am an IT Consultant so I would handle phone support. But I sent an associate out for onsite visits. I started seeing clients onsite again around 3 weeks ago.
 

frederic83

Senior Member
Messages
296
Location
France
Are you able to work from home? I am an IT Consultant so I would handle phone support. But I sent an associate out for onsite visits. I started seeing clients onsite again around 3 weeks ago.

I could work a few hours (2-3 hours) at home, probably. I actively spend my time searching a treatment.
 

Jesse2233

Senior Member
Messages
1,942
Location
Southern California
In the chamber for dive #3
 

Attachments

  • IMG_5851.JPG
    IMG_5851.JPG
    905.2 KB · Views: 37

Hip

Senior Member
Messages
17,824
@Jesse2233, are you breathing oxygen from a mask during your mild HBOT sessions?

If so, is this simple, loose-fitting mask (which I believe would typically supply oxygen at around 30% to 40%), or do they use a non-rebreather mask (which can supply up to around 90% oxygen)?
 
Last edited: