You might have noticed the oxygen treatment kind of stopped, after only two sessions. This wasn’t through any other reason but that life got in the way. A week’s holiday followed by chaos at home, manic amounts of work, exhaustion, car sharing and my poor little brain unable to coordinate how I would actually fit in, and get to, any treatment meant it slipped through the gap. Along with eating healthy food, eating enough food, sleeping properly, getting exercise, fresh air, having fun, laughing… but all that has to stop!
So out came the trusty old bike, much easier when the sun is shining, and off I pedalled to my third session in ‘the tank!’ I forgot the bike lock, my mobile phone and my brain but I didn’t need any of those things – mobile phones are not allowed inside oxygen chambers anyway and it meant I completely relaxed with NO interuptions whatsoever!
You become very conscious of every breath, in, and out, in and out, and it’s kind of hypnotic. My asthma has been getting much worse lately, probably due to extra stress and a dusty environment but it’s hard to avoid at times. You have to work through it as best you can.
With a great tome to read (The Angels Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon) I settled in for the hour. I worked out that it has been eight weeks since my last session. I’m hoping to fit in two a week, which should start to show real benefits – or so I’m hoping. Another holiday next week, this time to Portugal with the girls, will get in the way slightly but I have good intentions to keep these treatments up.
It takes about one and a half hours from start to finish including signing in, getting kitted in the mask, pressurising the tank, the actual session, and then de-pressurising the tank, at which point my ears pop, plip, and plink away with amazing regularity. Quite a nice sensation on the way down, but not so nice on the way up; I’m getting used to it though and am very good at clearing the pressure.
Rather unnervingly I was the only person in the chamber for this session. This was a first, and slightly odd, but with no distractions at all I relaxed, unwound, and let the stresses and strains of the preceding weeks just wash away. More to follow with another session booked for Tuesday next week. Apart from feeling a bit of a fraud when the unavoidable question arises, “So how long have you been diagnosed?” and I have to explain that I’m an interloper, not an MS sufferer at all, just an asthma and allergy freak!
There is often no quick easy fix for these kinds of things, but I feel it’s worth a try, and it can’t hurt. I’m sure the sun is helping, and the fact that progress is finally visible in the developing renovations, but I think the oxygen really peps me up, and does make for very clear lungs straight afterwards. Still a bit wheezy but the house is dusty. Did I mention the dust?
I’d love to hear from others who might think of trying this, and anyone else who has found it successful, and even those who felt it didn’t help… my holiday reading will be around oxygen therapy and why it works so more to follow on this in a few weeks.
Wow, sounds really space age. For a minute I thought it was under water and the reference to reading threw me, but then I caught up. Hope you are still feeling the benefits and grrr to the dust. When we lived in China, the Chinese used to spray water into the atmosphere to ‘catch’ the pervasive coal dust and bring it to earth (using a squirty bottle). Perhaps that could help as you do your renovations? It makes a muddy mess on the floor but if it means you can breathe…
Good luck!
Pig x
Yes water really does help. I’ve tried to ask builders to do this but then catch them brushing away in a hazy smog of grime. Seems they love to inhale dust – it’s what keeps them going. I’ve been cleaning up with a damp cloth to wipe up dust and it’s much better than a duster. My poor hoover is about to blow up – it’s never been used so much, but the end is in sight. Thanks for the suggestion and keep up the good work in the kitchen Pig!
Ruth,
You need to recognise that HBOT is effective if taken as a course of treatments. Much the same as having a course of antibiotics. The O2 is beneficial because it is a powerful anti-inflammatory agent. So if there is any inflammation in your tissues that will be reduced gradually and healing will be more rapid. But if you have long gaps in between sessions the inflammation will not be fully treated and will return . The healing process can not get really going while inflammation is present. The other real benefit is that following a treatment your immune system will create a lot of new blood cells and stem cells and that is what makes the healing more rapid. You can make the treatment even more effective by taking your mask off after 30min for two or three minutes. Your immune system will have got used to your higher O2 levels so when you take off your mask your immune system will say”bloody hell she is short of O2 “and flood you with new stem cells.( the immune system system is triggered by detecting low levels of O2 in an injured or infected tissue). Hope this helps. Love Cyril
Cyril I know you’re right, but life seems to be getting in the way, plus I’ve had a few cancelled when an operator can’t be found for a session I’ve booked on. Having one car is making it tough to commit. Now I’m back though I’m on the case. Next week. HBOT here I come. I’ll start my HBOT murder mystery in the next session. Thanks for all the advice and info.