Well, a “mile or two” especially in a hilly area sounds impressive to me, Liza!

Posted by: @llholiday

Well, a “mile or two” especially in a hilly area sounds impressive to me, Liza!

Thanks!!  It isn’t San Francisco level hilly, but even little hills seem big when I am walking. 🤣

You are doing great just to get some exercise daily.  One foot in front of the other...just keep on truckin'.

very true, I do know little of your condition.  but myself, I would be looking at any option for improving healing with an open wound over a year old.  by now, you should  have had well over 100hrs in the chamber.  

I started skiing during chemo, my first time out I could only ski 5K.  next time I went 7K, then 10K.  after reading about vigorous exercise helping, I decided to give it all I had.  So you stay in elevated O2 for 2 hrs,  a mile walk at 3mph is only about 20minutes of elevated heart rate.  

Are you trying to increase distance or speed all the time? you mentioned kinda blaming your doctors for your body not healing, you need to do all you can do as well.  

btw, you do understand taking the phone in the chamber is NOT a good idea, especially if its a Samsung.

I do get some exercise jumping to conclusions and flying off the handle - these also elevate my heart rate; however, a well-timed leap of faith can at times help bring it back down.

Wow - new here, so just reading these posts for the first time. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has possible serious side effects, and should always, ALWAYS be practiced in a medical setting! Ear drum perforation, seizures, and lung damage are possible reasons you want trained medical staff to be in close proximity. Having said that, hyperbaric medicine can be very helpful for healing wounds resulting from radiation injury, among other issues. It helped me heal a 2 1/2 year old rectal incision that would not heal any other way. 

Hyperbaric medicine is poorly understood, even by doctors. Many regard it with scepticism, but there are good studies that support its efficacy in certain situations, radiation injury being one of them. I didn’t know about this treatment until I asked for a referral to one of the top colorectal surgeons in the country (according to my own surgeon), and it was he who recommended HBOT (hyperbarics) to me. Having been through it, with success, I am a firm believer in the treatment, but I would never, ever, take part in this treatment in a private home. Just too many serious risks.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy works by encouraging a process called angiogenesis - a process that occurs naturally, but can also be artificially encouraged through hyperbarics, which supplies 100% oxygen to the body at increased atmospheric pressure. The increased pressure allows the lungs to take up more oxygen than they could under normal pressure (this is why just straight O2 doesn’t work by itself; it needs pressure too). Angiogenesis is how new vascular tissue is created. Because radiation doesn’t discriminate between cancer and healthy tissue, a common side effect of radiation is that healthy tissue is damaged, and all the little capillaries (vascular tissue) in the area are killed off. Hyperbaric treatments encourage angiogenesis, or the creation of new vascular tissue. Once new vascular tissue is created, oxygenated blood can once again be supplied to the area, laying the foundation for healing. 

Hyperbaric medicine is a painless, non-invasive (albeit time consuming) treatment, but because of potential serious side effects, it should never be administered by anyone other than trained health professionals who know how to recognize potential problems and also know how to respond should they occur.

Very interesting.

After well over a year of an abdominal wound not healing, I was willing to try anything and was very appreciative of my friend offering up her hyperbaric chamber. Unfortunately, it didn’t heal my wound, but I discovered last month after another surgery that there was another reason it wasn’t healing. It didn’t heal my wound, but the extra oxygen definitely didn’t hurt me. 

@squeakyandliza

Hey Liza - having suffered with a non healing wound, I can relate to wanting to try anything! Your friend obviously cares about you very much, and it was kind of her to offer you help.

My main concern is that there are very serious - occasionally fatal - issues that can arise from hyperbaric oxygen therapy. For example, there have been incidents of fires when safety precautions weren’t taken, because of the high levels of oxygen. This not only kills the person in the hyperbaric chamber, but everyone else in the vicinity as well. When I went through this treatment in the hospital,  I was not allowed to wear street clothes - I had to change into scrubs provided for me. Also, no deodorant, no lotions or makeup, jewelry of any kind; even my glasses were suspect until I told them I was certain they weren’t titanium frames. I couldn’t take anything at all into the chamber with me - such is the high risk of fire. Hyperbaric medicine is just that - medicine. It should always be delivered by professionals who understand the risks both in terms of fire safety and health.

Liza, I hope you can get to the bottom of your non healing wound. As I said, I know how awful that feels, both physically and emotionally. It has such an impact on your life - I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Just a thought - my pain specialist at the cancer clinic suggested that I try CBD oil on my wound, so I did. It didn’t help me, but there is some anecdotal evidence that it can help with healing stubborn wounds. No scientific studies yet, but there is a Dr Vincent Maida in the Toronto area who is studying this. Good luck.

@tigerlily...eye issues today...however, if this was not mentioned, the Hyperbaric chamber Liza was in was not a chamber like what you see in a well equipped medical institute., It was  a hyperbaric tent, with zippers.  I can not imagine that the company would even be licensed to sell them if they were anywhere near the benefit you would receive in a hospital.  There was also someone sitting in a chair right next to the "tent" with a window so she could be seen the whole time. 

I agree though, a Hyperbaric Chamber to the extent you seem to be speaking can be dangerous and does need trained staff on duty.  Realistically, this was a hyperbaric tent. Big difference I think.  I know the one time I saw a H. chamber I thought it looked much like a very well sealed mini submarine...now, I have been on a actual real life war time submarine, so I can make this comparison. lol!  

@dlkfiretruck

Yes, it is very much like a well sealed submarine; that’s the only way to ensure the pressure and oxygen increase. You may be quite right about the hyperbaric tent, and I have no experience with that at all. Thanks for pointing this out.

@tigerlily...not to worry. I nursed eons ago but remember enough that if there was a huge concern of those true side affects you pointed out, I certainly would have said something.  I had seen a picture of what Liza was using and new that she may benefit from it and especially very well from the extra good oxygen but it certainly would not have the same drastic affect of the Hospital Chambers, though I sure wished it would have for her sake. She is one tough cookie and has gone thru so much already. 

We are all troupers in our own way as many have fought disease damage for so long the Ostomy is a true God send, as it was for me.  

Welcome to the site by the way. Eric has provided and immense amount of credible information and allowed so many to heal in other ways by being able to talk about our experiences, get advice or ideas, what ever we need. I mean who does not need a pound of extra encouragement and just being here is a good part of it. Thank you Eric! 

Why don't you start a new forum and introduce yourself & tell us a little bit about your journey here. Then we can welcome you here the way we like to. We enjoy getting to know some of the background of newbies. If you have any concerns or questions, do not be afraid to share them. No question is ever a dumb question here! I hope to read of you soon! All the best!! 

@dlkfiretruck

Thanks LK (those are my initials too!😊) I am looking for where to introduce myself on this site - is there a specific place for that? Still finding my way around the site. Oh - found it! Who would think to look under “introductions”? Not me, apparently. Duh. Need to put my glasses on🤓.

@tigerlily

Hi and welcome to the site. I was on yesterday and forgot to greet you. Linda is right in saying you've come to the right place. I would be lost without this site and all my ostomy pals with all their helpful hints and support! Eric is a gem and has done so much work to keep this going for us. Plus, you'll find a plethora of info here. What more could you want!😊

God bless,

Stella

@tigerlily...lol!! Not to worry we all have days & some nights like that!!! I look forward to reading your intro! Good for you! Lol...my sister inlaw has the exact same 3 initials and names as I did, LLG before we both got married!