I have Fibro, ME, plus MCAS and POTS. I am considering Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy as a treatment and I'm curious about the experiences of people here. Has it helped you? Did it make things worse? Should I go ahead with it even though insurance doesn't cover it? Its pricey - 290$ a session. Let me know your thoughts!
Your experience with HBOT?
- Thread starter greyheron
- Start date
Hello!
As it happens, I've just started 'hard HBOT' treatments (2.4 ATA). I have travelled to Romania for them where the cost is 80 USD per session. I have had three treatments so far. I'll be posting about it on my YouTube channel regularly so you might want to follow my progress there. Here's the first video.
So far I really feel the oxygen getting into me. I feel a bit brighter and more with it cognitively.
The first session was hard on my body and I wasn't sure if I should postpone the 2nd one. But I did it anyway and actually felt better. I am feeling optimistic.
The pressure in the ears was strong during the pressurisation phase of the session. However, it was much less in sessions two and three. Apparently this is normal. I recommend practising the Valsalva manoeuvre in advance and to get good at equalising your ears.
As it happens, I've just started 'hard HBOT' treatments (2.4 ATA). I have travelled to Romania for them where the cost is 80 USD per session. I have had three treatments so far. I'll be posting about it on my YouTube channel regularly so you might want to follow my progress there. Here's the first video.
So far I really feel the oxygen getting into me. I feel a bit brighter and more with it cognitively.
The first session was hard on my body and I wasn't sure if I should postpone the 2nd one. But I did it anyway and actually felt better. I am feeling optimistic.
The pressure in the ears was strong during the pressurisation phase of the session. However, it was much less in sessions two and three. Apparently this is normal. I recommend practising the Valsalva manoeuvre in advance and to get good at equalising your ears.
Treeman
Senior Member
- Messages
- 869
- Location
- York, England
Hi, I have tried HBOT.
I felt an increased feeling of well being after each session but it didn’t improve my overall health. I did notice it appeared to stop dead in its tracks respirator viral infections.
I had about 28 1 hour sessions a year ago with a local charity which was about 45 minute drive for me. The ask for donations rather than charge you and suggest around US$22 a session.
My wife also has long covid and had the same number of treatments. She got no benefit from it. We’re in the UK.
Edit. We did 2-3 sessions a week.
Good luck
I felt an increased feeling of well being after each session but it didn’t improve my overall health. I did notice it appeared to stop dead in its tracks respirator viral infections.
I had about 28 1 hour sessions a year ago with a local charity which was about 45 minute drive for me. The ask for donations rather than charge you and suggest around US$22 a session.
My wife also has long covid and had the same number of treatments. She got no benefit from it. We’re in the UK.
Edit. We did 2-3 sessions a week.
Good luck
Last edited:
Thanks for responding and good luck with your treatments! 80$ a session seems like a steal!!!
I have a recurrent EBV(EpsteinBarr/Mono/HHSV-6) infection that my body just can't conquer which is why I'm researching HBOT. Every time I do physical activity, my EBV breaks out and I windup bedbound for a couple days. Great to hear that you had success with it regarding viruses! And 22$US is great! Apologies in advance if our administration here in the USA tariffs you... me: *laughing* then *crying*
Wayne
Senior Member
- Messages
- 4,585
- Location
- Ashland, Oregon
Hi @greyheron -- I'm a big believer in HBOT, especially mHBOT for pw/ME/CFS. I don't know if you ran across some of my posts on it, but I recently posted the following (below). The reason I like mHBOT for pw/ME/CFS especially is because it can be done it home, which gives you maximum control, which in turn maximizes the potential to get just the right amounts at the right time. Hard to replicate that in a clinical setting where they have their standardized way of doing things, and it's hard to deviate it from it.
(mild) Hyberbaric Oxygen Therapy. The link will take you to a good introductory video. THIS POST describes some of my own experiences with it.
Valsalva maneuver is terrific! I use it all the time when driving to places of higher elevation. Thanks for mentioning it and I'll be sure to use it. (I usually pinch my nose closed with my fingers and try to blow air out my ears. It pops my ears and helps equalize pressure)
Thank you, yes, your posts were the first that I read on this forum before I made my own post. *thumbs up*
Wayne
Senior Member
- Messages
- 4,585
- Location
- Ashland, Oregon
Just to mention, I often (usually) use my mHBOT using the maximum pressure of 1.3 ATM. This is still low compared to clinical HBOT chambers that go to 2.0 and higher. But with my sensitive system, even 1.3 ATM is too high at times for my comfort.
So I will often lower the pressure to almost negligible, but still breathing in the 100% oxygen. It has its own rejuvenation benefits, even without the pressure. I notice that when I go to sleep at the very low pressure, my sleep quality seems to be better than when I'm doing the 1.3 ATM. Sleep is so important!
Just an example of how being able to control the specifics of the HBOT treatment at all times is a very beneficial, at least for me it is. Others might not have the varying reactions that I do, so it may not be as important.
So I will often lower the pressure to almost negligible, but still breathing in the 100% oxygen. It has its own rejuvenation benefits, even without the pressure. I notice that when I go to sleep at the very low pressure, my sleep quality seems to be better than when I'm doing the 1.3 ATM. Sleep is so important!
