I completed 45 HBO treatments in 2008. My �treatments� lasted 90 minutes � by �treatments� they generally mean the time you are breathing 100% oxygen under pressure. You will be in the chamber roughly 2 hours allowing time to �dive�, time to return to normal pressure at the end, and two 5-10 minute air breaks during treatment. You will not be allowed to bring any personal belongings in the chamber with you and that includes your clothes, eye glasses, jewelry, etc. They will provide 100% cotton clothes for you to wear while in the chamber.

Being somewhat claustrophobic, I had some issues being locked in a chamber for 2 hours, and took some anti-anxiety medication before most treatments.

I started treatment at one facility, and finished at a different one. The second hospital had larger chambers with a flat-panel TV that was on rails on top of the chamber. The first facility had a TV mounted to the wall. Since I�m near-sighted I was not able to see the TV on the wall which made for a very long 2 hours in the chamber. Having the TV on top of chamber helped me complete my treatments. (I would bring my own DVDs to watch � would rent some of the long series I never had time to watch before.)

I had trouble clearing my ears at first, but my ENT put me on prescription nasal spray twice daily. I also used Afrin nasal spray about one hour before treatment. He also suggested �tubes� if I continued to have problems clearing my ears. Fortunately I didn�t need them. I also did the �ear clearing� techniques for the entire time on the dive down, and most of the time on the dive up. When I had problems with my ears, they would take me back up a little, and then take me back down but at a slower rate.

The treatments may also cause your blood pressure and heart rate to rise. They should take your vital signs before and after treatment. If you have high blood pressure you may want to discuss this with your doctor.

I also had blurred/fuzzy distance vision that lasted for about 2 weeks after treatment. The doctor that treated me said vision changes are sometimes permanent, but that is rare.

My doctors recommended I undergo HBO for two reasons: 1) I had a lot of problems after treatment including a very slow healing process and frequent mouth ulcers, and 2) showing signs of osteoradionecrosis (ORN). I�ve seen a marked decrease in the mouth ulcers, but it�s really hard to say if it helped slow the ORN at this time.

Good luck with your treatments!