Epilepsy and diving

[richhagelin]

My daughter (age 28) is interested in getting certified.

She was diagnosed with epilepsy at age 17 and was on anti-seizure medication for 2 years.

She has been seizure and medication free for the past 9 years.

Is there any reason why she should not take up diving?

I would appreciate reseponses from physicians, please.

Rich Hagelin

 

[theruge]

I also had epilepsy throughout my youth and have now been diving for 3 years. I was diagnosed with Temporal Lobe epilepsy and had issues until about 9 year ago. Prior to diving I went to see my Doctors and they stated that there shouldn’t be an issue as there have been no symptoms in those years. However, prior to starting a diving class a medical form is required to be signed. It would be best that she get checked by her doctor prior to starting classes because the causes and recomendations are going to be different with each person.

My daughter (age 28) is interested in getting certified.

She was diagnosed with epilepsy at age 17 and was on anti-seizure medication for 2 years.

She has been seizure and medication free for the past 9 years.

Is there any reason why she should not take up diving?

I would appreciate reseponses from physicians, please.

Rich Hagelin

 

[Dive-aholic]

Rich, I'm not a physician, but I am medically trained. It doesn't sound like a problem, but as you probably already know, she needs a medical release, so it doesn't matter what anyone here thinks. The only opinion that matters is her doctor's or the dive doc she sees for this. What are her chances of having another seizure? Is she (or you) willing to take that risk if it happens underwater?

 

[Laurence Stein DDS]

My daughter (age 28) is interested in getting certified.

She was diagnosed with epilepsy at age 17 and was on anti-seizure medication for 2 years.

She has been seizure and medication free for the past 9 years.

Is there any reason why she should not take up diving?

I would appreciate reseponses from physicians, please.

Rich Hagelin

Hey Rich,

I did a search of the board. I remember a particularly heated exchange that went on for weeks regarding epilepsy and scuba diving. There were many "lay" posts and numerous posts by Docs. Here is the link:

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=4848&page=1&pp=10

Keep in mind that there are personal safety issues that only the diver can decide but there are also dangers posed to other divers or buddies. The issue of whether to inform those diving with you about the condition is also explored. You might want to take a look.

Laurence Stein, DDS

 

[opiniongirl]

You maybe have thought of this already - but perhaps email DAN. A few years ago both asthma and diabetes used to be a no-no, but now more is understood and many people do dive safely while having these conditions. Having info from DAN might assist her physician in making a decision.

 

[richhagelin]

Larry,

Thanks for the link. I found the discussion very interesting (it did get a little "heated", didn't it?).

The discussion, however, was mostly about individuals with "active" epilepsy controlled with medication.

The situation with my daughter is different. She has been seizure-free WITHOUT medication for almost 10 years.

What is the position of PADI, NAUI, etc on this situation?

She already does a number of things (driving, rock climbing, etc) which would be fatal if she had a seizure. Don't know why diving should be treated differently.

Rich Hagelin

 

[Dive-aholic]

Rich, the difference is that scuba certifying agencies require a medical release before you can participate in the course. With 10 seizure-free, medication-free years, it's more likely she will be able to get signed off. She needs to talk to her doc. Without that signed piece of paper...

Here's a link to DAN:

http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/faq/faq.asp?faqid=80

It doesn't recommend diving with epilepsy, even seizure and medication free, but does state history and conditions should be reviewed with the doc.

 

[TwoBitTxn]

I can't think of an agency that wouldn't defer to a Doc.

If her doc signs off on the paper work, more power to her.

TwoBit

 

[richhagelin]

Thanks for the info everyone.

The doc said "go for it", so my daughter, my son and I will be diving the warm waters of Coz in May.

Rich Hagelin

 

[DallasNewbie]

Rich,

I'm not a physician, but I have met an epileptic diver. It was in the Cozumel airport, and we were both on our way home. I was returning from a wonderful vacation, and he was having the worst week of his life. He had been diving from 2 years, with a doctor's sign off, and this was his second trip to Cozumel. He had a sezure underwater and spit out his regulator and aspirated sea water. If one of the divers he was with hadn't brought him to the surface, he would have drowned very quickly.

He wound up with at least pneumonia and DCS. The doctor at the Cozumel chamber told him he was an idiot for ever diving with epilepsy, MD sign-off or not.