Just an example of how being able to control the specifics of the HBOT treatment at all times is a very beneficial, at least for me it is. Others might not have the varying reactions that I do, so it may not be as important.
@greyheron
I had 15 hbot sessions a few years ago, I think each 1.5 hrs long. I coped alright, then had 4 months of increased ability to function. I was able to walk my dog twice a day! The improvement disappeared after 4 months. I think I should have kept doing them and I’m considering going back for more. So expensive though.
I had 15 hbot sessions a few years ago, I think each 1.5 hrs long. I coped alright, then had 4 months of increased ability to function. I was able to walk my dog twice a day! The improvement disappeared after 4 months. I think I should have kept doing them and I’m considering going back for more. So expensive though.
It'll be interesting to see how I respond to the pressure setting at the clinic. I fairly regularly travel to higher elevations via car and plane, so I'm accustomed to changing pressures...If the treatment really works out for me, I might just purchase an mHBOT to avoid the costs per session.
Two dog walks?!!!! That's wonderful!!! I can stand for about 5 minutes, but then have to sit down, reclining, to recover. PEM is sooooo intense. I hear you can purchase an mHBOT that works similarly. Have no idea about its price though. Wayne might know (see above comments)
Zebra
Senior Member
- Messages
- 1,040
- Location
- Northern California
Hey @greyheron
I'm NOT in any way trying to be a naysayer regarding HBOT, but for your own personal safety, I encourage you to really investigate the safety record of whatever clinic you go to and the age and maintenance records of their equipment.
I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you while you are striving to improve your health and well-being.
Best wishes!
I'm NOT in any way trying to be a naysayer regarding HBOT, but for your own personal safety, I encourage you to really investigate the safety record of whatever clinic you go to and the age and maintenance records of their equipment.
I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you while you are striving to improve your health and well-being.
Best wishes!
cfs since 1998
Senior Member
- Messages
- 797
Those of you responding, instead of saying you did X treatments and you did/didn't feel better, can you tell us how often they were? Like instead of saying you did 8 sessions, can you say "I did 8 sessions a day for 8 days" or "I did once a week for 8 weeks".
Wayne
Senior Member
- Messages
- 4,585
- Location
- Ashland, Oregon
There are businesses in some areas that rent out mHBOT chambers by the month. Last I heard around $600. Also, last I heard, Summit to Sea has a 30-day return policy on their units. Another way to use one for 30 days and see whether or not it's a good long-term investment. I've also heard they hold their value well, so perhaps a person could give it a good trial period of up to a year, and recoup most of their investment if it didn't seem worthwhile.
I often wish others on this forum could experience what I do literally on a daily basis. Go into the chamber with a certain level of energy, and almost always exit it with an increased level of energy. Many times I've gone from utter exhaustion to feeling I'm back to baseline or better in 1-2 hours. Even when my normal energy levels don't come back right away, at least the utter exhaustion feeling has lifted.
Not to say this would be everybody's experience. We're all different.
I paid around $8,500 for base model plus oxygen concentrator. You can get smaller units for even less. Or look for used ones for a lesser cost.
Last edited:
Wayne
Senior Member
- Messages
- 4,585
- Location
- Ashland, Oregon
Very good short video on HBOT and its effects on cytokines, both inflammatory and regulatory. I've found this man's HBOT videos to be the best I could find on YouTube. In his videos, he often talks about many other complimentary healing modalities, many that I think would be good to be considered by anyone with ME/CFS, such as red light therapy, PEMF, etc.
I consider him to be one of my top online/YouTube "consultants". He's got a lot of HBOT videos with some pretty priceless information--all at no cost. And he speaks from years of experience as an owner of an HBOT clinic, so he's seen the benefits of HBOT for many people, for many conditions, over many years. IMHO, some must viewing for anybody considering the big step of starting HBOT therapy.
I consider him to be one of my top online/YouTube "consultants". He's got a lot of HBOT videos with some pretty priceless information--all at no cost. And he speaks from years of experience as an owner of an HBOT clinic, so he's seen the benefits of HBOT for many people, for many conditions, over many years. IMHO, some must viewing for anybody considering the big step of starting HBOT therapy.
Last edited:
Treeman
Senior Member
- Messages
- 869
- Location
- York, England
I have watched a few of the videos made by this man and he comes across very well. However there was no data from research to back his claim, it’s therefore difficult to take his comments as scientifically accurate.
Wayne
Senior Member
- Messages
- 4,585
- Location
- Ashland, Oregon
Hi @Treeman -- There's much in the world of health that doesn't really have scientific backing. Most of the many things I've done that have helped me the most are in this category.
I've noticed over the years that much that has been touted to have scientific backing really doesn't have it (medical journals have had editors resign over this issue). And much that has been criticized for not having scientific backing, actually has a lot of common sense and empirical observational evidence to support it.
I guess it's always up to us what to give credence or weight to. I think way too much positive observational evidence is ignored, and too often ignored even when the potential benefits are high and the potential risks are low.
