So I figured I'd just update everyone and let you know that I have acquired a mild hyperbaric oxygen chamber and an oxygen concentrator. I am closing in on 50 60 minute dives, 1.3 ATA @ 8 Liters O2/minute, 5x a week.

For those of you who are wondering if HBOT works, I can happily report to you that yes it does. I still have a long way to go, and the improvements are slow going.

I will briefly list some of the improvements I've noticed.

1) Sleeping normally with out any hemp oil, sun exposure, or other assistance, and waking up refreshed, 5-6/7 days a week.

2) Feeling MUCH more emotionally in control and optimistic more of the time. I also suffer from PTSD, and I can happily report that my PTSD symptoms have decreased greatly, as has been reported in some of Dr. Harch's research. Suicidal thoughts and desire to self-harm have decreased immensely without the use of any psychiatric drugs. I now have long periods of time where I am calm, resistant to stress etc.

3) Increased response to rewarding effects of aerobic exercise. No longer get anxious after exercising vigorously. I would also add that aerobic exercise is actually improving my focus and mental vigor in addition to my mood in the hours after, whereas for months this beneficial effect seemed to have been reduced to a much lower level.

4) Improvements in memory and concentration, but these are coming back more slowly. It was amazing to realize that I was remembering things without trying when it began to happen.

5) Ability to smoke pot without it affecting concentration! For almost a year now a few puffs would easily scramble my attention for hours, but now this is much less so the case, indicating a restoration of reserve capacity.

6) Fewer problems reading, processing text, and skimming large amounts of text.

7) Less apathy and improved motivation overall.

8) Some reduction in brain fog - life sometimes seems more vivid and more crisp again.

I will edit this thread as I remember more things or as my improvements continue. I am going to continue diving for quite a long time and see where I wind up.

For those of you who are still suffering, if you have the money I recommend looking into a mild chamber for home use. You can do as many dives as you want and it is quite safe. I am using a Summit To Sea shallow dive.

Great for you. Did you do these dives alone or did you have an attendant overseeing the dives from the outside for the duration of the dive?

Have you had a Neuro Psych Assessment to support your self-reporting of benefits?

Dr Harch still lacks any control group in his research. Relying on SPECT is helpful but not enough to obviate a control group by most standards.

What do you mean by [indicating a restoration of reserve capacity.] ?

No I'm not doing any neuropsych. I am certain of my improvements, all the more so because I was becoming discouraged until right around 30 dives when I started to have days where I just started feeling different. I had felt the therapy wasn't working and became discouraged, but then it began to. I have also had comments from those close to me that my mood seems very different, so one way or the other things in my brain are changing. You don't go from going over the same old thoughts in your head endlessly to being casually calm and functional without real change. Trauma leading to PTSD doesn't work that way.

As I said I have a chamber in my home. I just do it all by myself.

I dispute that a control is really even necessary in the traditional sense. When you have little or no improvement for months or years in symptoms it is almost inconceivable to have sudden improvement over the course of a month. One of his studies involved compressing a set of 40 dives into a month and he recorded an average IQ increase of 15 points and a reduction on the PTSD scale of 30%. Those things simply don't improve suddenly like that.

By reserve capacity I refer to the ability of the brain to handle stressors or interference with normal function of different sorts while still being able to meet an acceptable functional threshold.

The point of having a control group is so the results can be validated to a point of FDA approval so insurance will cover it and doctors can prescribe it. The approved uses are limited to wound and infections and such. Without a control group, insurance likes to call the new protocols 'experimental.'

I've seen the Summit so Sea system. A chiro clinic about a mile from my house was selling 10 dive packages.

The sellers require a doctor's prescription to sell them for home use. What did your doctor use as the reason for prescribing it? TBI and PCS is not an FDA approved use yet.

How do you control the decompression rate when you surface when you are operating it from the inside? 1.3 is like a 3500 foot altitude change. Or do you just yawn and swallow or such to equalize the ears?

Did you do any mental tasks to stimulate blood flow to the brain during your dives?

