Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

[ree427]

Has anyone tried or heard of any success stories using Hyperbaric Oxygen to treat Lyme Disease?  My doctor has patients doing it and says it helps heal nerve and brain damage caused by Lyme. I also read that can help kill the bacteria, but my doctor says no to this.  It is costly, so I am trying to decide if it's worth the expense. Thank you.

[JackieCalifornia]

You might consider doing some more reading on the subject before proceeding.  There is a fellow named Bryan Rosner who has a mini publishing empire based on the topics of Lyme and coinfections and treatments.  He has a bunch of youtubes available online and you might view some of those to get a feel for his approach.

He states upfront that he is not medically trained, but at least he's talking, like we are here.  One of his books, published in 2004, is titled 'When Antibiotics Fail ... Lyme Disease and Rife Machines, with Critical Evaluation of Leading Alternative Therapies."  

Most of the book is about ... yes, Rife, but there is commentary on other forms of treatment including HBOC (hyperbaric oxygen chamber).  His conclusion, and comments of others quoted in the book, is:  "Many have found some relief with  HBOC, and a bonus is that it is non-toxic and even helpful to the immune system.  Some people attain temporary remissiosn with the combination of antibiotics and HBOC.  Most of htese remissiosn are not sustainable after the theapy is discontinued.  Relapses are commmon.  ... People also find that to maintain benefit from HBOC they must continually use it, which results in the largest drawback to this therapy:  HBOC is expensive and inconvenient, especially with an extended ttreatment campaign, such as two years.  [Rosner footnote:  'Based on the life cycle of the organism and other factors, it appears that  any effective treatment must be continued for at least two years to achieve maximum benefit.']"  He also mentions possible side effects:  "even a slightly congested sinus passageway can render serious danger in HBOC treatments."  

More:  "...some researchers believe [HBOC] drives the infection deeper [and] may be worse than antibiotics in this regard.  HBOC distributes oxygen unequally in tisssues that are more accessible to pressurized oxygen ... [and] HBOC can drive bacteria to deeper locations where a lower concentration for oxygen is present."

Rosner doesn't claim to be a scientist, and he has his definite points of view, but given that Lyme lives in the wild wild west of illness and treatment, I'll read anything I can find, but with a skeptical eye.  That applies to everything, including Rife and HBOC and antibiotics.

I'm not affiliated with Rosner in any way, but suggest that you research carefully the pros and cons of any treatment you are considering.

[ree427]

Thanks for your response.  I live in PA and there is a facilty that does Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy in Columbia, PA.  I believe they charge something like $115 for one hour. It can get quite expensive and insurance doesn't cover it because it's considered experimental.  My doctor informed me she has a patient who completed sixty one-hour sessions and he is doing better and not in a wheelchair anymore. His condition has seemed to stablize and stop deteriorating.   Some information you see on the internet talks about Hyperbarics like it's a cure, but you don't know what to believe on the internet!

[carrie235]

If I felt I could afford it, I would probably try it.  I called an office around here in California and I could not believe how expensive it was!!!  I cannot remember how much it was, but it seems like it was something like $8,000 to rent a machine for like a month or less....outrageous!

I have a friend who's daughter has lyme.  My friend has another friend who's daughter has lyme and that other friend is taking her daughter to someone in Nevada for some type of oxygen treatment and she says has gotten much better.  My friend wants to take her daughter to Vegas for these treatments.  Next time I talk to her, I'll ask her about this.