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Link Posted: 1/18/2023 10:54:57 PM EDT
[#1]
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Originally Posted By arowneragain:
Originally Posted By Mach:


do you have links to the research?


@Mach

These are the three articles I shared with the neurologist:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-15565-0

https://connect.uclahealth.org/2022/08/24/hbot-a-potential-treatment-for-those-with-long-covid-19/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8806311/



Thanks. I am going to bring this to my neurologist

Is insurance going to cover that for you or are you going to have to pay out of pocket.
Link Posted: 1/18/2023 11:36:58 PM EDT
[#2]
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Originally Posted By Mach:



Thanks. I am going to bring this to my neurologist

Is insurance going to cover that for you or are you going to have to pay out of pocket.
View Quote


We don't have traditional insurance. We are part of a health sharing ministry. We'll ask them if they'll cover it but I don't know yet how they'll respond. As long as it's within reason we'll do it.
Link Posted: 1/19/2023 1:20:09 AM EDT
[#3]
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Originally Posted By arowneragain:


We don't have traditional insurance. We are part of a health sharing ministry. We'll ask them if they'll cover it but I don't know yet how they'll respond. As long as it's within reason we'll do it.
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Thanks for the information documenting your journey.  

I had covid in January 2020 before anyone really knew what Covid19 was.  My wife picked it up from a Chinese couple at the laundromat while we were in AZ.  Thought it was the 'flu.

Anyway, I have had "long covid" since.  Breathing issues, brain fog and vertigo.

Maybe HBOT will become an accepted treatment soon.

good luck in your pursuit
Link Posted: 1/19/2023 2:17:10 AM EDT
[#4]
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Originally Posted By arowneragain:
Another test result:

I have low vitamin D levels. I doubt that fixing this makes a radical change, but I’ll certainly try.

Had the MRI today. Now I wait for results.
View Quote


Do not ignore the D level. Of these "anti mRNA" docs I've followed for almost two years, maintaining Vitamin D levels is stressed. Apparently more so with people with olive to dark skin. Not sure what color you are. :) Apparently, the more tropically flavored the skin, the more those tropical type folks need sunlight in North America.

I know I've increased my sun exposure this last year since i came down with what they said was Delta. The fog stayed with me hard for six months. Started to get more back to normal mid summer, but i spent a lot of time in my new boat. I'm 12 months out now and would say my concentration is about 95% of old normal. Try some more exercise and sun.
Link Posted: 1/19/2023 9:39:58 AM EDT
[#5]
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Originally Posted By Flysc:


Do not ignore the D level. Of these "anti mRNA" docs I've followed for almost two years, maintaining Vitamin D levels is stressed. Apparently more so with people with olive to dark skin. Not sure what color you are. :) Apparently, the more tropically flavored the skin, the more those tropical type folks need sunlight in North America.

I know I've increased my sun exposure this last year since i came down with what they said was Delta. The fog stayed with me hard for six months. Started to get more back to normal mid summer, but i spent a lot of time in my new boat. I'm 12 months out now and would say my concentration is about 95% of old normal. Try some more exercise and sun.
View Quote


I've been supplementing it every now and then (which is a nice way to say I don't always remember to take that pill, but I do at least 2-3 times per week) and taking a multivitamin every day which has some D in it. So I think I'm helping that.

Also, I do spend a fair bit of time outside. White as a sheet, but I do go out a lot.
Link Posted: 1/19/2023 1:51:57 PM EDT
[#6]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Originally Posted By arowneragain:


I've been supplementing it every now and then (which is a nice way to say I don't always remember to take that pill, but I do at least 2-3 times per week) and taking a multivitamin every day which has some D in it. So I think I'm helping that.

Also, I do spend a fair bit of time outside. White as a sheet, but I do go out a lot.
View Quote

A lot of factors affect how your body absorbs the D, as well as what form you get it in.
Link Posted: 1/22/2023 9:17:05 PM EDT
[#7]
I forgot to mention: the hospital called. They’re going to allow me to do HBOT.

