Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT): General information and discussion of Home Units

[Abats]

I just came out of a one-hour session. I would like to sleep but the anxiety and the noise of the compressor prevents me from doing so even though I have noise-cancelling headphones, so I put movies or series on my tablet (it works pretty well). I tried to read but it doesn't concentrate me enough to forget that I am in a confined environment.

For the decompression, I did it more slowly than before and it went better, I had to take about 5 minutes to decompress from 1,5 ATA to the ambient air pressure. I notice that I can only bear one hour at a time, two hours even watching a series, or youtube documentaries I end up bored. Anyway, thanks for the advice @seek10 I'll bring back other elements if I perceive any news from the sessions or how I'm maybe gradually overcoming this anxiety

 

[cinnamon]

I've done 5 hours in total so far of HBOT and I'm apprehensive about going in every time for several reasons:
1) the space I find really cramped and I feel an anxiety that wants to get out

I too want to get out of chamber.

Is this an artifact of the size of the chamber more than the actual being in it?

The 70cm diameter ones _are_ cramped - I was planning on ordering in a 90cm diameter one (or possibly other options) precisely because of this.

 

[seek10]

Is this an artifact of the size of the chamber more than the actual being in it?

The 70cm diameter ones _are_ cramped - I was planning on ordering in a 90cm diameter one (or possibly other options) precisely because of this.

I don't think size is the issue for me. If one has unit at home and wants to do it for 1.5 hrs, they needs to allocate 2 hrs for it. So it is more about time management.

 

[Laura]

Is this an artifact of the size of the chamber more than the actual being in it?

The 70cm diameter ones _are_ cramped - I was planning on ordering in a 90cm diameter one (or possibly other options) precisely because of this.

Well, 70 cm is larger than you think especially as soon as it inflates and pressurizes. I'm not a little girl and I feel quite cozy in there. I move around in there quite easily and just feel like I'm in a nice cocoon. Last couple of sessions I even had a blanket in there and was toasty and had a nice nap. I think I would feel less cozy with 90 cm.

 

[cinnamon]

I don't think size is the issue for me. If one has unit at home and wants to do it for 1.5 hrs, they needs to allocate 2 hrs for it. So it is more about time management.

Well, 70 cm is larger than you think especially as soon as it inflates and pressurizes. I'm not a little girl and I feel quite cozy in there. I move around in there quite easily and just feel like I'm in a nice cocoon. Last couple of sessions I even had a blanket in there and was toasty and had a nice nap. I think I would feel less cozy with 90 cm.

The one time I was in a 70cm one, there was a sort of plastic housing inside of it, effectively making it even smaller, to where I felt a bit like a contortionist in a box maneuvering inside of there. Get antsy if I can't move my arms around comfortably.

 

[RedFox]

Ok, in general I feel more inflamed/pain in my feet, knees and hips than last time, they don't seem to progress. Maybe somewhat stronger or more endurance in other parts of my body. My skin has started drive me crazy, itching and burning. It's a little weird because it was my back that made me bedridden, never had any issues with my feet, knees, hips, or skin.

I had terrible itching skin come up too. What worked was FIR sauna and bentonite/zeolite clay. More vitamin C and magnesium. I suspect that it could be chemical or heavy metal detox. Either way the body probably needs more support to handle it.
Things like milk thistle for the liver too.

I've done 5 hours in total so far of HBOT and I'm apprehensive about going in every time for several reasons:
1) the space I find really cramped and I feel an anxiety that wants to get out
2) no one can watch me while I do the session
3) at the decompression I felt a sensation that I don't like, a bit like if you go from a sitting position to standing up quickly and your head turns a bit.

I think my feeling of being locked in is related to a trauma from my birth. I had meningitis when I was born and had to be isolated for several weeks, I had phototherapy sessions, in short I was not in good health. The cylindrical and confined aspect in the chamber seems to me to symbolically echo this very early period of my life. Nobody is there to watch over me either, which reminds me that my parents could not hold me in their arms because of the necessary isolation... I feel bad about feeling like I am somehow "reliving" this trauma.

You could look into trying l-theanine or even GABA. Pipe breathing before the session perhaps.
Or simply reducing the time in the chamber, ala exposure therapy.
Get in, pressurize, depressurize. Do this until you feel comfortable/bored.
Then have 1 minute at pressure, repeat until ok/bored.
Then 2 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes etc

Another thing that may help, just use the oxygen without the system pressurized and without getting in the chamber. Get super relaxed with breathing the oxygen whilst laying down - as that will help with relaxing in the chamber too.

On the mention of "Nobody is there to watch over me" - this came to mind:

 

[RedFox]

Ok, in general I feel more inflamed/pain in my feet, knees and hips than last time, they don't seem to progress. Maybe somewhat stronger or more endurance in other parts of my body. My skin has started drive me crazy, itching and burning. It's a little weird because it was my back that made me bedridden, never had any issues with my feet, knees, hips, or skin.

Did the iodine nuking for 4 days, then my body said no. Think it reduced my upper abdominal pain somewhat. Will try some Ivermectin if I can get my hands on it. Maybe parasites are the connection between skin, stomach pain, joint pain, diarrhoea, done a lot of things except the Ivermectin thing.

Just checking my notes. It may be die-off from bacteria/candida/fungus. Specifically mycotoxins/endotoxines.
Going hard on iodine or other protocols (including the HBOT) may be a bad idea, and if it is a die-off will likely make things worse.
So maybe slow down?

Also check your food/environment for black mold.

