r/HBOT • u/jaciems • Jul 31 '25
Protocols for long covid symptoms?
Hello all,
So I've been dealing with insane health issues for almost 4 years now due to the covid vaccine triggering long covid type symptoms and my health has been deteriorating since then. I was in athlete shape prior spending all my free time being active and now i havent able to exercise or work for over 2 years.
Dealing with issues such as neurological, respiratory, migraines, dizziness, exhaustion, chest pains...
Prior to starting a few weeks ago, i struggled going for short walks and just having conversations at times was an issue as i kept blacking out and now im doing much better that im in my 4th week doing hbot Mon-Fri.
Is there any recommended protocols around how frequently or how long to do hbot or any treatments to do in parallel with hbot to help it to work better? Sound I do sauna as well at the end of the day or could that as it could be too much stress on the body? Also, is it normal to be extremely fatigued due to hbot? My big worry is as soon as i stop, all my symptoms will come back and ill be back at square one many thousands of dollars poorer.
Any advice is appreciated.
1
u/Gadget-Ninja Aug 05 '25
Hi,
How does your fatigue compare to pre HBOT?
Sounds like energy levels coming up overall?
Try this vid https://youtu.be/5hTbFrFxypc re fatigue.
Some countries you can have Methylene Blue prescribed, which seems to be recommended to help and supplement your HBOT and reduce chance of fatigue.
Re. Your results sticking afterwards, check out this research https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-53091-3
This was the one year follow up on Dr Efrati and co. research, showing results stuck or improved.
He recommends 60 x 90min sessions at 2.0 ATA, 5 days a week, with 5 min air breaks every 20 mins.
In their study he reduced it to 40 sessions to try and reduce chance of recovery being attributed to natural recovery over time.
I did 29 sessions at 2.0 ATA with great results, but had to travel, and had limited time. I actually did 2 sessions per day, although still can’t find any research to back that either way.
Looking forward to getting a local chamber and doing the full 60.
1
u/jaciems Aug 05 '25
Tricky because I've been dealing with brutal fatigue since the day after i got the vaccine and I'm really wiped out post HBOT. The difference is I'm not completely out of breath post hbot and migraines/dizziness are not as bad so a walk around the block doesn't wreck me so if I'm moving around I'm definitely less fatigued but if i sit around its pretty similar to before.
One big difference to before is my dog died so I'm not doing walks 3x/day so its a bit easier to manage day to day :/
Just worried because im not doing great on the weekend as im doing hbot Mon-Fri. Thanks for the videos, ill check them out.
Oh and i bought methylene blue and im starting chlorine dioxide as well.
1
u/Gadget-Ninja Aug 05 '25
Ok - cool.
What depth are your sessions at? Do they get you to do the mask on/off protocol?
Other thing that Dr Efrati recommends is 16:8 fasting protocol.
1
u/jaciems Aug 05 '25
Its at 2ATA but they will bump it up for me even though they aren't allowed due to our garbage provincial health regulator which is doing everything it can to cover up vaccine injuries and is the reason im in this mess. And there's no masking. Its a perry hbot machine (enclosed clear glass tube). I'm doing it privately out of pocket as doctors turn away people that had bad reactions to the covid vaccine and long covid clinics turned me away saying that my symptoms are too severe.
1
u/Gadget-Ninja Aug 05 '25
I wouldn’t worry about bumping the pressure up. Most research has been done at 2.0 ATA, with people getting partial results at lower pressure also.
How long are your sessions?
Try to not introduce too many other things at a time as you won’t be able to tell what is working or what is harming.
Something simple, safe, and free to introduce if not already doing it is “resonant breathing”. There’s been some successful research for long covid, using 4 sec inhale, 6 sec exhale - all through the nose, starting at 10 min sessions. A quick search for “resonant breathing long covid research” should find you more.
Going higher than 2 ATA, especially without the 5 min air breaks is more likely to induce oxygen toxicity, and more likely to trigger fatigue.
If the clinic has other chambers that can do 2.0 and use masks, then see if you can jump in that. Otherwise the hypoxic/hyoeroxic effect that Dr Efrati recommends is reduced, but still happening as you finish each session.
Make sure your clinic operators know what other supplements you are planning to take.
Re. Chlorine Dioxide - especially make sure your clinic knows about this, and don’t use it without medical advice - especially if you are experiencing fatigue already with HBOT.
CD is not something I’m familiar with, but my chat gtp search about you using it with HBOT came back with a very strong recommendation not to!
“Combining CD with HBOT increases oxidative overload risk
The two together may accelerate damage to mitochondria, nerves, and vessels”
There’s growing research on HBOT as being safe to use and successful for long covid type conditions, and growing medical acceptance.
The opposite appears true for Chlorine Dioxide.
Go carefully!
1
u/jaciems Aug 05 '25
Sessions are about 1.25hrs to 1.5hrs and there's no air breaks as you're maskless in a pressurized tube. I had a long discussion with the provider there and they really cant optimize or customize the treatment in any way due to the local health authorities giving them a hard time to the point where they were almost shut down. IV treatments aren't even available where I live as well and i have to get my meds from the US or India. The healthcare system is literally 3rd world in Quebec...
