I have always fantasized to pictures of hot, sweaty divers sitting in hyperbaric chambers after a long dive breathing from tight rubber oxygen masks with loud demand valves. The only scenarios I thought lead to living out this merger fantasy were becoming a diver who was in destress (no thanks) or having a true medical need. Neither of these options are ideal..
So Monday morning I was scrolling through Groupon and noticed '2 - 1 hour Hyperbaric Oxygen Sessions for $60'... What!?!
I did some additional research and discovered mild hyperbaric Therapy is not regulated by the FDA and is safe for anyone! I was extremely nervous to actually purchase the Groupon and act out my fantasy. What if someone I know sees me? Or what if the experience gets me a little too excited for public? I was also not their target demographic.. a relatively healthy 26 year old male.
Well, I purchased it anyway and I'mmediately scheduled my appointment for the following day. I couldn't concentrate at work the next 48 hours.. I was too excited.
The day has arrived! I walked into the Hyperbaric Oxygen Center so nervous I might have been shaking. The attendant greeted me with a smile and asked how I found them. Then inquired what brought me there. I let the attendant know I was having some muscle soreness in my back I would like to clear up and they agreed the treatment may help.
Next thing I know she is motioning me to climb into a giant cylinder and lay down. It was one of the softside devices (a Vitreous maybe?). She immediately motioned to the hospital grade nonrebreather oxygen mask and asked me to secure it on my face. I was sure to make it very tight. She then started the O2 generator and set it to 9lpm flow. The reservoir bag almost immediately filled and I was finally, for the first time in my life using a real life oxygen mask! So cool!
Now that I am breathing nearly pure O2 she zipped me into the device and started the pressure pumps. The pumps were loud and rapidly filled the enclosure. The feeling of pressure wasn't too intense but you could tell it was there. I dove to about 1.3ATM or 20 feet. After about 5 mins of pressurization and constant ear canal clearing, I was at pressure. The next 50 mins were spent laying in an increasingly hot chamber. After about 20 mins my body became tingly all over from the high levels of oxygen. I thoroughly enjoyed watching my every breath draw on the O2 reservoir, then watching it replenish. I was sure to suck up as much oxygen as I could.
After about 55 mins decompression started and was fairly quick. I kept the mask on until the last possible minute. I loved it.
I would definitely do it again... Very relaxing and 'exciting' experience. I also noticed some nice side effects.... Lots of energy the rest of the day and a very deep sleep during the evening. Also, my back stiffness was gone.
While this didn't fulfill my fantasy of a high pressure chamber with one of those awesome looking on-demand O2 masks... It was close. I recommend it for any O2 mask enthusiasts.