Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBO)

Just curious if anyone has tried this ?

My sister also has MS and was having Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for a while, once a week for almost 4 years when she was first diagnosed, she says it help with her fatigue and stiffness, however after a while she found that she was having bad headaches after the treatment and also that the treatment seemed to lose its effectiveness.

She gave it a miss for about a year then tried again but found it was not as good as it used to be, maybe because the MS had progressed ?

Theres a chamber not far from where I live, they charge around Ā£10 per 1 hour session so I might give it a go but if anyone has advice on this I would be grateful to hear of it.

Thanks.

Iā€™ve not used HBOT before. I remember reading HBOT may cause vision problems. Has anyone else heard of this too? This is a reason why Iā€™ve not used it.

This what I found on the web:

" Visual Refractive Changes: Hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatments can temporarily change the shape of the lens in the eye. This usually results in worsening myopia (nearsightedness), but improvement in presbyopia (the inability to focus on objects near the eye due to age-related changes in the lens). This change usually reverts back to its pre-treatment status 6-8 weeks after treatments stop. Rarely, the change will not completely return to its baseline level. "

https://www.anesth.uiowa.edu/clinicscenters/hyperbaricmedicine/abouthbo/hborisks University of Iowa, College of Medicine.

Hi jactac,

Many people profess the benefits gained by HBOT. Well worth trying to see if it suits you.

When Professor James first professed the benefits of this therapy; my mate; Ronnie Lane; Viv Neeves and me were probably some of the first people to try this at the Middlesex Hospital; the ARMS unit there.

Both of them thought the therapy was brilliant; Viv actually purchased her own chamber for use at home.

I am not claustrophobic but a bit of a flip-ajibit (canā€™t keep still for 1 minute) and the sitting there for 1 hour with a mask on; to me; was a waste of time; so only had one dive.

So yes; have a go; give it 6 months at least.

Good luck

George

Thanks guys.

Like you ggood, Iā€™m a bit of a fidgy git, my legs just want to move when my brain just wants to chill out for a bit !

The wife is for ever giving me a kick when weā€™re sitting on the sofa trying to watch tv. !!

I might give this a go though, if I can find out a bit more about it.

@ Sunny,

tried the link, looks like its been taken down ?

I had laser surgery about 8 years ago for shortsightedness,worked great for distance vision but instantly lost my near vision, literally woke up next morning and my near vision was almost gone, have had to wear reading glasses ever since even for shaving.

I was told by the clinic that done the surgery when I rang them the next morning that having laser treatment brings on age related changes almost instantly after having the treatment.

Dont remember them telling me this before I coughed up the Ā£5000 for the treatment !

Anyway Iā€™ll see what I can find out about Oxygen Treatment and vision problems before I decide to go head.

https://www.anesth.uiowa.edu/clinicscenters/hyperbaricmedicine/abouthbo/hborisks

Scroll down the page to Medical Risks of HBOT.

May be it was about existing cataracts that I heard beforeā€¦

" Cataract Maturation: While HBO therapy has not been shown to cause cataracts, there is some thought that it may cause pre-existing cataracts to mature faster than normal. "

Tried HBOT but it did`nt agree with me.

Played havoc with my sinuses and discovered congealed blood from my nose. I was OK with minimum pressure but as soon as they increased it the problems started.

To be honest I did`nt notice any benefits from it. I had about 15 1 hour sessions.

I had problems with my sinuses as a Scuba diver due to pressure.

Not for me anyway.

Yes, thatā€™s what I heard about cataracts.

Having had an ā€œincipientā€ cataract in one eye for longer than I have had MS, and one in the other eye for two years, I decided not to try HBOT. I am the driver, so a cataract will ground both of us.

Just remember that the provision of HBOT was the principle motivation for the MS Therapy Centre movement. A lot of people swear by it. Remember the old maxim: If its stupid and it works, it is not stupid. Just watch out for the hype.

Geoff

hi

i find that sipping water helps prevent sinus pain in the chamber.

itā€™s a brilliant opportunity to have 90 minutes uninterrupted reading!

a good book is essential otherwise iā€™d be bored out of my mind.

carole x

I do suffer now and then from sinus issues, nothing major but it is something that pops up now and then.

I tend to get sickly headaches when it kicks off, a bit like travel sickness if that makes sense.

Iā€™m also starting Pregablin this week so Iā€™m expecting some side affects from that, as I dont tolerate drugs very well.

I took one Tramadol last Friday evening for a throbbing pain in my big toe (recently had the nail removed), I was dying all day Saturday, like a severe hangover, just awful.

