Our Client Shares Her Experience with an in-home Hyperbaric Chamber.
I was asked to write a series of articles regarding my experience with HBOT from the patient’s perspective. It seemed befitting to start writing during a “dive”. I am in my mHBOT chamber right now. I have had this AHS chamber for 20 days today. It is important to state I have some experience with mHBOT as I have been using a similar chamber at a Dr’s office weekly for 6 months prior to my rent to own purchase with Affordable Hyperbaric Chambers. My first article is focusing on the differences of using a chamber at the Dr’s versus home.
First, I believe it is important to have a health practitioner involved in your hyperbaric chamber experience. A prescription is needed for a number of reasons. The two most crucial issues are your ear health and ability to clear the pressure and your lung health. I recommend that those that have experienced breathlessness, Long covid or Pulmonary issues have a Lung Xray before “diving” as a safety measure. There are Contraindicators for HBOT and the most important by far is pneumothorax also known as a collapsed Lung, if you’ve had this condition in the recent past – my understanding is a hyperbaric chamber is not safe, that is – until the lung is fully healed.
Using a hyperbaric chamber at a Dr’s office has advantages of medical safety, knowledgeable staff and the initial cost is less than an outright purchase. It is easier to enter a chamber and be treated to a water bottle and told to relax and enjoy as someone else zips several zippers, buckles, starts compressors, humidifiers, hopefully an oxygen concentrator, and assumes the risk, liability and responsibility. Phew….I was happy to be a patient, that is – Until I started asking questions.
Apparently not all Dr’s offices use an oxygen concentrator and enrich the oxygen level inside a pressurized chamber!
Now, I use a 10L oxygen concentrator at home – let’s talk about that.
It Seems to me – the term hyperbaric OXYGEN therapy or HBOT is a built in explanation and you might assume that oxygen is part of your protocol at a doctors office, but that’s not necessarily the case – as I discovered. Some doctors were using 100% oxygen which is flammable under certain circumstances and special permits are required. An oxygen concentrator is not flammable and is what is used for most HBOT chambers under 1.5 ATA. An Oxygen concentrator is this amazing machine that concentrates regular room air to give you a higher percentage of 02 (oxygen) than what you breathe when sitting on the couch – breathing what we call Ambient air. The concentrator is actually a Nitrogen Remover, since ambient air is made up of almost 78% nitrogen – when that’s removed – what’s left is this amazing element we call “Oxygen”.
When I started asking questions at the Dr.’s office, I found out they weren’t using either a Concentrator or oxygen tanks to enrich the level of 02.
It occurred to me – I’d been paying for pressure only – for 6 months! Let me mention, I had been seeing results but gradually and there were specific issues not resolving. One of those symptoms was a small wound 9 months old and due my immune dysregulation this wound was not healing and was a source of concern.
I’ve discovered thru much research – Our bodies needs oxygen to survive, thrive and heal. My body was injured 8 years ago in a motorcycle accident and post covid I was struggling with auto immune issues. Life happens and our bodies try to keep up, but sometimes they need help. Mentally, I was sluggish – people couldn’t not see that, but they could see this area near my clavicle that was an open wound. After 3 sessions with my home unit using an oxygen concentrator the wound had a successful scab and had reduced in size by 50%. WOW! – so, adding OXYGEN to Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy was the missing link!
I am on my 10th session and I appreciate every day as though I have been given some elixir from the Amazon Rain Forest and this secret tribe of amazing souls has given me a new lease on life. Since I am an actual enrolled tribal member of North American tribe I can say we do have some cool stuff but so far Oxygen is my favorite healer!
I apologize for rambling, I think joy might just be a side effect of HBOT, but lets get back to the comparison as I near the end of my “dive”.
I am about to end my hour session tonight and instead of a nice nurse coming to hold my hand as I exit the chamber, take my water bottle from me, brace my clumsiness, listen to my problems, and Charge my credit card while making me another appointment; it will be me ending the session – solo. Then I remember – I once had a nurse decompress the chamber in 15 seconds and I thought my ears would never recover.
So over the course of the next 5 minutes I will remove my oxygen mask, click the off button of my internal remote control and I will SLOWLY open the valve to decompress over a period of a few minutes as I yawn, swallow, and adjust my ears by chewing gum or a dry cracker. Then, when the valve reads ZERO on the pressure gauge, I will carefully undo zippers, unseal the grey silicone seal to the second zipper, and pop my head out of the top of the chamber; put my phone, water bottle and book on the floor, carefully exit so I don’t lean on the internal frame of the chamber. Then I will switch the remote back on so I can manually turn the machines off, drain the de-humidifer tube that keeps it perfect temperature and finally open the bedroom door to go see my happy dogs.
Yes, it is extra work but – I control the chamber time, decompression time and I use OXYGEN! I have healed more in 10 dives than I did in 6 months, and when I get out of this chamber the only thing I have to do is go apologize to my dogs for disappearing. I don’t have to dig through my purse for the credit card.
Final thought of someone who recently has experienced both “at home” and in a Doctor’s office mHBOT , having the chamber at home is worth every penny, every extra step,
I am so very grateful for the people that helped me safely mHBOT at Home!!