It’s expensive as heck. We have to figure out if there’s a cash discount and if our HSM will cover any/all of it.  But it’s looking like it’s a go.
Link Posted: 1/23/2023 11:17:15 AM EDT
[#8]
Talked to our health-sharing ministry this morning. They're covering it!

At this point I'm basically just waiting on the hospital to call me back and we will schedule the first session.
Link Posted: 1/26/2023 11:24:19 AM EDT
[#9]
Sigh.

Hospital called me back. The higher-ups denied the treatment because it isn't FDA approved. The techs would do it, our health sharing ministry would cover it, but the hospital management won't allow it because it isn't FDA approved for long covid.

This just affirms my contempt for the FDA.

Link Posted: 1/26/2023 11:29:31 AM EDT
[#10]
Dang man. That bites
Link Posted: 1/26/2023 11:35:45 AM EDT
[#11]
Well...maybe not. Just got off the phone with a doctor (an actual doctor) about an hour away. He has the proper chamber and is willing to do it. Waiting on his office manager to return the call to get into my details and their details and be sure this will work, but he does have a proper (2+ ATM) chamber.

Link Posted: 1/27/2023 4:08:36 PM EDT
[#12]
Good news:

This second doc (mentioned in last post) is much cheaper than the hospital.

Bad news: they require a referral from my neuro, who closes at noon on Friday.

I’ll call Monday morning and ask them to write it.
Link Posted: 1/27/2023 7:28:48 PM EDT
[#13]
I hope you get the treatment, very interested to see if it helps.
Link Posted: 1/30/2023 11:41:07 AM EDT
[#14]
Referral forms have been given to the neuro. If they approve the referral (and I don't know why the wouldn't) I should be able to schedule treatment soon.

*holding breath*
Link Posted: 2/8/2023 10:42:44 AM EDT
[#15]
Neuro approved the referral. I had my consult with the HBOT clinic yesterday. Had a looooong chat with the doc about covid and HBOT and....things. Seemed to be a kindred spirit.

Waiting for a call from their main office to set up a date to start treatment. He was up front with me that they'd struggled to find/keep staff since covid and his current 'dives' in his giant multi-patient chamber were full. They're trying to add a second dive. But staffing it is difficult. But I'm on the wait list.

Baby steps.



Link Posted: 2/9/2023 8:40:11 PM EDT
[#16]
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy to treat long COVID


Using Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment to treat long covid
Link Posted: 2/9/2023 10:21:26 PM EDT
[#17]
Tag for updates, brother.
Link Posted: 2/10/2023 8:20:17 AM EDT
[#18]
Hope you get the treatment that works!
Link Posted: 2/12/2023 12:06:53 AM EDT
[#19]
Good luck!
If you see fish swimming by, they put you in the wrong chamber.
Link Posted: 2/24/2023 1:20:04 PM EDT
[Last Edit: arowneragain] [#20]
It's 2/24 and they still haven't scheduled me.

That's the only update I have right now.


ETA: but I called and asked. They've hired the new technician they needed. They hope to schedule me next week.

Link Posted: 2/24/2023 5:51:54 PM EDT
[Last Edit: dragoontwo] [#21]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Originally Posted By arowneragain:
It's 2/24 and they still haven't scheduled me.

That's the only update I have right now.


ETA: but I called and asked. They've hired the new technician they needed. They hope to schedule me next week.

View Quote

Hopefully it provides you some sort of relief.
Link Posted: 3/15/2023 5:59:05 PM EDT
[#22]
Update:

I am, finally, scheduled to do my first HBOT session tomorrow.

Link Posted: 3/15/2023 6:17:18 PM EDT
[#23]
Link Posted: 3/15/2023 6:38:07 PM EDT
[#24]
Good luck OP
Link Posted: 3/15/2023 6:56:39 PM EDT
[#25]
Link Posted: 3/16/2023 4:43:45 PM EDT
[#26]
Bump for update
Link Posted: 3/16/2023 4:53:04 PM EDT
[#27]
Thanks for the well-wishes.