Oddly though, the Tramadol not only stopped the pain in my toe, it also stopped my leg jerks and spasms.

As soon as I started to feel a bit better Saturday evening as the Tramadol wore off the spasms and jerking started up again.

Anyway getting back to the Oxygen Treatment, Iā€™ve emailed a local center for some info uncluding costs.

Iā€™ll see how it goes over the next few weeks with the Pregablin though before adding something else into the mix.

Hi,

I was interested to read this thread as my hubby and I have undertaken our first ever hyperbaric oxygen session today at Canterbury. I have had ppms for 26 years and hubby is currently in remission from blood cancer. We were suitably impressed with everything we had read about HBO and itā€™s healing properties and decided it would be a good idea for both of us to do it at the same time (also heā€™s my scarer) so for the next 20 sessions that is what weā€™ll be doing. You can arrange to have 2 sessions in one day with a break between for ease if youā€™re some distance away. Weā€™re doing 5 a week for the next 4 weeks.

Everyone at the centre (Kentmstc) was extremely pleasant and helpful to us newbies and I am sincerely hoping that this will have been one of our ā€˜betterā€™ ideas. I was slightly paranoid that I might not have my mask placed correctly, but Iā€™m sure that was just me over thinking things as usual - and itā€™ll get easier next time. Nothing about the procedure was too uncomfortable by the way! My fingers are crossed for less fatigue, less spasticity and also existing pressure sores to heal more effectively. Hubby feels that any improvements for him post chemo have to be a good idea!

SO, one session down and 19 to go, I know Iā€™ll be pretty sick of the journey at least by then, but I donā€™t want to waste this golden opportunity. I shall report back.

Elaine.

Iā€™ve been using HBOT for 10 years now. It definitely helps with fatigue and improved the bladder function.

For those with sinus issues, try snorting Sudafed before you going into the chamber, but stay well clear of the chamber if you have any sort of head cold.

Thankfully I have never had any problem with the eyes.

Derek

Well, weā€™ve managed to complete our first 5 sessions of the initial 20 this week and although Iā€™ll never be a huge fan of having to wear an oxygen mask I have spoken to enough people and learned enough to know that this is definitely something that I wish to continue with. Itā€™s also a great leveller, you get to meet some lovely people all trying to achieve the same goals.

Iā€™m sticking with it!

Elaine

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Iā€™m going to my local center over the weekend to sort out some sessions.

I think itā€™s Ā£40 to join the center, then Ā£12 per session with an initial run of 20 sessions.

After that you need to purchase your own mask @ Ā£70 and I think each session is then a bit cheaper ?

Small price to pay if it gives a little bit of help.

Jactac, Elaine,

Hope the HBOT works out well for both of you.

in addition to the usual, possible benefits, I think the benefits of an hour or soā€™s peace breathing slowly, listening to music on the headphones and reading a book or having a snooze, are very important too.

derek

Seems very expensive if it is a MS centre.

Annual membership is usually a tenner and a course of treatment is free, mask included.

Thank you Derek. Iā€™m really quite enthused now, now Iā€™m slowly coming round to the idea of a face mask (the worst bit for me!)

My second week of 5 sessions starts again tomorrow and weā€™re going for 24 ft depth this week as I have had no significant changes one way or the other so far at 16ft, but that in itself is good news as far as Iā€™m concerned!

Without wishing to sound anti social, itā€™s also nice to have an excuse not to speak to anyone for an hour!

Elaine x

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Today I have finished my 20 intensive ā€˜diveā€™ sessions. I have done 1 week at 16 ft (no improvement) 1 week at 24 weeks (slight worsening of symptoms) and 2 weeks at 33 ft depth and a definite worsening of symptoms! I am SO disappointed as everything I have read and everybody I have spoken to have been very enthusiastic and insist that I will notice a difference. As for now I am just so relieved to get that ordeal over with and proud of the fact that I didnā€™t give up with it until I had fulfilled the suggested protocol. I shall now await to see if there are eventually any improvements (maybe Iā€™m a slow burner) or do I just give up on this one? Any advice gratefully received.

Elaine x

such a shame,but at least you tried it.How did your husband find it? did he feel any benefit.

Actually he says that he didnā€™t feel a lot different but would go again. He has better lung capacity now and recent scarring (skin cancer removal) has healed very quickly. They were the most obvious outward good signs but as a person who is in remission from a blood cancer and subsequent stem cell treatment his main objective was to restore blood counts.

It was certainly nice to be able to go together and he was probably the main reason for me not chickening out and runninā€™ for the hills!

Elaine wink