Today was my first experience of using the Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber at the MS Centre, frustratingly the closest centre to me is almost an hour a way but if this helps my body then it is absolutely worth it. I got there early as I had to sign some forms. There were 4 others in the chamber with me, I got chatting to one of the guys whilst we were waiting and he said he needed to walk more. I told him about the MS Gym and how he should look it up as I've gained so many benefits from using it. I love telling other people about the things I do to help my body and am always so amazed how most people don't seek out things to help improve themselves. If I can help one person then it makes me happy, and he showed me on his phone that he had looked up the Facebook group which was great. I hope he signs up and finds it beneficial to his daily life.
I got fitted with my mask - you have to pay a £25 refundable deposit for it, and then you keep it. It was a little big on me so I need to play around with the straps now I am home. You can take water into the chamber with you and you can also take tablets, books etc - whatever you want to entertain yourself but you do have to put aeroplane mode on. I had to turn my iWatch off but if you have a diving watch you can wear it. I had to open my water bottle once in there otherwise the pressure would make it burst! However, I then accidentally knocked it over so we had to wait to get started whilst the lovely man supervising the dive went to get towels to mop it up (whoops!)
The Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber
Me and my wonky mask!
Once we are all seated the man helped me fit the tubes to my mask and then we were ready to go. It takes about 10 minutes for the chamber to compress and my ears popped quite a bit during that time but once we were down I was absolutely fine. I thought it might feel funny but it felt normal. I took my latest book with me, so just sat there and read my book for an hour which is great for relaxation - no one bugging you, no phone notifications, no animals wanting something and just time to chill. Everyone else was on gadgets but I just want to use that time to really relax and breathe as think it will be beneficial to my wellbeing. The hour went so quickly and before I knew it were being decompressed and ready to get out.
I have booked to go again this week but it's only a 16ft dive but that's okay it will be good for my body to just get used to it. I then have another 16ft session next Wednesday and then a big dive down to 33ft next Friday. It is a big commitment and lots of driving backwards and forwards but if it brings benefits to my life then it will be worth it. When I finished today I definitely felt like my right leg felt lighter but that could have just been coincidental. Although I did have a very good workout session with Caroline my PT friend this morning - and today for the first time my leg held up on the first try when I laid on my tummy to do a hamstring stretch. We've been working on this for the last couple of weeks so it was a great feeling to achieve it straight away.
It's been a good day so far, and actually looking back in my diary the last week I've put a smiley face every day - whether that's due to the being 5 weeks into the Coimbra Protocol, or the viral detox that I started back on last Monday, the Infrared leggings I wear most days, the clean diet or whether it's a combination of everything I don't know but I will take it - as I've always said, there are lots of pieces to the puzzle.... long may it continue and fingers crossed I improve and improve...