There's not much to tell. It was a neat experience but I can't say there was much to it - a few pre-dive tests, crawl into the chamber with several other people, sit there and read a book while the chamber pressurized, then don an oxygen helmet and try to read my book for the next ~1.5 hours with a couple of breaks from the helmet (not the chamber). Done. Drive home and try to catch up at work.

But I wasn't expecting anything else. It typically takes 10-30 visits to see results.

Going back tomorrow.
Link Posted: 3/16/2023 5:00:05 PM EDT
[#28]
Glad to see you handled the pressure so well.

This could be a barometer of your overall health.

It sounded like a pleasant atmosphere with your fellow patients.

Did you exercise any psi powers in there?

(I guess John Kelly didn't ask you any questions.)
Link Posted: 3/17/2023 5:57:52 PM EDT
[#29]
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Originally Posted By Brisk:
Glad to see you handled the pressure so well.

This could be a barometer of your overall health.

It sounded like a pleasant atmosphere with your fellow patients.

Did you exercise any psi powers in there?

(I guess John Kelly didn't ask you any questions.)
View Quote

How was today?
(No bad jokes today, I promise.)
Link Posted: 3/17/2023 6:54:52 PM EDT
[#30]
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Originally Posted By Brisk:

How was today?
(No bad jokes today, I promise.)
View Quote


It was.....a breeze?



But seriously, nothing to report. I was told to expect it to take 10-20 visits or more before I see any results, and the results I see, if any, won't likely be noticed during treatment.

On a lighter note, the clinic is in a big metro area with a nice walking sidewalk accessible from the parking lot. I jogged/walked over a mile before treatment this morning. I was the big goofy guy on the sidewalk jogging sideways to keep his CCW from falling out of his jogging pants. Note to self: they're not really *jogging* pants if you're CCW.
Link Posted: 3/21/2023 9:38:24 PM EDT
[#31]
Not much to report. Now comes the boring phase; treatment 5x/week but no obvious improvements yet.

Time will tell. The doc and staff are pleasant. The other patients are nice, and they all seem to have worse issues than I. I don’t pry, some are more open than others about their issues, but I’d say I’m the least….burdened?…..person getting treated. It’s a bit humbling.

It’s ~1:35 of really good time to catch up on my reading every day. It’s hard to complain about that.
Link Posted: 3/22/2023 8:51:21 AM EDT
[#32]
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Originally Posted By darkd0r:
Good luck!
If you see fish swimming by, they put you in the wrong chamber.
View Quote



Haha dang dude LOL..... I just LOVE the humor here hahaha...  

Glad to see you are getting the treatment & I hope it helps !
Link Posted: 3/29/2023 9:56:56 PM EDT
[#33]
Today was day 10.

Nothing obvious yet. Wasn’t expecting it yet, so that’s fine.
Link Posted: 4/8/2023 2:30:44 PM EDT
[#34]
15 down. I *sort of* expect that if I get better, it'll begin to be noticeable around 18-25 days in. So....hopefully, something soon. But for now, no change to report, except my vision has changed (as predicted, and it should be temporary).

Link Posted: 4/25/2023 3:16:26 PM EDT
[#35]
I should update this.

I quit treatment after 22 visits.

The clinic is a stressful environment. I am - as I explained to the doc before we even started - the sort of person who gets anxious at the doc's office. To make a very long story short, the longer I was there, the worse it got, because the clinic isn't a calm environment, some of the staff (in 22 visits there were 8 different attending physicians, best I could count, and about that many techs - these people have major staffing problems) were really high-strung in ways I won't go into here, but suffice to say that the final straw was that they hired a new staffer, full-time, who was the sort of personality I'd never, ever seek healthcare from on my own.

I simply reached the point where going there, to what should have been a relaxing experience, was becoming very stressful. So I called back one afternoon and explained why, and that I wouldn't be back. And I didn't have to explain much - the person who took that call understood very well. I won't name the clinic or elaborate on the drama. I'm not mad at them. But after spending over a year pursuing this treatment, I didn't quit casually or without a great deal of thought.

