Quote:
Originally Posted by AeroDan
This forum's weird rules prevent me from posting links since I'm now. So anyone interested in actual clinical data I am trying to link below will need to go digging for themselves.
In 2015 Efrati published a study on HBOT for blunt mTBI people without PTSD. The results echo Teaaquinn's improvements.
Furthermore, the study addresses the flaws of prior studies showing no benefit over placebo (as Mark_in_Idaho mentioned). Basically, what was previously thought of as placebo was actually therapeutic dosing of oxygen.
Google this: PMC4499900
Note that isn't reasonable to attempt a placebo for the patient, so a double blind study isn't easy to create. Note that in the study above, objective SPECT scans (and neuropsyc testing to a degree) provide strong evidence without a double blind setup.
Since this post was last active, Dr. Harch also published results similar to Efrati's linked above:
Google this: PMC5674654
Regarding getting worse after HBOT, that is extremely unlikely. Dr. Harch's paper here will shed some light on anyone with enough brain power to read all of it...
Google this: dosage-hyperbaric-oxygen-chronic-brain-injury
Lastly, Dr. Figueroa has these two informative papers:
Google this: 5-Clinical-Results-in-Brain-Injury-Trials-Another-Perspective
Google this: Figueroa-Wright-Neurology-HBOT-Evidence.pdf
Bottom line is that HBOT works for many people. Whether it's worth the cost to one is their own decision. I've seen it as low as $100 per 1 hour session. Rather than look at the cost of it, a better question is "can you afford not to?"
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It seems promising, though it'd be nice if there were more a larger number of studies supporting its efficacy. I also worry about long-term effects -- there don't appear to be any short-term adverse consequences, but what if all the extra free radicals it creates increase your risk of brain cancer in like 30 years? (not saying that there's any reason to believe that, just saying it doesn't seem like the long-term effects have been studied).
Personally, I did a total of 30 sessions at 1.5-1.75 atmospheres, from around month 3 to month 7 post concussion (20 consecutive sessions at around month 3 followed by 10 sessions around month 7).
At a minimum, there's unquestionably a short-term benefit -- I felt noticeably better on the days that I had HBOT. There was also a withdrawal effect. Whenever I stopped treatment, I would feel awful for a day or two afterwards (but then that passed).
I did see long-term sustained improvement over the course of my treatment, but it was relatively early in the course of my injury -- so I have no idea how much of the improvement came from the HBOT vs. natural healing or other factors. The improvement over the course of the sessions wasn't dramatic (the HBOT hardly cured me, I still have significant issues) but it was significant and noticeable.
I might try it again at some point. Ultimately I stopped, not so much due to the cost, but more due to the time commitment (it was taking 4 hrs of my day, in terms of the treatment time + commuting to and from the treatment center).