I have now had 31 hyperbaric oxygen treatments in the last eight weeks, and I'm back with another update.

My overall condition has continued to improve. Using my previously explained rating scale, my average symptom level this week was 7.5 and my average activity level was 17. Basically, I am doing the same amount of activity as I was a few weeks ago, but with fewer symptoms.

My biggest victory is that I had one day that was nearly symptom-free: I felt great until the early evening, when I got tired and had a mild headache.

However, my recovery has not been perfectly smooth. I spent nearly all of one weekend this month lying in bed after I did a little too much for too many days in a row. Today I am feeling pretty tired, likely for the same reason.

So now the big question: how much is HBOT helping? It's still impossible to say that it's behind my reduction in headaches and fatigue.

There is one thing I directly attribute to it, though: a marked improvement in my sense of well-being. I was never depressed, or even considered myself unhappy, but now I feel an expansive happiness that I never felt before. I notice and feel grateful for really little things, like a sunny day or the chance to talk to a friend. I can sit and do nothing for long stretches of time, just feeling good. I am more aware of my feelings and emotions, and I am less consumed by them. This is especially helpful when I am experiencing PCS pain.

I attribute this to HBOT because of its meditation-like effects. During a treatment, I sit for an hour and a half doing absolutely nothing, and for an hour of that time, I wear a mask that accentuates the sound of my breathing. This biofeedback focuses my mind on my breath in a way that is easy and natural. I might think about other things, but my mind always comes back to my breath. I spend much of the time just counting up and down as I breathe in and out.

I have never really studied meditation, but I see a lot of parallels between my experience and its practice and results. Last week, I listened to an hourlong tape of meditation instruction and practice. Before HBOT, such a tape would have left me thinking, "I don't really get it. What are they talking about? Am I doing this right?". Instead, I thought, "I know exactly what they're trying to say. I regularly experience the mental state they're getting at. The problem is that words don't do it justice."

I have read reports of HBOT clearing up PTSD in veterans diagnosed with both it and PCS. I can see why. Whether it's because of the oxygen or just because of the calming biofeedback, HBOT has definitely improved my mental state - something I wasn't even hoping for when I began treatment.

I'm continuing to have treatments 4-5 times a week. In a few weeks, I'll have reached the 40 treatments used in many research protocols. I hope to have more good news to report then!