waitingroomwisdom

[waitingroomwisdom]

more info

Hi Eileen, I just wanted to add more info to the previous message I sent you.  My child had about 40 HBOT with Dr. Paul Harch and it was amazing!  He was the first doctor to validate her symptoms and actually treat them without meds!    Her headaches were almost gone, after suffering with migraines and headaches 24/7 for nearly 2 years!  Her nausea and dizziness, balance issues, memory, cognitive issues all improved and nearly disappeared. Her balance and perception issues are nearly non existent after 40+ treatments of functional neurology, or the girostem with Dr. Ted Carrick at Life. I definitely believe this combination of treatments worked wonders for her!  Hope other children find this helpful!

Andrea, you are an amazing example of a strong and kind mom.  Nate would not have been able to be helped without you sharing your wisdom. I hope all is well for you both!  God bless! Eileen

[waitingroomwisdom]

Hbot question

Hi Eileen,

I heard about Dr. Harch and hbot through a doctor I saw this week for food sensitivity testing. I suffered a head injury from a bicycle accident in March 2007 and subsequently developed RSDS, post-traumatic concussion syndrome, and PTSD. I have made tremendous inroads on pain relief and PTSD relief using electro-acupuncture and EMDR therapies, but still remaining are big problems with chemical sensitivities, hyperaccusis, migraines, some language processing issues, and digestion/food sensitivities. Did the hbot treatments help Nate with the range of hypersensitivity issues you’ve described on your blog? Are you available to chat for a few minutes about hbot so I can find out how I might go about making a decision about trying it?

Thanks for your time,

Sally Stone

Oh, Sally: What a difficult series of problems you’ve endured.  HBOT helped Nate with hyperaccusis, although custom made ear plugs like musicians use also helped.  The migrains were also helped as well as language processing. All these things further improved with the use of functional neurology.  In terms of digestion and food sensitivities, check out various diets, such as grain free or Paleo.  Sometimes those help. Also, it is very likely you have a methylation defect and need bioactive folic acid.  Please consider taking methylfolate.  

I’m not able to chat via phone: so sorry. I have quite a few family members with heatlh care issues.  Take care and God bless.  

[waitingroomwisdom]

Starting Hbot (unsuccessfully)

HI, thank you for your wonderful blog. It’s so helpful for me already. We just started trying hbot with our 13 month old daughter josie. More about her here: www.josiedevin.blogspot.com  (I just started her blog :) ) As much as we want Josie to get the treatments, she’s having a miserable time with it and of the 5 treatments we’ve tried, only 2 went the full 70 minutes.. we didn’t get past 25 mins with the others. She just cries so hard it scary and one day threw up.  Any guidance would be wonderful. Thank you so much,

Nicole 516-441-5067 or [email protected]

Hi Nicole,

I would say she needs medical attention if she’s having such a difficult time with HBOT.  70 minutes may be too long: she may need a soft chamber, or she may need to try a different modality.  Or you may wish to try functional neurology.  It wounds very, very difficult.  I will keep you and Josie in my prayers.  Take care.  

[waitingroomwisdom]

How is Nate today?

My son is six months post concussion with very similar symptoms and experience. The last postings I saw were from December 2012. I would love to ask you so e questions about selection of an hbot location and whether I should travel for this therapy or stay more local. I woud love to go to a location that understands post concussion but I don’t know if I have that option locally.

Hi Tina,

Any HBOT which is run by or supervised by a physician is a good one.  Hard chambers are better, though I find a soft chamber works well for a few times a month ongoing treatment.  

[waitingroomwisdom]

I’m so happy it looks like you definitely found the right place. I’m wondering how your son has been in the first four months of 2013. My Son has very similar symptoms and I’m wondering if I should send him there.

Nate continues to be healthy and well, with no enduring symptoms.  I think if your son’s symptoms are similar, Carrick or a Carrick trained functional neurologist can help.  

[waitingroomwisdom]

Thank you

Thank you, Eileen, for this website.  Our teenaged son had a concussion 2 months ago and all the information here has helped so much as we try to figure out what to do.

You are most welcome.  

[waitingroomwisdom]

I have suffered many concussions. I have a lot of vision problems and the main one is reading. I am considering visiting a cerrick brain center. How much did your sons reading ability change after he visited Dr.Cerrick? How long was he able to read before and how long can he read now?

He was hardly able to read before and able to read well enough to complete high school with honors and to be at a University studying engineering.  He doesn’t actually like to read a whole lot: but Carrick certainly helped with comprehension.  

[waitingroomwisdom]

Awesome Page. I will be visiting Carrick next month. I was curious to see how much did Nate's ability to read print books change after visiting Carrick?

Yes, he was able to read print books better.  Though his oral memory improved as well.  

[waitingroomwisdom]

question re HBOT/functional neurology which first?

Hi Eileen,  You probably get a lot of questions but if you happen to be able to answer:  Our son has a concussion (2 months out) and we have rented a home hyperbaric chamber which is on the way.  We are also thinking of going to a good functional neurologist, maybe Cerebrum Health in Dallas.  I saw that you did hyperbaric first, then went to Carrick.  Do you think that is best and why?  I can’t tell you how helpful your website has been!  And yes, we too would say that the conventional doctors were terribly inadequate.

Hi Mary, 

So sorry for such a late response.  I’m hoping the hyperbaric chamber you rented was helpful.  And I would go to the functional neurologists associated with the Carrick Center.  Either way works well in terms of ordering.  You can start with HBOT or functional neurology.  Either therapy works well over time with some ongoing work--every year or two it’s good to follow up with a functional neurologist.  And for those who had a severe concussion, consider once or twice monthly HBOT.  It’s a good maintenance dose.  

Take care Mary.  Good job sleuthing how to get the care your son needed.  

[waitingroomwisdom]

Seattle Tacoma area, where to go locally for Hyperbaric treatment?

Hi Eileen,

I have a concussion. I go to Pacific Balance (Chris Morrow).

Is there a reputable HBOT facility in the greater Seattle/Tacoma area?

Does insurance cover for diagnosed TBI?

Thank you,

Carolyn

Hi Carolyn,

Good job finding Chris Morrow.  He’s a jem!  Washington Hyperbaric Therapy Center is the best spot in the greater Seattle/Tacoma area for HBOT.  And please consider seeing Dr Glen Zielenski at Northwest Functional Neurology in Portland, Oregon. 

Sadly, neither is covered by insurance.  

Take care Carolyn.  

[waitingroomwisdom]

Question regarding OCD and Anxiety post Concussion

Good Morning, My 17 year old son, Sean,  has had two concussions in the past 3 years. His first was Sept. 2013 while playing football and the second was March of 2015 while playing rugby. After the first concussion he had had headaches and exhaustion for about a month afterward. He then had intermittent headaches and a slight amount of anxiety. He had neuropsych testing done prior to the injuries that showed he had Generalized Anxiety Disorder but nothing that needed treatment.

He entered High School and in March of his Freshman year while playing Rugby he took a knee to the top of his head and all hell broke loose. He did not have occasional headaches and anxiety he had full blown headaches, anxiety and OCD that would make anyone go nuts. The poor kid was suffering so much. He finished his freshman year at his College Prep School and his grades were in the toilet for the second semester. His anxiety was so bad that it became crippling. Finally in the summer he had a little break from the anxiety but the headaches were still there. We had been working with the concussion clinic again at Childrens Hospital which I have come to learn is really worthless. They basically just track the kids symptoms and improvement. Sean passed the SCORE test finally in July but his anxiety was getting worse. He was medicated at this point but it only gave him a tiny bit of relief. In Sophomore year his headaches and anxiety were out of control. We pulled him out of the College Prep School and sent him to the local Public School in hopes that they could help him deal with the academic part. Childrens Hospital (National Medical Center in Washington DC) also recommended that we do CBT or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. We began treatment with a therapist near our home that could help him but charged us $250.00 per visit that insurance paid only $75.00 of. We were going broke slowly. We continued with the treatments there from December 2015 until March of 2016. We were on the waiting list for the great therapist at the hospital and finally got into Dr. Fletcher in March of 2016. Dr Fletcher has been very helpful but not enough. He still has headaches and his Anxiety is out of control. The OCD is so bad that he cannot even lift the toilet seat to use the bathroom.

In doing research I found that HBOT could really help Sean with the concussive symptoms. I am afraid that the anxiety and ocd might not be from the concussion but I don’t know. I am assuming that it is because he had barely a symptom of it prior to having the concussions.

Can you tell me if the HBOT will help his Anxiety and OCD even if it is not from the concussion? Are we too far out from his first concussion to receive benefit from the HBOT? Thank you in advance for your help. If this is the Mom from Washington that has the son that had the concussion I am so happy for you. You seem to be a very kind person with a wonderful son. How wonderful that he has improved so much and in the beginning years of high school. High School is such an important development time.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Colleen

Oh Colleen!  I’m so sorry for all of Sean’s suffering.  And for your own.  I’m sorry for no response for so long: I’ve been unable to check the tumblr account for quite some time.  

