HYPERBARIC OXYGEN THERAPY - PUTTING CRPS INTO REMISSION?

Well, it is still too early to tell what the end result will be but it sure has gotten a foot in the door. 

As I mentioned with quite some excitement yesterday the burning in my hands went down to about a one last night. By the morning it went up a little to about a 1.5 or a 2. Still amazing. I am anticipating it will continue to fall. The left foot continues to be about an 8, the right foot has dropped to about a 5, the eyes are still very strong and my ears as well. But, considering I started out with burning almost everywhere, THAT AIN'T VERY MUCH :)

I have noticed that my allodynia hasn't gone down very much yet. Some of the past patients have mentioned they saw a big difference around the 30 to 35 treatment mark. 

So before I get to your questions, here is mine for you.

For those of you who were helped by HBOT, did you have your allodynia decrease as well, and if so, when did that occur? 

Also, I have only heard from four of you who had the varied depth treatment. Are there any others who had their HBO therapy changed after the 25  or so treatment? In other words, where they altered the depth, maybe day to day, going from shallow one day to deep the next? If so, what were the results?

Ok, now here are your questions. 

Someone had written to me asking if it were possible for someone with a spinal column stimulator to have HBOT?

The answer is yes. As a matter of fact I have a link for an HBOT study that was done on patients who had SCS units. 

Someone else asked, "Why does HBOT work?" 

On the Hi-Tech Hyperbaric Medical Center website, it states;

"Nature has dictated that healing cannot take place without appropriate oxygen levels in the body’s tissues. In many cases, such as those involving circulatory problems, Strokes, anoxic brain injury, and near drowning just to name a few, adequate oxygen cannot reach the damaged area and therefore the body’s natural healing process fails to function properly.Oxygen given with increased pressure can correct many serious health problems. To provide this increased pressure one must be within a pressurized room, a Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber. Oxygen, given at normal atmospheric pressure is insufficient to raise tissue oxygen levels. The answer is to deliver oxygen with a slight increase in pressure with a chamber to raise the oxygen tension above the normal red blood cell saturation.

Interesting.

Also, it was asked whether you could continue your HBOT if you develop a col or the flu. This is best addressed by your HBO Doctor but the main problem here would be the inability to clear your ears. If you can't clear your ears you won't be able to descend. 

Another question was "How do I know that my HBO Technician is properly trained?"

In 1991 the National Board of Diving and Hyperbaric Medical Technology (NBDHMT) introduced a standard certification program for all hyperbaric technicians.

And someone asked for more testimonials besides the ones on Dr Spiegel's site and the Rapid Recovery Hyperbaric site. Here is yet one more site with more testimonials of various diseases treated with HBOT. 

Lastly, if anyone is reading this who lives in the Tampa Bay/Palm Harbor area, or happens to be visiting the area, our local CRPS support group will be holding a pool party this Saturday, August 2nd, in Tampa Bay. It should be fun and we will be having a cook-out as well. C'mon over! I promise to try very hard to stay awake for the whole afternoon!

Take care guys, and remember, hug your caregiver tonight!

Peace, Keith 

JULY 6TH - WAITING FOR MY NEXT TREATMENT

Good afternoon everyone! Well, as you can probably figure out I didn't just go lie down after my last entry and come right back. I laid down for a while, and then laid down some more, and then woke up at 6 am! It was great! It was weird, sleeping that much, but it was great! I am not used to it and it was definitely due to the HBO.

I spent the next day, July 4th, at the beach with friends. For all of my friends up north where the water is barely 65 degree's; it was a little rough. I had to force myself to get into the 87 degree gulf coast water, force myself to try and enjoy floating in the water and watching the dolphins cavorting around the sailboats and jet-ski's just off shore, to try and enjoy the perfect 90 degree, sunny, not-a-cloud-in-the-sky day. But as I remembered all of those cold days spent up north, all of those cold mornings having to walk through the newly fallen snow just to get to my car, how the below zero weather caused my CRPS pain to shoot sky-high, somehow I managed to enjoy myself.

The warm weather, the sunny days, and the warm water have all been wonderful for my CRPS, which was one of the main reasons we moved down to Florida from Maine. I am very grateful to my better half, Petra, for making the move for those reasons.

Ok, so what have the last few days been like without HBO? Because Friday was a holiday the clinic was closed so after four days of treatment I have taken three days off. I will resume my treatment, my fifth day of therapy, tomorrow, July 7th. 

If you had asked me on Thursday, as some did,  if I had begun to feel any pain relief I would have told you that I didn't think that there was any positive forward movement yet but I did notice there was some backward movement; which isn't unusual. I have had some issues with a little eye blurriness, and a little bit of a headache in the afternoon a couple of days but neither thing last long and neither are overly aggravating. Of course the treatment does make you fairly tired as well.

However! On Friday night I felt my pain increase and then again on Saturday and today. I know it wasn't due to being at the beach on Friday because I was very careful to not over-do, something I have a tendency to do. I also had a few people watching over me to ensure that didn't happen as well. And we went home early rather than stay and watch the fireworks because I knew if I stayed that I would be far too exhausted by the time we got home. 

So that only leaves one conclusion; the HBO must have started to give me some relief and the lack of HBO on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday! So while some people might be a little upset with feeling that additional pain these last few days I was thrilled with it because it told me that the HBO was working! How far we will be able to go with it, how much relief I will eventually get I don't know. But I am excited about the possibilities!

Now on to other business.

I haven't forgotten about the information I was getting to answer the question about the difference between the blow up units and the hard-sided units that most clinics use. I had hoped to have it by today but it wasn't sent to me. I will try and get it tomorrow. 

