HBOT

Hey everyone I just started HBOT therapy this week. At 1.7 ATMs right now. No difference yet but I have 35 more dives to go. Weigh in if anyone has any input. I'll keep everyone posted.

Lyme for 10 years. Only diagnosed a year ago. Minocycline. Tinidazole. Flu like joint pain is only remaining symptom. Hoping that this gets it I've read great results.

I would like to know how you do with this. It is not accessible to me where I am.

I thought I read in one of the Lyme books that it was impossible to treat Lyme with home hyperbaric chamber? Not enough pressure?

Hi peabodyI am also treating with minocycline and tinidazole myself. Maybe the HBOT is what I really need to add in. They have them offered in Calgary which is a trip. I suppose it works well with abx.

Hey everyone thank you guys so much for the input. To kind of answer most of the questions I'm not actually following a specific protocol. Like I said I went a good 8 years before I knew what I had. Right now I'm fully functional. I have a job, own my own small business. I still deal with a lot of pain because the lyme is still active. Most research I've done does say that the ATAs need to be at least 1.8. As for cost effectiveness I'm doing my dives for 75 dollars/hr. still not cheap but attainable. If you look at the research most people do really well and many even kill the bacteria. This is what I'm hoping for. Didn't want to speak to soon but Ive done 5 dives and already notice a difference.

There is a lot of controversy over what pressure should be used to treat Lyme.

Many doctors and HBOT clinicians base their treatment protocols for Borrelia on a study in 1993 by Austin, which demonstrated that the lethal level of oxygen for a spirochete was somewhere between 30mm Hg and 160mm Hg.

They estimated that HBOT at 2.36ATA while breathing 100% O2 would raise the tissue 02 tissue levels to between 200mm Hg and 300mm...but this is WELL above the range necessary to kill Borrelia.

This information was later used in a study with human subjects by Fife in 1998.

Unfortunately, the study didn't include research on what the lowest effective range was, and so this level continued to be used over time for treating Lyme disease, in spite of treatment failures and drop-out rates.

There are several problems and risks with higher pressures for Lyme disease and other neurological conditions. Some of these greater risk of oxygen toxicity, visual changes, and releasing of toxins more quickly than the body can handle.

In addition, the oxidation rate may become faster than the body's ability to generate antioxidants to compensate, causing oxidative stress. Of more concern is recent research the indicates the possibility of regression with some neurological diseases when higher pressures are used.

Another consideration is that Lyme disease is different than the infections that many clinicians are used to treating, considering its reproductive rate and ability to morph into protective forms, requiring, in my opinion, long term treatment to avoid relapse, which is cost prohibitive in a clinical setting for many people. Many times, clinicians will only prescribe 40 treatments.

In peabody04's case, a limited number of dives at a lower pressure (1.8ATA which is not considered "mild" hyperbaric, but lower than what was used in the study) may be very beneficial, considering he/she is already starting at a fully functional level.

My case was very different, I was very, very ill, housebound and dysfunctional, as are many people with Lyme and coinfections, and would not have become well with the typical 40-80 treatments offered in a clinic. And, I am quite sure that I would not have tolerated the higher pressures in the condition I was in. I find that many people who are very ill and toxic have to go very slowly, even at mild pressures of 1.3ATA.

I did mHBOT for over 1 year without missing a day before I took my first break (a 5 day vacation), and then resumed immediately upon return. I continue to use my chamber regularly (although I consider myself 100% well), not because I fear relapse, but because I am still noticing enhancements to my well being.

One of the biggest benefits that people who do short term treatment miss out on, in my opinion, is the healing process that is offered by long term mHBOT treatments. This is not just about "killing the bugs", but about bringing balance to the body and supplying it with what it requires to repair and restore itself to full health...

Ok, I still don't completely understand. Why wouldn't HBOT at a clinic treat Lyme? Wouldn't the practitioner be able to determine the correct "dose?"

How much does the home chamber cost, and how big is it??

Margaret

I'm definitely going to look in to a home unit. Thanks for the advice.

Holy Cow. There's no way I could afford any of that. I just wish I knew how I was going to treat my Lyme without abx.

Margaret

Hi Peabody,
I had to remove your email address from your post. Sorry, but Admin has a strict policy against posting personal information and this is an open forum, meaning that anyone with access to a computer can read these posts....and get your email address.

We do have a way for you to share your email address - and you can actually change it any time back to not showing it if you choose.

Go to your profile, go to edit profile, scroll down just a bit until you see "show my email address", choose that option - then be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the "submit" button to save your choices.

Thank you!

Hi Peabody...

I take it this forum doesn't have a "private message" option?

Let me know if you change your email option as Traveler mentioned, and I will send you info on chamber options...

In answer to your question, I did my entire treatment with a home chamber at 1.3 ATA, as this is the highest pressure a home chamber can legally reach. It worked...and I feel that frequency, consistency, and long-term commitment is key.

Louise74...I was extremely symptomatic with Bartonella, and was positive on blood smear...and I became well with mHBOT.

That said, although hyperbaric is directly detrimental to many pathogens, it is more relevant to think of it as a powerful treatment that enables ones immune system to return to function (among many other healing actions), so it can take care of the "bugs" as it was designed to do.

Babesia and Bartonella are generally not much of an issue for people with intact immune systems...

Hey Phoiph I've changed my settings to be able to get emails. Thanks again for all your help. I've been pricing several soft chambers and I've found many that are affordable.