Do I feel any better? I simply do not know. All of my symptoms are subjective in nature. But, yes, now that I've been away from there for a week, there are signs that I am getting better. I didn't expect immediate results and didn't expect that results would happen immediately after enough visits to produce eventual results.

My experience is encouraging, to me, but nowhere close to being conclusive. I will update this thread in the future - again, I wasn't expecting immediate or even rapid results.

Would I encourage others to do this?

Perhaps. Time will tell.
Link Posted: 4/26/2023 9:27:10 AM EDT
[#36]
Well that sucks. I was hoping it would have a profound healing effect for you.

I completely understand you leaving due to those issues.

I got the bends from a depressurization event in the F-15 and had to get re-compressed for 5.5 hours in a dive chamber with the navy.

I developed tingling and numbness in my entire upper body in the chamber and was told I was going to either convulse from O2  toxicity and would have to have 1 or 2 syringes of Valium stuck directly into my heart muscle to stay a live, or die in the chamber from decompression sickness in the next 2 hours because the treatment wasn't working and there was nothing they could do to help me.

Needless to say it was a long 2 hours during which I ended up having O2 toxicity but didn't convulse.

3 atmospheres in a pressure chamber has real risks associated with it. I don't think I would have even tried in some civilian low budget doctors office with revolving staff and a lack of emergency options.
Link Posted: 4/26/2023 9:40:35 AM EDT
[#37]
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Originally Posted By Mach:
I don't think I would have even tried in some civilian low budget doctors office with revolving staff and a lack of emergency options.
View Quote


The frustrating thing is, if they removed two staff members, the entire clinic would have been very well-ran. But had they removed those two, it couldn't have been ran at all a large part of the time.

It's really a post-covid staffing problem and I won't criticize them for doing the best they could with what they have. But I certainly wouldn't endorse them, either.
Link Posted: 4/26/2023 11:41:04 AM EDT
[#38]
Have you looked into acute acidosis? There are some studies coming out that point to this being the root cause of all these systemic issues (brain fog, tiredness, soreness, stomach issues, hives). You should test your lactic acid levels and see if they are high.
Link Posted: 4/26/2023 11:47:20 AM EDT
[#39]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Originally Posted By arowneragain:


The frustrating thing is, if they removed two staff members, the entire clinic would have been very well-ran. But had they removed those two, it couldn't have been ran at all a large part of the time.

It's really a post-covid staffing problem and I won't criticize them for doing the best they could with what they have. But I certainly wouldn't endorse them, either.
View Quote
My wife did work in the human medical field (office, not doctor) but now is a Manager at an animal hospital. It seems that is everywhere. She deals with some docs who she refuses to let work on our dogs as well as docs and staff that are toxic environment to the clients. She has fired some but can't fire them all. I am an old man so I just see things in black and white. Get your shit together or get fired lol.
Link Posted: 4/26/2023 12:38:16 PM EDT
[#40]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Originally Posted By dacoolest:
Have you looked into acute acidosis? There are some studies coming out that point to this being the root cause of all these systemic issues (brain fog, tiredness, soreness, stomach issues, hives). You should test your lactic acid levels and see if they are high.
View Quote



I might do that, but I have none of the bolded symptoms.
Link Posted: 4/29/2023 9:42:00 AM EDT
[#41]
Link Posted: 4/29/2023 2:40:33 PM EDT
[#42]
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Originally Posted By Ascendent:
Please read.  
View Quote

Very interesting.
Link Posted: 4/29/2023 3:12:30 PM EDT
[#43]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Originally Posted By Ascendent:
Please read.  
View Quote



Fascinating.

Fwiw I supplement vitamin c daily. Started about 2 weeks ago. Should have started a thread about it. I spoke with someone who had done a round of high dose vitamin c and their brain fog cleared up.
Link Posted: 4/29/2023 7:09:15 PM EDT
[#44]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Originally Posted By arowneragain:



Fascinating.

