Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

[Fiona]

TEXT Hi there everyone - I'm new to this site and wondered if anybody else out there has used or is thinking of using HBOT for their child's ADHD.

My son has Cerebral Palsy (Stroke at birth), Severe ADHD and Epilepsy. I have tried everything (well almost) and recently found a web site on HBOT - decided to give it a go as Nicholas is 9 and really starting to lag behind everybody else - we have just changed schools as he was being physically abused and nothing was being done for him.

Anyway have done 15 sessions of HBOT and am amazed to say that although expensive I think it is going to be worthwhile - Nicholas is sleeping much better, more relaxed, when he gets angry he is not soo over the top now, he is walking better and just generally looks healthier, he says he feels fantastic.

Has anyone out there had any experience with HBOT, either positive or negative I would love to hear from you.

[Amsmom]

hi fiona,
welcome to the forums. we are so glad you are here. i have a friend who has used HBOT for her daughter who has CP. i havent seen her in over a yr, but i know that the treatments were beginning to help her daughter somewhat. best of luck to you. keep coming back!

[rosyred45]

Welcome Fiona, I am not familiar with HBOT, could you please explain it. It seems like it is helping, which is great.

Take care
Kaiti

[catatonic]

Very interesting. I'm glad you find this is working for you. HBOT has become really popular in the past couple of years as a treatment for cerebral palsy. I'm not aware that it has any usefulness in treating ADHD, though, nor that it claims to. Do you find it has an impact on ADHD symptoms as well, or are the benefits solely related to the CP?

The medical powers-that-be are catching on that HBOT is sticking around and have begun conducting clinical trials that investigate whether or not it is effective, and where it might be most effective. It's shown mixed results for stroke victims. The two areas where it has consistently shown benefits are:

** "chronic wounds" -- such as diabetic ulcers (reduces frequency of necessity for amputation)
** traumatic head injury (increases survival rate, decreases amount of secondary damage)

Because of its growing popularity, HBOT has drawn research money and attention and several double-blind studies have been conducted to determine whether or not it is an effective treatment for cerebral palsy. According to these studies, it is not.

Summary of 16 clinical trials
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=14533113

Double blind clinical trial
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=12162381

Large double-blind study (111 children)
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11558483

However, one of the leading practitioners of HBOT disputes these research findings, and here provides discussion of why he believes the above studies did not show that HBOT did any better than the placebo treatment:
drcranton.com/hbo/hboresearch.htm

It's a very interesting and controversial treatment at this point. Doctors fight about it, researchers fight about it, people who have tried it fight about it. I find the idea of HBOT appealing because it's non-invasive and doesn't involve the side-effects and long-term consequences of medication. I'd be really interested in hearing your results as treatments progress, so I hope you will keep us all posted.

[catatonic]

Kaiti -
To find out more about hyperbaric oxygen therapy, take a look at this website:
drcranton.com/hbo.htm

Basically, they put you inside a sealed chamber, pump in 100% oxygen, then increase the pressure inside the chamber until it is equal to nearly 2 atmospheres. This hyperpressurized oxygen is believed by many to have a variety of beneficial health effects. Each treatment costs anywhere from $150 - $1,000 (around here it is $300) which insurance won't pay for because they consider it an unproven treatment. Typical requirement is for about 50 treatments.

Remember a couple of years back when the National Enquirer was saying that Michael Jackson had bought one and slept in it every night? Well, Michael may be a tad bit on the weird side, but people pay attention to what he does. It sparked a lot of interest in HBOT and as a result there's more research being done on it.

[rosyred45]

That's neat sounding. So likening the scuba diver being down 22 feet or so with the pressure, BUT it being pure oxygen, does that mean it doesn't feel as "tight" on the body?

Does that make sense? I'll reword it if nessessary.
Thanks Catatonic for the information