Treating your stroke with hyperbaric oxygen therapy and photobiomodulation
In the following article, you will find the testimony of one of my patients, Lois, who suffered a stroke in 2021. I followed him for 2 and a half months in order to stimulate his neuroplasticity using photobiomodulation and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. He made great progress and it is with his permission that I share it with you.
Lois, victim of a stroke in 2021
My patient is a young man with no medical history. He is passionate about board sports, nature and travel. In August 2021, he goes surfing in Portugal.
Alone and in the open sea, he suffered a stroke affecting the left hemisphere of his brain. He was found on the beach by walkers, alone and haggard... Apparently, he managed to get back to shore by himself, but even today, he has no memory of what happened. He was then rushed to a local hospital, where he underwent a craniectomy (cutting open the skull to release the pressure).
Disabling after-effects following his stroke
The after-effects are unfortunately severe. Following this stroke, Lois became hemiplegic on the right side and aphasic .
Six months after his accident, he has recovered about 75% of his mobility. However, relearning language and writing is much slower. He can pronounce and write a few words, but is not able to hold a real conversation.
You can see for yourself by listening to this audio message from Lois. It is dated March 22, 2022, so before starting the therapies:
As you can see, at that time his audio messages were very short and unfortunately not very understandable.
In addition, still among the disabling after-effects, Lois also had a lot of problems with her short-term memory.
Photobiomodulation and hyperbaric oxygen therapy to stimulate neuroplasticity
It was after listening to the Horizon podcast on which I was a guest that Loïs contacted me through her friend.
With his agreement, we are implementing two therapies that are very little known in France in order to stimulate his neuroplasticity and repair his cognitive functions:
The appointment is made! On April 4, 2022, 8 months after his stroke, I set up the equipment at his home. I explain to him how the photobiomodulation device and the hyperbaric chamber work. We perform the first hyperbaric oxygen therapy session in tandem, so that he can put into practice what I have just explained to him. After answering all his questions, I leave.
Subsequently, during the 2 months that the therapies will last, I will provide follow-up by video, which allows us to communicate more easily. Follow-up is essential for the smooth running of the therapies, because I always adapt the protocol according to the feedback from my patients.
Photobiomodulation and hyperbaric chamber enable progress after stroke
After almost 2 and a half months of therapy, I come back to get the equipment and we do the final assessment together.
There has been a lot of progress! First of all, he is starting to talk again and can hold conversations . We can finally talk about the trip he had planned several months ago with his partner. He has relearned a lot of little things that were hindering his daily life:
- short term memory retrieval
- say short sentences (subject, verb)
- improve your reading
- write short understandable sentences
- write legibly and easily (fine motor skills)
- draw patterns, color mandalas
- cut onions thinly and easily
- give the time
- give the correct month, without going over the whole calendar in your head
Lois kindly agreed to let me share her audio testimony, which you can listen to below:
Audio message transcription:
hello
Okay, Julien, super cool.
Brought box and light together
1h30 caisson, constantly progressing
After 3 weeks, slower progress
Super light, still progressing, super progressing
Together we have progressed constantly
So
As he testifies in his audio, Lois' progress was very significant at the beginning of therapy. It should be noted that this is not an absolute rule, it depends on the patients, their after-effects, the age of their stroke, their age, etc. Lois made between 5 and 6 dives in a hyperbaric chamber per week. Regarding photobiomodulation, I had prescribed 2 protocols for her. The first to directly treat her brain. And the second to trigger the proliferation of stem cells in her body so that the progress obtained would be permanent.
To be continued...
Finally, after a well-deserved break for Lois and when he returns from his trip, I will continue to follow him to help him progress as much as possible. Neuroplasticity is a long-distance race, not a speed race.