HBOT may will help with his anxiety and OCD.  I recently had a friend who was treated with a full course of HBOT for a autoimmune disorder.  And while it helped him feel better generally, the most marked response to HBOT was a healing of the lifelong severe depression he suffered, as well as anxiety, ever since he was brain injured as a child.  I also recommend ongoing treatment twice monthly after a full course.  Just be sure and go to someone like Dr. Harch who is aware of proper time intervals and dosing and will be monitoring his anxiety. 

 I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers in hope of healing and recovering.  And strength for both of you.   

[waitingroomwisdom]

Hi , i went to carrick a handful of weeks throughout 2013-2014 and found a lot of help in stabilizing my terrible vestibular and vision after multiple concussion issues but its still really bad, im looking into the lsu hbot study then hoping to go back to atlanta for treatment. Do you think the hbot would allow my brain to heal and respond better to treatment?

I’m so sorry I can be only intermittently active in responding: I’m happy Carrick helped you stableize your vestibular and vision problems.  I think HBOT would help your brain respond to treatment.   Even if you’ve already had a full course of treatment, you may wish to go twice a month to HBOT for maintenance.  Also, it would be good for you to find a functional neurologist who has worked with Dr. Carrick in your area.  That way your treatment plan could be modified.  Take care and God bless: I’ll be thinking about you.  

[waitingroomwisdom]

HBOT

I’m the one with the multiple injuries and single parent and just saw your reply.  I’ve had 146 HBOT dives thus far.  All but 19 with Dr Paul Harch.  I was in his LSU TBI study in 2015 and had some healing.  I then went to Patriot Clinics in OKC and had 19 more dives there.  Then back to NOLA with Dr Harch in 2016 for 87 more dives after another TBI in Feb 2016 trying to lift a box of furniture up on our cement porch to empty its contents and my feet slid off the edge and I face planted into the box.  I still have swelling and some pain on my right cheekbone from that.  Had three hemorrhages in my left retina from that sudden stops and two of those healed up after the HBOT block in the summer last year and the last one was very small.  I’m in my post-HBOT healing period now again.  And it looks like I’ll still need more dives.  But it’s working and I had NO signs of adverse side effects (aka oxygen toxicity) which Dr Harch was very pleased with.  Me too.  :)  I’ve had healing from other injuries like trigeminal neuralgia due to two brain surgeries in 2008 and the second neurosurgeon cut through my trigeminal nerve on the left side of my head.  Didn’t know he was going to do that ahead of time either, have had swelling and lots of nerve pain since.  But it’s been improving with more feeling and less swelling with HBOT.  Nerve regeneration has occurred and continues to.  I’ve had back injuries and a hip injury and knee injuries too.  They’re improving but not resolved yet.  Had reflexes come back in my left arm after HBOT this summer.  Balance issues are much better.  I don’t have much ringing in my ears anymore.  I’m still having fatigue so that brings on headaches, dizziness, nausea, weakness, and some ringing in my ears.  But it is not as bad as it used to be.  But it is still limiting my activity levels both physically and cognitively.

Interestingly my local internist is the one who referred me to look into what the Amen Clinics had to offer and that’s how I ended up finding Dr Paul Harch since he’s the expert with HBOT for brain injuries.  :)  I just kept pursuing the possibilities for a chance to heal and get my life back.  And my internist just continued to refer me back to HBOT for further healing as frankly there’s no other modality offered in Iowa to help heal from brain injuries.  NONE like HBOT can.  Just support groups and coping skills and various types of therapy to accommodate the losses in functionality.  I’ve even shared my HBOT story and resources with BIAIA but they said they only offer local resources.  BIALA has Dr Paul Harch’s LSU TBI study on their website though.  I will continue to give my testimony and try to help others find healing with HBOT opportunities though.  I’m not a quitter.  :)  Thanks be to God’s grace and mercy.  Otherwise I would NOT have had the perseverance to continue on to get all this done that I have so far.

So as I obtain additional funding I can go for more and hopefully take my 21 year old son who had a head injury at age 13 when he fell off his loft bed while dreaming he was repelling as he had been a Boy Scout then.  Yes, he actually did this as he used to sleep walk.  Anyway he damaged his pituitary and ended up with a HGH deficiency which he was on GH med for two years and grew six inches.  They took him off the injections once his pituitary could produce plenty of GH under insulin and arginine stimulation.  But his base levels as still too low as well as his testosterone levels.  Thus the need for HBOT to heal his pituitary.  And he’s in college studying mechanical engineering and I’ve seen the fatigue in him, etc.  He needs healing still.

