Jaws!

So after the first day I broke my tooth. I have been assured that it had nothing to do with the hyperbaric chamber but I certainly do know that I found myself in the dentist's chair that day having root canal treatment. What a day!




Day 2 passed.....well, it passed and I don't have a great deal of recollection of it to be honest!! I had a brief moment in the chamber about an hour in when I felt sick and dizzy so I was kept off the oxygen for a few minutes until it passed so no 'stop the press' news there. The fab attendants take great care of you whilst you're in the chamber and the slightest movement alerts their attention, in fact, it takes a bit of getting used to being watched so closely. You feel under close and complete scrutiny until you adjust to the fact that they run a seriously tight ship in this place. They follow every safety protocol to the letter and with good reason. This seemingly innocuous treatment is serious business both in terms of your health and fire safety. I mean, think about it, let's gather a bunch of sick people in a highly volatile environment where they can't immediately leave and no one can immediately enter and the slightest spark could blow the joint. All of a sudden, patient comfort and wellbeing becomes paramount and health and safety is key. After years of feeling ignored, this takes some getting used to but is strangely reassuring. Even the attendant that is in the chamber with you sticks to a rigid regime in terms of their own wellbeing. These guys are dropping to pressure and back up again with you and they are at just as much risk as the patients. It kind of ignites (excuse the sparky language in such a flammable environment) a tangeable respect in both the staff and the treatment itself. 


The most interesting thing to me on the second day was an overwhelming fatigue that made me feel quite dopey, spaced out and numb which started about an hour after I finished treatment and continued into the evening. It felt like my head was the size of The Royal Albert Hall but my brain was the size of a pea! Conversations were a struggle. Not very good when you have to work. Later that day I also found that I began to get new pains in my torso. Not sure what has caused that but could well be due to 2 hours of the deep breaths that you are required to take whilst on O2 (oxygen). 


The third day (today) went with even less to note with the exception of much welcomed mirth as those of us in the chamber who are there for similar reasons discussed the lack of any need for us to have colonic irrigation in our lives - we get it for free...Sorry, a little bowel humour for you there!
Again, about an hour after treatment a blanket of fatigue washed over me but I felt that it was less consuming today and I was able to function a lot better and actually engage in conversations past "ugh", which generally works well in the work environment. Again though, I have strong pain in my sides which I will have to look into if they continue.


I guess that's the thing about HBOT which I don't think I had spent any time considering. It seems like you're sat in a room for a couple of hours with a mask on thinking about ear popping and deep breathing and basically doing nothing so why do I feel messed up like I've been put in the spin dryer for half an hour? Well, what's actually happening is that my body is being put under considerable pressure and being forced to heal at an accelerated rate. My body is working really really hard. It's just not in a conventionally recognisable way. But, nonetheless, it is definitely working really hard. I'm hoping that I continue to adjust to it and that I can find a way of juggling everything.


Oh, and I got to use the inflight toilet today.....joy!!!