I do have a new article to share with you that answers a very important question; what about stopping the treatment early? Before the treatment series is scheduled to end? For instance, if you are set up at the clinic in the typical 20 or 30 treatment cycle, are there any possible problems with suddenly stopping after 10 or 15? 

Some may ask "Why would you stop in the first place?" 

Well, I happen to have the answer to that. Excellent question! Thanks for playing our game. We have some wonderful parting gifts for you.

What happens, as I may have discussed before, is that for many patient's their pain actually worsens before it gets better. For yet others, their pain level will go up and down during their treatment, especially in the beginning.  Unfortunately, some patients get to these points, these changes, and give up. They feel the HBOT isn't working and think,  why put myself through any more of this? 

For those of you who are going through it now or who are considering it in the future, remember,  we have to push through it. Finish the entire course of treatment. In some cases you may not see the entire positive results for weeks after you finish the therapy. Every session builds upon the last, and it is a long process. 

It isn't the same thing as watching a cut/wound heal on your arm, where you can monitor its' progress, see the healing take place in front of you. CRPS and fibromyalgia healing involves healing our nervous system, healing the way our inner body functions. It took a lot of time for our sympathetic nervous system to get "screwed up" (technical medical terminology) , give it the time it needs to heal properly. After all, if you give up, what are you going to do? Just go home and do nothing? Why not just finish off the few weeks left of therapy instead? 

So here is the article I promised. I know, a long way 'round. It is called "PERSONALITY CHANGE WITH HBOT" and you can read it just by clicking on it.

Something else I wanted to share, sorry for making this so long today, is a few tips to help make the after-effects of the HBO less likely to be a problem. 

It is important to remember that your diet plays a key role in maintaining your health when you are in chronic pain. This is especially true when you are undergoing a treatment such as HBO. One of the best ways to help with your diet is to follow the examples given in Doctor Hooshmand's, CHRONIC PAIN DIET, AKA, THE FOUR F'S DIET . You can read about the basics on our website and then click through to get to Dr Hooshmand's site where he explains not only what the Four F's are but also what foods to avoid.

Unfortunately the Four F's are not French Fries and deep-Fried Twinkies, and Fudge! 

Dr Hooshmand explains these in more depth but they are;

Fresh Fish, Fresh Fruit, Fowl, and Fresh Vegetables. He gives a list of foods to be avoided and a list of foods that are allowed.  

While many CRPS patients tend to have foods that they find increase or decrease their pain, many will be surprised to learn how accurate this list is. The foods-to-be-avoided list, are foods that tend to increase your pain. 

Lastly, I wanted to mention that when you are undergoing HBO Therapy, it helps if you remember to bring along some fruit because you need to eat right after your treatment, it is recommended that you eat within 30 minutes of exiting the chamber, at least an apple or something along those lines. Keep up a diet high in protein, low-carbs, and low-fat. 

You should also make sure not to drink caffeine four or five hours before treatment and it is even recommended to avoid caffeine altogether if possible, according to the chronic pain diet! 

You will notice a big difference! 

I will try to continue to pass on tips as the various Drs and Techs I talk with pass them on to me. 

I love hearing from everyone else who is also going through the treatment, keep the emails coming. I may not always be able to answer but I always read them.

Peace,

Keith 

Just a few notes

I just wanted to make a few comments about the Hyperbaric before I begin.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the treatment, and who will be following me here,  there tends to be a pattern that is important to note. Many patients start to feel better, then they sort of hit this wall where their symptoms and pain actually increase rather than decrease. This is an important and crucial point in the treatment process because it is often where some patients quit; feeling the treatment not only isn't working but is actually making them worse.

If they could only push past this spot, and where it comes depends on the patient, the medical history, treatment modality, length/depth of dives, etc., but if they could only push through this spot they usually achieve some amazing results.

That is my first point. If you read this and see that my pain starts to get worse, please stay tuned. I will stay the course, to see it through. 

The second point has to do with whether or not I am a good candidate to begin with. Who knows? I think most Drs who examine me for the first time would say I am a very tough case and one of the worst they have seen, despite the fact that some people who see me say "You don't look like you have CRPS?". Currently I am not in a wheelchair, although I did use one for a while. Currently I am not using a cane, although I did for many years. Currently I am not forced to spend all my days in bed, although like many of you there are days when it is a real struggle not to do so. Many people who see me would think I was "normal", those who are my friends and family and spend some time with mw know the truth, I have gotten much better at handling and hiding my pain. Plus, most people don't see our "down-time". 

As I mention in my bio, besides having full-body CRPS I also have Fibromyalgia, failed-back syndrome, peripheral neuropathy in my feet and legs, Uveitis, very bad eye problems (especially my left eye), Sjogren's Syndrome, and a few other minor issues. I have had quite a few surgeries from accidents over the years. In other words, I am not the ideal "clean" candidate as Doctor's like to say. But I thought it was important to try this treatment and share my experiences with others, the same way I did with the low-dose ketamine infusion. 

HBOT has such amazing potential for CRPS patients. It is non-invasive, it isn't very expensive compared to other treatment options, especially the implants, and if done in the correct environment it is a safe procedure. 

If you would like to learn more about how it works, you should stop by our website and check out the HBO Section. If you have already been through it yourself send me an email detailing your experiences so we can share them with others, especially if it was done in a facility with the hard-sided (chambers as opposed to the soft-sided home chambers). 

The section can be found by visiting AMERCIAN RSDHOPE HYPERBARIC OXYGEN TREATMENT

Thanks for reading!