Oxygen Therapy for Long COVID, Fatigue, and Focus—And One Thing I’d Do Differently

Healing Long COVID Part 2

Inside the HBOT tank

“Nothing flammable in the chamber.”

“Sorry, what?”

“If something catches on fire, it’s very dangerous,” said the technician moments before they locked me inside a steel oxygen chamber for 90 minutes.

That was my introduction to Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT). Despite negative experiences at the HBOT center, the treatment was effective.

Since publishing Healing Long COVID last year, I’ve made progress and discovered more pieces of the puzzle. After learning how effective HBOT is for Long COVID (and dozens of other conditions), I wanted to make sure it wasn’t kept under the radar. In my research, I mostly found professional athletes using it.

HBOT sessions involve lying down inside a pressurized chamber and breathing pure oxygen. This technique speeds up healing in tissues that are starved for oxygen. The goal is to fill the blood with enough oxygen to repair tissues and restore normal body function. (John Hopkins University)

HBOT's Versatility: Treating Conditions from Diabetes to Dementia
Mayo Clinic used HBOT to heal a woman who suffered a post-transplant infection, and more recently, a case cited HBOT for healing a post-cancer radiation wound. Meanwhile, athletes seem more aware of oxygen therapy; some have HBOT chambers in their homes (they cost anywhere from $10K—$100K+). Joe Namath, Tiger Woods, and LeBron James use HBOT for everything from brain and back injuries to improving speed and mental focus.

HBOT treats the entire body, and it can be recommended for diabetes, dementia, autism, IBS, and much more. It’s also anti-aging. It’s being used for chronic conditions, including tricky ones like Lyme disease, and in my case, HBOT is “highly promising” for long-term COVID patients.

The Medical Grade “Hard-Sided” HBOT Chamber
There are different HBOT chambers, from “hard-sided” to “soft-sided.” Here’s an example of the medical-grade chamber I was in (the Fortius 420). This type of HBOT chamber costs over $100K and needs a certified technician to operate. It is known as the hard-sided steel chamber. It feels like a tank or a tiny submarine.

It’s mostly opaque, with two small windows to the outside world. If the HBOT tech didn’t walk by at the exact right spot, I couldn’t see them to signal or communicate.

This commercial-grade chamber is powerful, but I wouldn’t use it again because of my experience at the HBOT center. I’d go with the “soft-sided” chamber that doesn’t include the high pressurization, so I could get in and out myself.

My Experience in the “Hard-Sided” HBOT Chamber
After continued research, I found a doctor's office that successfully treated Long COVID patients. It was the first time a medical professional recognized my symptoms, and I could feel my body exhale with relief. I learned that my recurring vertigo could be related to a blood flow issue, and we wanted to get more circulation and blood flow to the brain.

As part of my protocol, I was prescribed HBOT treatments and supplements (including blood circulation pills), and I signed up for a fasting-mimicking program, Prolon, to reduce overall inflammation. More recently, I’ve also seen success with Dr. Ruscio’s Long COVID insights and recommendation for a temporary Low Histamine diet. Like most things, the right combination of treatments is key.

When I entered the HBOT center that first day, I was working to heal vertigo, fatigue, and brain fog and hoping to improve my concentration.

Not for the Claustrophobic
If you’re claustrophobic, this isn’t for you. Imagine being locked in a tube smaller than a twin bed for 90+ minutes, and for serious health issues, you have to do 40+ sessions. They prescribed 40 sessions for me in the medical-grade, hard-sided HBOT chamber.

My HBOT sessions needed to be done consecutively within a short time, so I was scheduled for treatments 3-4 times a week. Because I was going into the hard-sided chamber, the whole process felt very medical—like you’re preparing for surgery. I’d have to stop drinking liquids hours prior to each of my sessions because they can’t just open the chamber (and you can’t let yourself out). It could take 20 minutes for the chamber to depressurize before they can let you out. Once you’re pressurized and locked in, you’re in until it’s over.

I was OK in the chamber, but the HBOT techs were hit or miss. Sometimes, I would be left locked inside a chamber for too long and without warning, or if they were suddenly in a rush to get me out, they would depressurize me too fast (it’s called bringing you “down”), and my ears would be popping for days. It got to the point where Jason had to sit through all my treatments and monitor my chamber to advocate for me and make sure everything was above board.

After a Month, I Started Feeling Better Overall and Less Fatigued
Initially, I’d come home from treatments and fall asleep. My nurse said this is normal as the body is healing. By the 10th session, I was sleeping better and feeling more energized, my reaction time was improving, and even my digestion was better. After a month of HBOT, I was getting real results. My cognition was improving, and I was able to focus for longer periods of time again. I went from barely making it through one meeting to slowly ramping back up to leading projects again.

Before HBOT, I couldn’t work at the computer for more than 20 minutes at a time. The vertigo would get more intense, and I’d feel exhausted almost immediately. It was sad and frustrating, but after a series of HBOT sessions, I started feeling much less fatigued overall. This improved my quality of life and, of course, my ability to work more normally again (I am still working to heal the vertigo, but it is less severe).

Since the oxygen treatment was working for me, but the HBOT center was a negative experience, I asked my nurse for recommendations going forward. I learned you can do treatments in the soft-side HBOT chambers, and you can buy one for at-home use. The soft chambers are not as powerful as the hard chambers because they can not achieve the same level of pressurization. As a result, you need to complete more sessions to achieve comparable results. She explained that the soft chambers equate to about half the power, and 90 treatments in the soft chamber equals about 40 sessions in the hard chamber.

Below is the Vitaeris 320 soft chamber I want to use next time. It runs about $20K and is good for at-home use. It’s spacious enough for an adult to sit upright, and you can zip yourself in and out.

The major upside of the soft chamber is that you don’t have to worry about intense pressurization (on your ears), and you don’t need to be sealed in by a certified HBOT tech, etc.

Oxygen Therapy & That “Limitless” Energy
I learned so much from my HBOT nurse, who has worked in oxygen therapy for the last twenty years. When her son broke his ankle, she had him in the HBOT almost daily, and he healed twice as fast (it’s stuff like this that makes you feel like we’re living in the future). As she and her husband get older, she credits much of their good health and agility to using their at-home HBOT regularly.

I see why athletes and celebrities love it so much. After a dozen sessions, there were a few times when I emerged from the tank feeling like Bradley Cooper in Limitless with that energized and sharp mental focus (imagine having access to this daily?!). There was another time when I started getting a cold, and it cleared up almost immediately.

Ultimately, due to the high cost and difficult experience at the HBOT center, I completed half the prescribed sessions. It was all “out-of-pocket” and not covered by insurance, so even 20 sessions were expensive. I think I achieved the results I did because I combined HBOT with the autophagy-focused Prolon fast. I suspect fasting complimented the oxygen treatments.

Since I still need to do more sessions (and want to keep progressing), I’m looking for a new treatment center with a soft-sided chamber. Ideally, we would invest in an at-home chamber so Jason can use it as well.

Once you have the chamber, you only need to buy the oxygen. For now, I have this on my vision board: “wellness room.” After all this, you know I could design an awesome, cutting-edge wellness room!