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IMPORTANT UPDATE, JULY 12, 2009: It has come to my attention that other sufferers of Dercum’s Disease are finding this blog entry and considering CVAC treatment themselves because of what I’ve published here on my blog. I wish to stress at this time that I am in no way recommending CVAC treatment! I cannot go into details at this time, but I want to make it perfectly clear that I suffered severe Decompression Sickness following my treatment.

    If you are still considering CVAC treatment, I urge you to contact the Divers Alert Network and first educate yourself about the risks inherent in the use of altitude chambers. The Divers Alert Network operates a free Non-Emergency Medical Question Hotline, available Mon-Fri, 8:30AM-5:00PM ET, at 1-800-446-2671. Please call them and ask specifically about standard protocols for the safe operation of altitude chambers, as well as the importance of being pretreated with oxygen and the inherent risks and dangers of having the pressurization rapidly raised and lowered. They will be able to tell you everything you need to know about avoiding Decompression Sickness, stroke, and even death, due to the improper use of altitude chambers.

    Believe me when I say, when it comes to medical care, ignorance is not bliss. If I had known then what I know now, I can honestly say I never would have made this trip to New Jersey. I urge you to make that one free phone call; it could very well save your life, or at the very least, save you from a great deal of suffering, the likes of which I have already had to endure. Ultimately the decision is yours, but at least make that decision an educated one.

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    Tomorrow morning my Mom and I are hoppin’ in the car to drive up to New Jersey, where I’ll spend the next week in and out of a funny little chamber called a CVAC machine. If I remember right, that stands for Cyclical Varied Altitude Chamber. It’s kind of like a hypobaric chamber, but instead of just breathing more heavily enriched oxygen, the chamber is also pressurized up to altitude – like an airline cabin is. The cool thing about this particular chamber is that – as the title suggests – it varies the altitude, raising you up and lowering you down, on a very specific pattern. In a sense, this causes the air around you to lightly massage your tissues, which helps to enhance the body’s ability to circulate blood and lymphatic fluid.

    I heard about this particular chamber from Dr. Herbst, the very kind woman who has been researching Dercum’s Disease and assisting with my own medical case and treatment over the past several years. She’s been having other Dercum’s patients of hers using the same type of chamber out in San Diego, and apparently everyone else that’s tried it has seen remarkable results from it. It’s not a cure by any means, but it certainly helps to repair and enhance systems that are routinely stressed out and damaged from the Dercum’s. And hey, every little bit helps with a disease like this.

    We’ve been trying to figure out some way for me to get out to San Diego for some time now, just so I can use the same machine. But traveling that far is next to impossible – that’s why the Navy flew Dr. Herbst out here rather than me going out there.

    But thankfully, we found out a few weeks ago that a new CVAC machine was being set up at a sports physical therapy clinic in a rather wealthy part of New Jersey. Dr. Herbst and my Mom got in contact with the folks running that clinic, explained the situation, and thankfully, the people running it are some of the nicest people on the planet! They promised that I’d have first priority access to the machine, and not only that, but they’re also lowering the price dramatically for me. Normally it costs about $50 per session in the machine, which can certainly add up when you need it for repeat therapeutic purposes like I do, rather than just a one-off to help improve stamina for athletic performance. Just for me, they’re reducing the cost to $50 for the entire day, and I can use it however many times per day as I need. I think that’s pretty darn nice of them, don’t you?

    After we heard that, Dr. Herbst came up with an entire week-long regimen for me, so that hopefully I can get the most out of the machine in as short a period of time as safely possible, so that we can figure out if the CVAC will have any positive impact on the swelling. If so, then it looks like I’ll be moving up to New Jersey for a few months with my Mom, so I can use the machine as much as I need to until as much of the swelling comes off as possible. That’s the hope anyway. But we’ll just have to see how it goes. But please, keep your fingers and toes crossed for me, okay? I could certainly use some good news and some significant progress right about now.

    So it’s into the car with me for a few hours tomorrow as we drive up to New Jersey. I can’t say I’m really looking forward to the car ride; it’s not exactly going to be pleasant. But I’ve stocked up on as many toys in my possession to keep me entertained, and enough narcotics to hopefully keep me from wanting to rip any limbs off, hehe. Of course, I’m also not too keen on having to sleep in a hotel… hehe, you should see all the stuff we’ve had to pack! It looks like we’re going camping. My own sheets, my own pillows, all my own food for the entire week, clothes, pain meds, electronics. Basically everything but the kitchen sink and my PS3 (dang, I’m gonna miss that thing! If I do end up going to New Jersey for a few months, you can bet I’ll be taking that with me!)

    Wish me luck, won’t you? I’m gonna need it, I think! 🙂 I will have my laptop with me, so as long as there’s internet access up in the hotel, I’ll try to post a few updates to let you know how it goes.