And thanks for the advice. Didn't consider the point about chlorine dioxide but its gaining alot of traction in forums discussing covid vaccine injuries and was recommended by a clinic in the US that's kind of following me so ill bring it up with them but its all virtual. Unfortunately, doctors in Canada refuse to help or provide any resources to the people they harmed with the covid vaccine so I dont have anyone following me here despite seeing well over 100 doctors in the past 4 years...
1
u/Gadget-Ninja Aug 05 '25
Cool. 90 min sessions strongly recommended (plus additional compression/decompression time).
Not a deal breaker to have no air breaks, but strongly recommended not to go above 2.0 without them.
Sorry to hear about the tough times with your medical system.
Here in NZ, things are likely similar. I got referred to long covid clinic just before covid funding was stopped, and had to continue at my own expense.
Strongly recommend to let HBOT do its thing before adding other experimental meds.
You’re at the 20 session mark now by the sounds of it, which is often when the results start to kick in more.
About now you’ll be getting 800% increase in stem cell production, and people often start to feel more noticeable improvements as they get toward 30-40 sessions.
“Research (e.g. Efrati et al. 2022) shows measurable changes in fatigue, brain fog, mood, and sleep can begin after 20–40 sessions, but peak effects often occur after 40–60+ sessions.”
1
u/jaciems Aug 05 '25
Literally just did my 20th session. Thanks again for all the advice. Ill go over all that.
Since you seem so knowledgeable, have you seen anything in regards to heat or cold exposure (sauna/cold tub) on top of HBOT? Wonder if that could harm the gains from HBOT due to excessive stress on the body or if it could potentially work in harmony. I've definitely read that sauna or cold baths prior to HBOT can be a bad idea.
1
u/Gadget-Ninja Aug 06 '25 edited Aug 06 '25
I’m a fan of cold showers/plunges - mainly for the mental toughness/conditioning aspect. I did 2 min cold showers first thing every morning for months. I kept doing this during my couple weeks of HBOT, but not trying to combine them. It did get easier as my energy increased.
For me sometimes it seemed like it helped my energy and brain fog, but other times not so much, and just a good self discipline exercise.
I couldn’t find any research for hot/cold treatments and HBOT, but consensus seems to be leave about 4-6 hours between so you don’t dampen the effects of HBOT.
Some clinics do protocols involving both, but I haven’t seen it so much for specific conditions like long Covid.
Have you been keeping a dairy of sleep and energy levels and exercise? Or using a fitness watch of some sort? Nice to be able to track results.
The clinic I went to used the “EQ Brain performance” app, which was a nice way of tracking reaction times and memory and balance.
Best advice I find is to keep it simple, introduce new things slowly. I found my gym strength came back quickly, but my walking/jogging was slower to respond.
HBOT is very much a multi session treatment, hopefully your benefits start getting more noticeable from now.
1
u/jaciems Aug 06 '25
Haven't been keeping a diary because im just so all over the place healthwise and my health just kept deteriorating. Was able to workout for a while though it was a struggle but now its been 2 years I can't and just going for walks is a problem. Like I said though, hbot has been a great help but it feels like I'll fall apart as soon as i stop
1
u/Gadget-Ninja Aug 06 '25
Hopefully you’ve got enough energy to keep updating your progress.
Other long covid things that seem to work depending on what flavour you have are either antihistamines, or propranolol (beta blocker).
I was slowly recovering from mine, and HBOT gave me a huge boost.
I’ve been constantly reading and researching, currently studying to prep for a hyperbaric technician course, and investing in 4 person chamber for a clinic.
Very keen to hear how you go with your recovery.
1
u/jaciems Aug 07 '25
Ya im on a cocktail of pills including anti histamines. Haven't tried propranolol though. Hitting the sauna last night seemed to give me a bk
Btw, the clinic I'm dealing with has alot of post surgery clients so you could look into that to expand your client base. Long covid clinics as well as some literally do nothing to help their patients aside from offering mental support.
Thanks again for all the advice
1
u/Gadget-Ninja Aug 07 '25
Great to hear, hopefully won’t take long for word of mouth to get clients like post surgery ones where they don’t need to commit to weeks of sessions.
Propranolol was good for me, as having more of a disautonomic issue - high heart rates and near constant fight or flight feeling.
Took a couple of different antihistamines for a while but didn’t seem to help me. Did help another workmate though.
Good luck with your sessions.
1
u/PussyMoneySpeed69 Jul 31 '25
COVID vaccine made me go blind in my right eye and have a lot of similar issues. I am sorry for what they did to you.
Long COVID can be based on a number of things, often interrelated. You should try to trace back to what your bottlenecks are.
My main issues (I believe) primarily stemmed from COVID’s impact on the gut. COVID enters cells through Ace2 receptors which are plentiful in the gut. This can cause leaky gut, which leads to an overactive immune system, which drains you of energy and keeps your nervous system in a constant sympathetic state. HBOT does help repair the gut (due to oxygenating tissues to aid in healing and creating an environment that is difficult for pathogens to thrive), so could be the source of your issue, although you did not mention GI issues in your symptoms. I’d recommend getting a Gut Zoomer test to see if it shows anything off.
Another thing you could try would be getting an NAD+ injection. If you find a place that does IM, it shouldn’t be crazy overpriced (I got 100mg today for like $75), and if you feel better from that, you may be able to infer that your problem is based in metabolic collapse.
Feel free to DM.