Hi there,
I’m looking for some advice in terms of getting a PFO test (transoesophageal echocardiogram) after my recent diving trip to the Maldives and experience of decompression sickness.
I’m a diver from the UK! I was diving in Fuvahmulah (absolutely incredible diving!) last month and was on day three and my seventh dive when I surfaced (I did everything correctly in terms of deco stops etc) and started feeling tingling in my left hand.
It wasn’t severe but I mentioned it to my dive master who said I was probably just a bit dehydrated and was told to drink more water before my eighth dive. I went down again and on surfacing the tingling had move to both hands and travelled up to my elbows, with numbness too.
I alerted the dive shop and was taken to the local hospital where I was put on emergency oxygen for 18 hours. The tingling moved to my feet and I had cramping in my hands. I also had pain in my chest, and upper and lower back.
As I was in such a remote location, it took them three days to evacuate me by seaplane to another island for decompression chamber treatment. The tingling was still there but perhaps not as acute after my time in the hospital.
I ended up having 20 hours of treatment in the decompression chamber (5 hours on the first day, 5 hours on the second and then 2 hour bursts after that). I was discharged with some residual symptoms. I now have intermittent tingling but don’t really notice it.
Prior to the trip, I had done about 15 dives (so have now done 23 in total) and am qualified to advanced level. We were frequently doing deep dives (30m) each day, as well as diving at different depths. I was also diving with more experienced divers so felt more pressure to get down quickly, which was challenging as I often struggle to equalise.
I am also a red head and sensitive to the sun, so believe I was likely dehydrated when this happened.
My decompression doctor said I would be clear to dive again after three months as long as I saw a diving specialist, but recommended that I be checked for PFO using the above procedure. I have done a bit of reading on it and it sounds a bit of an unpleasant procedure, but a fairly good way to find out whether I have an open flap in my heart.
I asked for a referral to a cardiologist through my NHS GP, who initially referred me but he has heard back and the cardiology team has explicitly said that I would not qualify for a PFO check through the NHS, and that I would have to pay for this treatment privately.
Has anyone else been knocked back for a check through the NHS and successfully pushed back, or is it not worth me pursuing this route? Is there an affordable way of having this checked privately? And if I do have a PFO, would the costs of surgery be astronomical? I also have private health insurance through my boyfriend’s work – has anyone managed to claim for these checks through private work health insurance?
Thanks in advance for any advice you can give – and apologies for the long message! It has been quite a journey. I would love to be able to return to diving at some point in the future but feel I need some answers first on why this may have happened.
Thanks,
Liv
I’m looking for some advice in terms of getting a PFO test (transoesophageal echocardiogram) after my recent diving trip to the Maldives and experience of decompression sickness.
I’m a diver from the UK! I was diving in Fuvahmulah (absolutely incredible diving!) last month and was on day three and my seventh dive when I surfaced (I did everything correctly in terms of deco stops etc) and started feeling tingling in my left hand.
It wasn’t severe but I mentioned it to my dive master who said I was probably just a bit dehydrated and was told to drink more water before my eighth dive. I went down again and on surfacing the tingling had move to both hands and travelled up to my elbows, with numbness too.
I alerted the dive shop and was taken to the local hospital where I was put on emergency oxygen for 18 hours. The tingling moved to my feet and I had cramping in my hands. I also had pain in my chest, and upper and lower back.
As I was in such a remote location, it took them three days to evacuate me by seaplane to another island for decompression chamber treatment. The tingling was still there but perhaps not as acute after my time in the hospital.
I ended up having 20 hours of treatment in the decompression chamber (5 hours on the first day, 5 hours on the second and then 2 hour bursts after that). I was discharged with some residual symptoms. I now have intermittent tingling but don’t really notice it.
Prior to the trip, I had done about 15 dives (so have now done 23 in total) and am qualified to advanced level. We were frequently doing deep dives (30m) each day, as well as diving at different depths. I was also diving with more experienced divers so felt more pressure to get down quickly, which was challenging as I often struggle to equalise.
I am also a red head and sensitive to the sun, so believe I was likely dehydrated when this happened.
My decompression doctor said I would be clear to dive again after three months as long as I saw a diving specialist, but recommended that I be checked for PFO using the above procedure. I have done a bit of reading on it and it sounds a bit of an unpleasant procedure, but a fairly good way to find out whether I have an open flap in my heart.
I asked for a referral to a cardiologist through my NHS GP, who initially referred me but he has heard back and the cardiology team has explicitly said that I would not qualify for a PFO check through the NHS, and that I would have to pay for this treatment privately.
Has anyone else been knocked back for a check through the NHS and successfully pushed back, or is it not worth me pursuing this route? Is there an affordable way of having this checked privately? And if I do have a PFO, would the costs of surgery be astronomical? I also have private health insurance through my boyfriend’s work – has anyone managed to claim for these checks through private work health insurance?
Thanks in advance for any advice you can give – and apologies for the long message! It has been quite a journey. I would love to be able to return to diving at some point in the future but feel I need some answers first on why this may have happened.
Thanks,
Liv