Frankly every member of my family could use HBOT at this time.  One of my brothers actually funded my trips, stays, and HBOT dives last year by working lots of overtime and saving up for me.  :)  What a blessing he is!!!  He even gave some in 2015 but the majority of that was fundraising from friends and family and God gave me enough for April through Oct 2015 for the study.  And I was able to stay with the Dominican Sisters of Peace during my extended stays in NOLA.  Sadly they are moving to the motherhouse in Columbus, OH and will be selling the building in NOLA around July this year.  But I’ve had others offer lodging for me to go and stay there again in the future.  I don’t know if others are believers but I’m Catholic and I’ve really had spiritual healing through all of this too.  It’s been amazing in NOLA and now here at home the people I’ve met and all I’ve been experiencing.  It’s been quite the journey.

Patriot Clinics in OKC is now open again and offering free HBOT to all even though their focus is soldiers and veterans. 

Another frustrating thing going through all this is waiting on SSD income.  I’ve been off work since March 2014 and just finally had the SSD hearing this month as they hired five new administrative judges.  But they said I may not get the decision letter for one to three months as they didn’t hire more decision writers to get those letters out.  But again God has sustained us though it’s been rough financially.  Just a lot of losses with these injuries to myself and my family.  But at the same time many graces.

I also have a work comp case as that injury in Nov 2013 was the “final straw that broke the camel’s back” for my brain.  That’s up in the air right now too trying to find good legal counsel.  Wait and see as the statute of limitations is up in early Oct this year.

Thank you for your reply.  I truly appreciate your time and attention to my situation. 

Blessings and prayers to you and to your family.  What a tough, tough time you have all had.  I’m thankful that HBOT has been so helpful and hopeful for ongoing recovery.  

Just one additional note: I think you may wish to do some research on methylation deffects.  I’m fairly sure from your description that you and your family likely have such a problem.  You may wish to investigate taking methylfolate.  

[waitingroomwisdom]

Update

How is Nate doing these days? Beautiful website, very inspirational to us going through similar times.

Nate is still doing wonderfully. Thanks for asking.  He is now a sophmore in college, studying engineering.  He needs no accomodations, is working hard in school, and has discovered rock climbing. He is happy.  It was so difficult for so long: II will keep you in my thoughts and prayers in hopes your situation, too, will improve and healing occur.  

[waitingroomwisdom]

Nate continues to do well and to thrive. He's now a junior in high school, running track and cross-country, and has a 3.7 GPA with zero accommodations. He receives a hyperbaric treatment twice monthly for maintenance and does his chiropractic functional neurology exercises three times daily.  Once a year or so he sees Dr. Glen Zielinski for an update in his functional neurology rehab plan and every month or so see's his awesome chiropractor Dr. Suchal Vasudeva for low dose lazar and an occasional adjustment. 

His great attitude and "never say never" philosophy have helped him throughout his journey and continue to be the cornerstone of his ongoing recovery.  Soon he'll take the SAT exam and after next year go off to college to begin his studies to become a functional neurologist to "help people like me."

Bravo Nate!

[waitingroomwisdom]

Nate running cross-country

[waitingroomwisdom]

Are there any foundations available to obtain the funding for HBOT treatments? I've had five brain injuries due to various accidents over the last 9 1/2 years and have not been able to work since last March due to the effects. I'm a single mom trying to look after elderly parents as well. I just don't have the funds to travel and pay for these needed treatments. I've been to all kinds of conventional medicine providers with no real help from them.

Hi.  There are some foundations which fund HBOT, some of which are for children with autism and some for military veterans.  There are also some studies being done which provide free HBO.  You may want to check Dr.Harches website at hbot.com or call his office to inquire if they know of any coming hbot studies. 

It sounds like it would be really helpful to find either hbot or functional neurology closer to home for you.  Lord knows, being a single mom who can't work because of a head injury AND taking care of your elderly parents is more than enough stress (and quite a bit of heroism) in your life already. 

In terms of the conventional providers:  I, and just about anybody I've talked to who has suffered from a concussion agrees with you wholeheartedly.  (That's over a hundred and counting!) It can be immensely discouraging and intensely frustrating to deal with these "I'll see it when I believe it" medical/neurological flat-earthers.  If I had a nickel for as many people as have told me how hard it has been for them to access effective treatments or even receive competent care post-head injury from conventional providers, I'd be a wealthy woman indeed.

Check out my most recent series on concussion treatments.  Many of these suggestions can be followed at home while you are in the midst of your many caregiving duties.  And remember:  it sounds cliché but you really do need to put your own oxygen mask on first--or at least simultaneously as those you are trying to help.  Your poor head might have a hard time healing with all your doing.  If' it's possible to get some rest time or respite time, it might go a long ways to helping you begin the process of recovery.

Please take care,

Eileen