Hi everyone
I have been diving for 12 years (700+ dives) in all conditions with dry and wetsuits. In 2016 I had my first episode of the breast pain. I had been on a liveaboard and diving 4 dives a day (no decompression dives) and after three days or so my breasts swelled considerably and particularly the left breast with very sharp pain. I continued diving as it was towards the end of the trip and I had no discomfort in the water. My breasts had swelled in the same way that they did after the birth of my first child. They returned to normal within hours of the end of the trip.
I usually do 4 trips a year with 20+ dives each trip. I have lost track now of the number of times my breasts ache after diving. I have never had the bends and never used a decompression chamber. I did have oxygen once after a dive when I surfaced too quickly but this was as a precaution and was two years ago.
I have just returned from another week of diving of two dives each day and each day after the second/last dive within 40 mins I have breast pain. I do not have any lumps or change in the texture of the skin. The pain subsides after about 1-2 hours which is why I am able to carry on diving. The swelling is not as extreme as it used to be.
My regular temporary symptoms are:
Within one hour of diving either one or both of my breasts have sharp pain and tightness and/or some swelling. There is no lumpiness, discolouration, rash or change in skin texture. The pain lasts for approximately two hours. The reason I can do multiple dives is that the surface interval is roughly one hour so I am back in the water before the onset of pain and I have never had the symptoms during a dive – only on the surface. I dive mainly with Nitrox but also on air if Nitrox not available. I have not noticed any difference between the two.
I do not have high blood pressure and I do not take any medication. I have one cup of coffee in the morning and 1-2 glasses of wine in the evening after diving. I have a healthy diet and exercise regularly. I am not overweight but my breasts are generally large and heavy 40DD and although I appreciate probably mainly consisting of fat but the sheer weight to me implies more of a fluid consistency.
I have not sought medical assistance as my GP does not have specialised dive knowledge and therefore would not be able to advise me.
From what I have read there really is no definitive answer for a condition that clearly affects many, many women. The positives are that there does not appear to be any documented decompression sickness cases for these women and certainly no documented deaths. I am inclined to follow the thought that it is a fluid movement issue.
At present I manage the pain with paracetamol after diving but from what I have read I think a medication to diminish fluid retention and an anaesthetic taken prior to the onset of the pain would be the best medication. If there are any doctors out there to comment it would be great particularly as this thread has been running for the past 19 years with no conclusions.
Since this thread has been running for such a long time I was wondering if any progress has been made with regard to treatment and what a long term prognosis is.
I see one of the common denominators in this thread are generally on the topside of brasizes. Would you say your swimsuit/bikini/bra (in drysuit) are thight? Compressing in any way? Could it be worth a try do do a dive "bra-less"?