I've read Harch's claim about the 15 point IQ increase. That appears to be an outlier claim because from what I've also read, mTBI/PCS rarely causes an IQ decrease beyond 5 to 10 points.

I've followed Harch's work and hope his studies would meet a medically accepted standard. When the VA and other military health and rehab entity says, 'Yes, HBOT works under these parameters.' From what I've read, it appears the shallow dives may help more with neuro than the deeper dives. Confirming a standard would be great.

Justifying spending $7500 to $10,000 is tough without some better information.

I got it from a chiropractor prescribed off-label. Had to go one state over to do it.

1.3 ATA is more like 10,000 feet actually.

I just pop my ears, it isn't a problem for me. There is a control valve inside the chamber you can turn in increments.

All I do that is mentally stimulating in there is read on my phone.

I am not interested in what a "medically accepted standard" is, I am interested in what works. I was and am done hearing about how nothing can heal a concussion by these over-educated dimwits called doctors who have lost the ability to think clearly and look outside their medical education for solutions. As I was told early on by an ENT, most neurologists are useless.

Brain atrophy continues up to 2.5 years after a concussion. Had I known about this therapy within the first few months it is likely I would have recovered a great deal more function by now and lost less tissue. I only accidentally discovered it after remembering that HBOT was used for hearing loss and tinnitus by some people and decided to see if it was used for brain injury and whalla!

You are correct, above 1.5ATA the brain begins to resist the increase in oxygen.



Also on the low end you are going to spend ~$6k. There is more than enough anecdotal and scientific information to justify the purchase for those who can afford it. The alternative is to allow the brain to stagnate or atrophy more. You truly don't have much to lose when it comes to a brain injury.

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Which psychometric test ("IQ test") was used - WAIS is standard for adults though there are others?

Has the study that you refer to, published in 1977, been independently replicated since then?

One thing to bear in mind is the results of a psychometric test (an "IQ score") is not one number - it is a composite of different cognitive abilities. Since 1977 we have learned that these are associated with different parts of the brain. What this means is that a brain injury of whatever kind may lead to different effects on the different cognitive abilities.

Actually, you have the pressure exactly opposite and off. 1.3 would be 7440 below sea level. 1.3 ATA is 14.7 psi times 1.3 That equals 19.11 PSI. The differential of 4.41 PSI is like descending from 7440 feet to sea level then climbing to 7440 feet. Even more air pressure change to tolerate than the first calculation. I used a chart that was hard to read. As a previous pilot, 7440 feet down and up can be uncomfortable if done too fast. I've had passengers who were uncomfortable with 1000 feet of quick altitude change. 500 fpm is consider the max comfort range.

$6,000 gets the tiny tube and cheapest O2 concentrator. A bit tough for somebody with claustrophobia. The 33 inch system with a good concentrator is close to $10,000.

A couple of local chiros tried to promote HBOT to their clients but discontinued their programs or stopped advertising. They charge $80 to $120 per dive.

From what I've read, the best results were at 1.25 ATA with 1.5 showing less value. Wound healing does better at the higher pressures. I've followed the research for more than 10 years hoping they would find good value to it.

SilenceIsSacred

Just a comment on this thread.

I tried this for my son who had been suffering for 3 years with PCS. approx 40 low depth dives costing about 8k. re LSU type protocol. It did not help in his case. This does not mean it does not work however. Just that more research / studies need to be done. Especially given the cost.

Sorry to hear that. I am in an mHBOT support group and have spoken to some women whose sons had a TBI. One said her son didn't feel "whole" again until 80-90 dives. The other said that even after several hundred dives her son continued to accrue benefits, although his condition seemed to be much worse than the former. This was at 1.3 ATA. It really does pay to just get a home setup.

Yes the cost may be out of reach for most and at 100$ a dive definitely the personal device would have been the way to get to 80 or 90 dives!

In the end my son was helped by an HRT doctor who also specializes in hormones. he discovered and treated his low testosterone and low thyroid and a year later my son is feeling great. This doctor surveys every patient before and after 1 yr and tabulates the results. he has a significant base of data from his practice. something like this, even if informal, would help people see the potential for HBOT to help