My experience with Donnay's Oxygen therapy for some Types of MCS

My experience with Donnay's Oxygen therapy for some Types of MCS

Starting in January of 1978 I had low-level carbon monoxide exposures consistently until April 1987.  Of course, I did not know what was going on.  I became ill by March of 1978 with what would later be diagnosed as Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and MCS. I was disabled by these illnesses until 2010, when I did the Donnay Oxygen protocol that is on the MCSRR.org website.  I had significant and lasting improvements from the treatment. 

I first heard of low-level carbon monoxide poisoning or MUSES in the summer of 2010.  I saw the symptoms, criteria and treatment protocol on the MCSRR.org website when looking for MCS information.   The bold statement, "Unlike people with MUSES, who react to all kinds of stimuli, people with MCS usually react badly only to chemicals  & molds," caught my attention enough to read Albert Donnay's article, as I did react to all kinds of stimuli. 
I  filled out question 5 of  Mr. Donnay's Protocol for diagnosing and treating symptoms (of MUSES) - current symptoms, and scored 10, with seven or more being highly probable that you have had carbon monoxide exposures.  My curiosity was peaked, but I had no awareness of having been exposed to much CO.

With some recall and research, I made a log of  long-term carbon monoxide exposures between 1978 and 1987.  I was living in Fairbanks and Anchorage, Alaska.  The research revealed one to three ongoing carbon monoxide sources to which I was continuously exposed during those years.  Please see my blog "My Carbon Monoxide Exposures".

At that point, I was starting to believe there was a reason to investigate the MUSES connection further.  I went to my internist and took my notes and a hard copy of Donnay's literature.  After careful review, he agreed to order the arterial and venous blood gas draws per Donnay's instructions.  The draws were done at the local hospital, where a new protocol had to be worked out to accommodate the arterial - blood lab, and the venous - pulmonary department, being in the same room with the necessary gear.  The samples were run through the pulmonary department's equipment as I waited, and five minutes later I had the results.

Plugging the arterial and venous blood gas numbers into the gap calculations provided by A. Donnay, revealed a positive, or oxygen deficient result.   Please see the blog "My Blood Gas Results"

I started planning to do the oxygen therapy.  Mr. Donnay provided me with the name of a man who had done this, in my state (N.M.), and I had several discussions with him about his results and experience with the oxygen therapy protocol that Donnay recommends.  I purchased an oxygen concentrator and tentatively started the therapy.  Donnay recommends stopping any non-essential prescription drugs, and so I started to phase off the low level of Tramadol that I was taking but stayed on a small amount of SSRI.  I slowly increased the oxygen level to the 5 liters needed. 

The therapy consisted of breathing oxygen at 5 liters for two hours, at one time, each day for eight weeks.  This is done while lying on your back.   I used an oxygen concentrator bag and non-re-breather mask. As I was too sensitive to plastics to use the standard hospital oxygen supplies, I substituted Tygon tubing for the plastic tubing usually used.  I also used a ceramic breathing mask and a collection bag set-up purchased from The Environmental Health Center in Dallas.  (Afterward, Donnay told me he recommends using a nasal cannula.)

The first change I noticed in my body happened at about 2 weeks into the therapy.  I started yawning:  I had not yawned for 30 years. At the end of two months there was a definitely increased tolerance to sense stimuli;  that is to being touched, hearing loud sounds, temperature variations, etc.

At that time I returned to the hospital and had the exact same blood draws that I had had before the treatment.  Again I was given the results quickly and then and there plugged them into the gap formulas.  The hypoxia was corrected.

For the next several months I had a changed environment, a more toxic environment and other stresses to my system.  I thought it would be a good idea to redo the treatment, as Donnay said this may be necessary.  After repeating the therapy for another 6 weeks, there were additional improvements in my health; that is a decrease in symptoms.
  
What to me was the most significant change in symptoms started in the second oxygen therapy session.  My body temperature returned to normal. At the onset of the illness, in 1978, my body temperature dropped to about 96.4 degrees and stayed there for the next 15 years.  After having mercury amalgams removed from 16 teeth in 1990, my body temperature went up to about 97.4.  After the first 2 month treatment with oxygen it increased a few tenths of a percent and after the second treatment, it has returned to normal.