I’d been hearing about the great effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for years, including a friend who swore that this treatment helped him the most after a concussion.
I decided it was time to try it myself.
I got a few recommendations and chose the one with the best reviews and availability. They have a partnership with a medical office that does a quick evaluation and sign off since you need a prescription to get the treatment. It was a bit of extra money and time, and it seemed like an unnecessary bit of red tape, but overall not super inconvenient.
The hyperbaric chamber looked a bit like a spaceship pod and you get in with some 100% cotton clothes they give you and can bring in a book/phone/laptop in a kind of surreal “just getting some work done in my oxygen-on-steroids pod” kind of way.
The woman helping me seemed most focused on whether I had any inner ear congestion which I didn’t and left it up to me on how strong I wanted the oxygen (it wasn’t until I went to pay that I realized you are up-charged for higher oxygen concentration which was a bit annoying). I had to talk down my competitive side that usually yells “WHAT’S THE MOST ANYONE HAS EVER DONE EVER IN HISTORY AND THEN GIVE ME MORE.” I sensibly opted for the most standard level for my trial run especially since I didn’t have any conditions I was working to treat.
You are given a little walkie talkie-ish thing and then told to use your cell phone to call the office if that doesn’t work for some reason. And then they lock you in the little pod. There’s definitely an “I’m taking off/landing on a plane” sensation in the ears but it’s not painful.
I’m not sure if I felt a bit light headed because of the oxygen or because of the low grade claustrophia, but after my session was over and I shelled out a couple hundred dollars, I opted not to sign up for her recommendation that I do this 3+ times a week for several months.
I am still a believer in Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, but don’t plan to go back again unless I have some type of injury or specific reason to utilize this expensive and slight-anxiety inducing modality.
Love,
Jenna
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