Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment

     Below is an edited post from the American Veterans of Brain Injury website I submitted.       My email is listed on this site for anyone who needs help or simply  wants someone to talk too.      Alot of these thoughts are still a work in progress.

 
     a HBOT chamber

  

  

       I had a very positive experience with HBOT.   So, I figure I would chime in with my subjective experience with low pressure 1.3 ATM HyperBaric Oxygen (HBOT).  Yes, it is subjective, but it worked for me.  

      First, I am not selling anything.    Second, I am a physician.   I did study brain anatomy and physiology for an undergraduate thesis.   I attended Johns Hopkins Univ/Hospital in the same area with one of the leading brain research departments in the World.    I only say this as I had an inlet to some professors who understood this better than I.     I do not specialize in neurology or brain research.     I had to learn most of this myself.    I will try and keep this as nonmedical as possible. 

      My injury was a high speed bike/car accident.   I am a civilian.    I heard about AVBI on a Wounded Warrior bike ride that I volunteered for.   

     Anyhow, I have had access to wonderful care before HBOT--meaning, I tried everything.  I was fairly diligent and exhaustively thorough.  I suppose that's the most important thing in TBI.   Never give up, ever!!!  My therapy included medications (too many to list),  cognitive and physical training, controlled 30-45 min exercise a day (based on the Univ of Buffalo study), thai, regular swedish, and reiki massage,  alternative medicine including herbals, high dose antioxidants (4 different varieties--plant phenols, branched chain amino acids, vitamins, Omega 3's), acupuncture, and hypnotherapy for the PSTD.    Tried about everything.  I saw many specialists and had numerous brain MRI's and scans.  Alot of this can possibly limit the extent of the injury and made me more functional.   It wasn't easy.    Of course,  my wife was partly pushing me.  TBI therapy is probably too challenging to undertake alone without the help of friends and family.    However, all of this therapy helped to an extent, but I was left with alot of symptoms that weren't getting better.   It was very discouraging living in a "fog" including the many other symptoms of TBI.   
     I was in discussion with several HBOT specialists over the year, but unfortunately they were alternative medicine folks who weren't relying on evidence based medicine.   Alot of them were trying to sell/rent me a chamber.  I was cautious and skeptical.   However, I became seriously interested in the possibility of HBOT after speaking with several neurologists and someone out of the Walter Reed TBI study.   There are some anecdoctal reports that "some" folks with TBI respond with HBOT.   There are no  randomized controlled study results yet.     So, I rented a chamber and then purchased after much thought, hoping to do my own qualitative study.      I tried to get insurance to pay for it but got nowhere.  HBOT will not be  reimburseable thru health insurance until evidence based research is available. For most of those with TBI, your medical expenses will be through the roof anyhow, so you should seek an accountant to look into deductible expenses.    Car insurance usually has a clause that will pay for a few of the out of pocket expenses, even if you were not driving an automobile.         

     My own opinion, which is similar to others who taught me,  is that TBI is a complex pathologic process and every injury is different.     TBI  can result from a multitude of causes  including intraparenchymal brain bleeding, epidural bleeding, axonal shearing and "bruising", and edema. So, it's  likely not everyone will get better with HBOT.   It depends on the actual injury.      However, some folks will improve!    Alot of it depends on the "possibility" of semiviable neurons that just need a "jump start."   This is also likely in stroke, cerebral palsy, and a number of  peripheral nerve injuries.   This is the newer hypothesis being proposed in brain research.    Maybe these folks need augmented blood flow either thru exercise, the pressure of HBOT to augment cerebral flood blow,   or maybe the mitochondria just need a slightly higher concentration of oxygen to start the cell apparatus working again. The mitochondria possibly are acting like a broken engine in an oxygen deprived state.  They may be producing some proteins but also may be deficient in critical others.   If the mitochondria is ill,  they will not regenerate the broken neuron cell membranes.   All long, folks in medicine have believed mitochondria can lay dormant, making a cell inactive.  This is likely common in other organs but especially the brain because of the vast network of capillaries that are constantly in a state of opening and constricting, especially when injured.    In inactive neuron or brain cell then becomes a broken link in the chain.  The brain is essentially a bunch of interlinked networks and chains.     To some extent, brain spect scan may or may not help elucidate some of this.    Unfortunately, we don't have all the answers.   Brain research is not easy. 
      My recommendation:    low pressure 1.3 ATM should be tried.    It worked for me.   In fact, it was dramatic!    I am a practicing physician and functional person again.    I know I was lucky, but HBOT did help.   I can say this without reservation--my wife is also a physician and monitored my progress.  Yes, this is all subjective, but emotions, personality, and brain function are inherently subjective.
      If you are someone or know a family member with TBI who experiences cyclical symptoms (i.e. getting better and worse),  I encourage you to seek HBOT.    If your symptoms are cyclical, it's possible those damaged neurons can be jump started.  Low pressure 1.3 ATM with low supplemented oxygen tension will have very few if any side effects.   The most common is ear popping.   Folks with TBI, ear or sinus problems,  need a physician evaluation before attempting HBOT.  
       Anyhow, I personally can't express enough thanks for this website and message board!!!   In the future, I plan on doing low pressure HBOT studies with TBI, awaiting grants and the like.  I now have a chamber in my house/lab and would be willing to lend help or advice thru the email here.    williamvickers@mac.com   

wabecca

 

Posts: 1

Joined: Mon May 04, 2009 7:32 am

Comments

[jond]

Thank you for this post and will email for some ideas