Fwiw I supplement vitamin c daily. Started about 2 weeks ago. Should have started a thread about it. I spoke with someone who had done a round of high dose vitamin c and their brain fog cleared up.
View Quote

How high a dose do you take?  I know vitamin C is nearly impossible to overdose....
Link Posted: 4/29/2023 10:29:58 PM EDT
[#45]
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Originally Posted By Brisk:

How high a dose do you take?  I know vitamin C is nearly impossible to overdose....
View Quote



I only take (I had to check) 600-1100mg/day.

I may bump that up.
Link Posted: 4/30/2023 12:15:23 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Ascendent] [#46]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Originally Posted By arowneragain:



Fascinating.

Fwiw I supplement vitamin c daily. Started about 2 weeks ago. Should have started a thread about it. I spoke with someone who had done a round of high dose vitamin c and their brain fog cleared up.
View Quote View All Quotes
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Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Originally Posted By arowneragain:
Originally Posted By Ascendent:
Please read.  



Fascinating.

Fwiw I supplement vitamin c daily. Started about 2 weeks ago. Should have started a thread about it. I spoke with someone who had done a round of high dose vitamin c and their brain fog cleared up.


That article saved my life last year when I was struck down from J&J with microclots and a pulmonary embolism.  I had long covid for an entire year before.  Rouleax effect was so severe with me that my hands turned blue and the skin start stripping off as it died.

ETA; If you can't get the IV treatment, use the liposomal Vitamin C for better absorption.  Following this thread, will be praying for you mister.
Link Posted: 5/22/2023 9:29:37 AM EDT
[#47]
I'll update the thread once more.

Now that I've had several weeks to process things, I don't think the HBOT made any significant impact on the brain fog. Headache's still here. Can I think a bit clearer despite the headache? Maybe. It's hard to say.

Would it have helped a year ago? Would it have helped a milder set of symptoms? Maybe. Did it help me in other ways? Probably, though it may takes years to see that and I may never make the connection between the treatment and some future health improvement.

I will continue to look for other treatments. Currently taking a bit more vit-c but that doesn't seem to be doing anything.

This was just released in December of this year. Looks promising. May mention it to the next doc I visit:

https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/potential-new-treatment-for-brain-fog-in-long-covid-patients/


Link Posted: 5/22/2023 10:18:22 AM EDT
[#48]
Thanks for the update.
Link Posted: 5/22/2023 11:16:22 AM EDT
[#49]
One other thing I should mention:

It is well-known that HBOT causes a temporary shift in eyesight for some (most?) patients.

In my case, my left eye (normally about a -2.5x prescription) shifted another diopter or more, to a ~-3.5x. In the time since treatment it has went back to more or less what it was pre-treatment.

My right eye is normally a -4.5x prescription. I think, before treatment started, it had shifted to perhaps a -5.0 and I needed to update my prescription. I bought a temporary set of glasses and guesstimated the right eye at -6.25x. That was insufficient; it was probably closer to a -7.5x. Now that I'm several weeks post-treatment my eye has improved to the point that I can use the -6.25x lens as 'reading glasses'. With the -6.25x my right eye focuses well at around ~20 inches, perfect for computer screen use, or shooting pistols. My old -4.5x lens focuses around 10 inches now.

I suspect (my case is of course n=1) that there might be a pattern where the worse (in degree and duration) your eyes are, the worse they are impacted by HBOT. Again, my left eye is back to normal. My right eye is still ~2 full diopters worse than pre-treatment. This has left me unable to enjoy shooting sports. I'm very glad I stopped treatment when I did, at least in the sense that I'm eager for my eyes to stabilize and allow me to update my prescription and get new contact lenses.

Again, this is a minor but well-known side effect of HBOT. My left eye is back to normal, my right eye is very slowly improving. I'm not particularly worried about it, just a bit annoyed by it.

Link Posted: 7/2/2023 2:03:24 PM EDT
[#50]
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