Bonnie, I am sorry to hear about your experience in the multi-person tank. My experience at Virginia Mason in Seattle was very different.

They have a newer, larger facility now, but the tank I was in had room for six. One was a nurse, paramedic, or other trained staff member. We wore masks, but they were very light weight. The entire tank was filled with pressurized air, O2 was delivered through the mask to minimize fire hazard.

I am very claustrophobic, so a one-person chamber wouldn't have worked for me. As it was, the room was big enough because we all joked, played cards, shared war stories, etc. Yes, it took 2 hours a day for 35 days... but the results were amazing.

I'd had six surgeries trying to close a fistula, essentially an opening through my cheek that just wouldn't heal. Five weeks into the HBO I had surgery #7. The fistula healed, done deal.

Also, I had awful dry mouth and couldn't enjoy food, even though I had reached a point where I was able to eat. After the HBO, my remaining salivary glands kicked into gear. My taste buds came back. Heaven!

Yes, my eyesight changed permanently. I'd had Lasik, now I wear glasses. Fair trade for the taste buds and salivary glands. And my tongue turned a healthy pink... and my gums looked normal again.

Yes, the half-day thing was a hassle. I had to drive 20 minutes, take a 35 minute ferry ride, climb 16 blocks from the waterfront to Capitol Hill (my choice), wait for the dive time, play 2 hours of pinochle/rummy/whatever, climb down the hill and make my way home. OK, more than half a day. But I looked for the upside, used the opportunity to get fit, read, meet some fellow travelers, heal.

My last HBO treatment was in 11/04. The results for me were very fast (if you call 7 weeks fast) and very positive. My only regret is that I had to move to Washington from California to get HBO. My docs at UC Irvine didn't have a tank, so they didn't have HBO docs beating them over the head to send them patients, showing them the data, talking up the results. I might have avoided 6 surgeries and recovered a lot faster if I'd started the HBO a year earlier.

Ken
Live strong. Laugh often.