 

[Steph_rivers]

95 sessions
I just purchased a non-rebreather I don’t know why I didn’t get one a long time ago.. jeeze what a difference.

Did anyone start sweating profusely when using the re-breather? I turned the chamber into a sauna with my own heat!

I’ve heard of others having the same thing happen, but it only happened to me when I switched masks. I gotta put a fan in there to air it out like someone else did in the forum here.. great idea

 

[Goemon_]

102 sessions
My chamber is in a trailer in an open hangar. The two last session where done around 11 pm, temp in the trailer must be around 8°C. I was wearing a FIR gilet + a jacket and had two sleeping bags over me. The inside layer of the chamber ended quite wet. I don't see how it could be from sweating.

 

[RedFox]

102 sessions
My chamber is in a trailer in an open hangar. The two last session where done around 11 pm, temp in the trailer must be around 8°C. I was wearing a FIR gilet + a jacket and had two sleeping bags over me. The inside layer of the chamber ended quite wet. I don't see how it could be from sweating.

Two probable causes of the condensation.
1) The air at this time of year in some countries is around 90% humidity.
2) Breathing out (especially through the mouth) produces a lot of warm (body temperature) humid air, 8°C (the temperature of the chamber wall will reflect the temperature of the environment) would be enough to condense it.
I'd guess 2) is the more likely option, as the moisture will need to be warmer than 8°C to condense.

 

[A Jay]

I just came out of a one-hour session. I would like to sleep but the anxiety and the noise of the compressor prevents me from doing so even though I have noise-cancelling headphones, so I put movies or series on my tablet (it works pretty well). I tried to read but it doesn't concentrate me enough to forget that I am in a confined environment.

Have you tried doing some kind of meditation? There's a number of different ones you can try including the meditative portion of EE. Certainly worth trying out if it might help keep your system calm enough to do something you enjoy, like reading, in the chamber.

Just keep in mind that if you're going to do the meditation then it may be best to not worry about the mask on/mask off protocol (if you were experimenting with that protocol, of course). Better to focus on associating the chamber with safety, comfort, and generally pleasant experiences before trying to optimize the benefits. Or so I think.

For the decompression, I did it more slowly than before and it went better, I had to take about 5 minutes to decompress from 1,5 ATA to the ambient air pressure.

If I'm remembering correctly 5 minutes is the least amount of time recommended by the paperwork that came with our HBOT unit. So yeah, take it slower if you need to and see how things go. Some can go through decompression faster and not have any issues. But it can take others a while to reach that point. No harm in taking the extra time to decompress if you need it.

I notice that I can only bear one hour at a time, two hours even watching a series, or youtube documentaries I end up bored.

Yeah, I did 2 hour sessions for a while but at around the 90 minute mark I'm just ready to get up and walk around. Haven't done any extra long sessions in a while for that very reason.

Anyway, thanks for the advice @seek10 I'll bring back other elements if I perceive any news from the sessions or how I'm maybe gradually overcoming this anxiety

Definitely keep us in the loop and let us know how the anxiety management works out!

 

[aimarok]

I'd like to share my recent experience with HBOT. Last Monday I fell ill with a flu and started to use the chamber twice a day. The effect was very relaxing and I liked it. One day after decompression I had a headache like some cavity in my head didn't decompress completely. I lay down and after ten minutes the pressure normalized and the pain was gone. Next day it was very similar but this time the pain didn't stop. It felt like my head was hit on its right side. This effect is still there though not as strong as before. The flu is gone but I still feel very weak and lack appetite. I think it might be a good idea to be extra careful with HBOT when having a cold when nasal cavities get inflamed.

 

[Alana]

I'd like to share my recent experience with HBOT. Last Monday I fell ill with a flu and started to use the chamber twice a day. The effect was very relaxing and I liked it. One day after decompression I had a headache like some cavity in my head didn't decompress completely. I lay down and after ten minutes the pressure normalized and the pain was gone. Next day it was very similar but this time the pain didn't stop. It felt like my head was hit on its right side. This effect is still there though not as strong as before. The flu is gone but I still feel very weak and lack appetite. I think it might be a good idea to be extra careful with HBOT when having a cold when nasal cavities get inflamed.

Thank you! You answered the question I was coming here to ask. I've been sick since Wednesday and stopped doing the HBOT because in our manual it says "Do not use chamber if sick". But I kinda missed it, and I wanted to know if I could use it anyway. Ok, so I will wait until I recover then. Big hugs, I hope you get your energy and appetite back soon.

 

[Lilou]

@worldbridger , I came across this site and thought of you. parasites.org For $265 they send you the supplies to collect stool samples at home and then run the tests for 31 gut parasites, 5 gut fungi, and 11 markers for digestive health. I did not find on the website where they are exactly located, but it is in the USA. Perhaps you can contact them and see if overseas testing is available.

I was considering having the test, even though I don't have anything specific to indicate parasites, but ya never know! Best of luck, I hope you're able to find what is causing you so many issues.

 

[worldbridger]

@worldbridger , I came across this site and thought of you. parasites.org For $265 they send you the supplies to collect stool samples at home and then run the tests for 31 gut parasites, 5 gut fungi, and 11 markers for digestive health. I did not find on the website where they are exactly located, but it is in the USA. Perhaps you can contact them and see if overseas testing is available.

I was considering having the test, even though I don't have anything specific to indicate parasites, but ya never know! Best of luck, I hope you're able to find what is causing you so many issues.

Thanks Lilou.