Thread by @patrickG731

A few people have asked for a single thread on my journey through #HBOT (Hyper baric oxygen therapy) for #LongCovid So here goes. Before I started I was in bad shape. Mostly bed bound. Profound tinnitus, PEM - 300 m was the absolute limit. A trip to the shops was tough going.

I had coat hanger pain all the time. Neck and shoulders. Tremor in my hands, legs and jaw. Profound brainfog I couldn't read, had memory problems and couldn't complete any complex tasks. My mood was incredibly low. Hopelessness , despair and anger. I had sleeplessness

And nightmares every night. I woke feeling exhausted never felt refreshed or comfortable in the bed. Crushing fatigue everyday I never felt energised and had basically become a recluse. What energy I had I used to sift through twitter and medical journals to find anything that

That might help. I found the isrreali study of #HBOT for #LongCovid and the results were amazing. Not only had a large number of the group improved but the improvements were significant. The study recommended 40 sessions. At 150 euro a session I couldn't afford this.

On Instagram chatting to a fellow fisherman who also had #longcovid he told me about the bandon hyperbaric clinic where I could access treatment at an affordable price. 20 euro per session. Bandon is a long drive 3 hours including the stops I needed to take.

So me and the side kick (Arthur my wee dog) packed the car and headed for bandon.

Week 1 was tough. I crashed after the drive down. I had booked five one hour sessions. After each session I was wiped out. And would go home to sleep. I noticed that in the tank I had no tinnitus and it would stay gone for a bit after. I also woke up one morning comfortable. Hope

Week 2 again I crashed on the drive down. Sessions still wiped me out. A few days I did two sessions per day but that got too much. My routine was basically go to the clinic then go home sleep and rest. Still not much improvement.

Weeks 3 I managed the drive down with no crash. Mu tinnitus continued to improve but still not much by the way of energy. I tried to do a little trout fishing but didn't last very long. Christy who runs the centred was so sure I would get better that I kept it up.

Week 4 was the real gamechanger. On about my 20th session I came out of the tank feeling totally different. I had energy. I never enjoyed doing a bit of food shopping so much in all my life. I sauntered round the shop treating myself to nice things. It wasn't a struggle.

Week 5 the improvements held. I still sometimes felt tired after a session and went home for a nap but the poisoned feeling was gone. The bed was comfortable. My mood lifted. I began to wake in the morning feeling rested. I would get up at 5 am. Meditate. And tweet.

Week 6 I went down to 3 sessions per week. My energy is way up. My mood is optimistic. I still get tired. I still have profound brain fog. I need a session every 4 days or I begin to crash. But I'm getting bits of my life back. I'm fishing a bit. I'm walking the dog loads.

I'm back shopping and cooking for my Dad he is 87 and exhausted from a year of caring for me. I have plans for the future. I try to be helpful. Life has improved enormously. I'm no longer living a daily version of hell. I hope to get back to work at some point.

I won't rest until someone @HSELive @roinnslainte @DonnellyStephen listens. #HBOT Works. We had very little data on vaccines but administered millions of them. So you can stop flogging that horse. Make this therapy available you will change lives.

Furthermore #LongCovid should be classified as an occupational illness. I currently receive 220 euro per week. Without the support of family and using my savings I would have been f*cked. The deposit I had saved for a home is gone. But it was worth it. I can live again.

220 doesn't even cover my medical bills for a week never mind feed or cloth me. Its a joke. We have a huge budget surplus. Use so.e of it to support #LongCovid people. Excuse typos #Brainfog.