QUESTION: What is the CarboHaler user protocol - how long, how often, and what CO2 percentage shall I use?

ANSWER: A common question is how long a CarboHaler session is, how often, and at what CO2 percentage. The guidelines on session duration and CO2 percentage are very general as the CO2 tolerance can vary quite a bit from person to person, depending on the health status, breathing habits, lung function, stress levels, and unhealed emotional wounds.

Having said that, we recommend that you take it easy in the beginning and start low and slow, i.e. low CO2 percentage and short duration. As you get used to inhaling a little extra CO2, you may want to make the sessions longer and increase the amount of CO2 you inhale. However, just because something is good, doesn't necessarily mean that more is better. Sometimes less is more.

The amount of CO2 in the atmospheric air is typically 0.04%. With the CarboHaler you can set the amount of CO2 delivered from 0.5% to 7.5%, in increments of 0.5. So, inhaling 2% CO2 is 50 times more than normal. Inhaling 8% CO2, the maximum amount that the CarboHaler allows is 200 times more than you would normally inhale.

We recommend that a CarboHaler session last between 2 to 5 minutes and is done once per day or once every second day. And we recommend setting the CarboHaler to deliver anywhere between 2% to 4%. It is important to listen to how your body and mind react, and if you are sensitive, it is good to start with a lower CO2 percentage.

Some users get a lot of energy from a CarboHaler session, so they prefer to do it earlier in the day and avoid doing it in the evening. Some people prefer to do the session while lying down while others are sitting up.

Here are a few tests you can do to get a better understanding of your health status:

• CO2OXY Balance Test. Can be done while sitting or walking. Requires a Relaxator Breath Trainer.
• Breathing and Health Index Questionnaire. Answer 20 questions.
• Breath Hold Test. Can be done while sitting or walking. Developed by Professor Buteyko. Called Control Pause or BOLT (Body Oxygen Level Test).

Here are a few user experiences that may inspire:

• EXPERIENCE #1: -I am a psychotherapist from Germany. and I began with 4 minutes and 4%, but that was too much for me, as I was recovering from post-COVID. In the following afternoon, my diaphragm tightened up and I needed physiotherapy to loosen it up again. After a few weeks, I gave it a second try and started with 25 seconds and 2% per day. I then increased this in small steps, next 45 seconds and 2%, 1 minute and 2%. etc. Three weeks later, I had increased to 3 minutes and 2.5-3% CO2, and now, another few weeks later, I'm doing 5 minutes at 5% once per day. I tried more, but it didn't give a better effect, so I came back to 5 minutes at 5%.
  
  I use the CarboHaler between 1 and 3 PM. I notice an immediate effect of calming my breathing while using it, a deepening of my voice space, and the experience of space in my upper body all afternoon afterward. I have experienced a number of improvements since then. My sleep has improved significantly overall, my breath hold time is longer, I calm down much better during my lunch break, which gives me more energy for the afternoon. The post-COVID breathing problems are completely gone, and that effect has been solid for seven weeks now. My singing teacher hears that too. She told me the breathing apparatus stays flexible. I have much more energy and I am able to do a lot of the things I couldn’t do for more than two years.
  

• EXPERIENCE #2: -We began with about 5 minutes a day at 2-3% CO2 for five days, and honestly, we didn’t feel anything. We were a bit disappointed, but we understood the science behind it and knew there had to be some benefits, even if we couldn’t feel them right away. After five days with no noticeable effects, we decided to go all out and increase the CO2. On the sixth day, we used the CarboHaler for 6 minutes at 7.5% CO2 in the morning right after waking up, then again at 2 PM, and once more in the evening.
  
  During these sessions, we both felt a bit uneasy, almost stressed out, and we both felt like we had to focus on our breathing because an ever-so-tiny feeling of suffocation set in, most concisely on the last session of the day. I even had to distract myself by scrolling through Instagram to take my mind off it.
  
  Just for context, my friend works as an emergency doctor and I work as a paramedic, both pretty high-stress jobs, and on top of that, I’ve felt on edge for the past year due to a lot going on in my life. But here’s where it gets interesting: the next day, we did the same routine—three 6-minute sessions at 7.5% CO2. The uneasiness was still there, but suddenly, we both experienced a massive energy boost. It was exactly like Anders describes it. Now, we feel unstoppable. Symptoms like fatigue and muscle tension disappeared overnight. I even managed to do 57 push-ups right after using the CarboHaler, whereas my max was 28 just a week prior—an improvement of over 100%.
  
  Since then, things have only gotten better. After a 12-hour workday, I now have enough energy to cook, clean, grocery shop, take my dog on long walks, and sometimes even fit in a workout—all on top of my job. In conclusion, don’t get discouraged if you don’t feel any effects at first. Try using higher CO2 percentages and push through any slight discomfort. It really pays off. For those of us with a lot of stress, it might be helpful to use more CO2 than the usual 4% for 4 minutes and don’t be afraid to use the CarboHaler 2 to 3 times a day. I think chronically stressed people need a stronger push in the right direction, and once things settle, you can dial it back to once a day for 5 minutes at 4% CO2.
  

• EXPERIENCE #3: I have been using the CarboHaler every day for two months. The strength varies between 4 and 5 CO2 %. At 6 to 7 percent I notice slight shortness of breath. My sleep has definitely improved. I also have an incredible amount of energy. I cannot recommend breathing before sleep though, because this makes it difficult for me to fall asleep.
  
  In the last few weeks, I've been breathing up to 3 times a day for 10-15 minutes each time. At first, I tolerated it very well. But then there was a feeling of dizziness and also a feeling of pressure in my head. I then paused breathing for a few days, but have restarted again now.

• EXPERIENCE #4: A man from Norway in his seventies, who has sleep apnea and suffers from the negative effect of concussions used the CarboHaler once at 3% for three minutes. He developed a headache that he felt was quite uncomfortable. It lasted for several days and he has not dared to use the CarboHaler since. He would probably have benefitted from starting with a shorter session at a lower CO2 percentage.

• EXPERIENCE #5: A woman whose man has severe alcohol problems wrote -My husband used the CarboHaler three times, once per day, at two minutes per session at 2%. On each occasion has felt worse, unwell, and exhausted afterward. He is now refusing to use it again.
  
  In this case, the man would probably have benefitted from starting with shorter sessions at lower CO2 percentage, for example, one minute at 1% CO2, every second day.