vegan60
New
i think this was an extremely rare occurance but if someone else can learn from my experience or help diagnose someone; hopefully this story will help. My husband and I dove Belize in May and did approx. 12 dives over 5 days. We dove 2-3 times every day and probably 3 of the dives (including Blue Hole) were over 100ft. On the 6th day there, I awoke with severe pain in my lower back on both sides- I assumed that I was severely dehydrated and drank a bunch of water. I was very tired and slept most of the day. That night, I awoke and started vomiting for 3 hours straight. My condition continued to deteriorate with muscle pains, confusion, inability to speak clearly, inability to urinate, bloating and finally severe leg tremors.
We were able to make it back to Atlanta and proceeded directly to the Emergency Room. I was diagnosed with Rhabdomyolysis which is deterioration of the muscles and acute renal failure. The Nephrologist assigned to my case said it was caused from over-exertion from the diving and dehydration. I was admitted to the hospital for 3 days where I received IV fluids and other medications to flush out the kidneys. Luckily, the kidney function returned to normal and there is no long-term damage.
So...my advice to any diver reading this story is ...hydrate, hydrate, hydrate and take your diving in moderation especially if you dive only 1-3 times/year. The Doctor says I can dive again, but believe me, I'll do it in moderation from now on.
We were able to make it back to Atlanta and proceeded directly to the Emergency Room. I was diagnosed with Rhabdomyolysis which is deterioration of the muscles and acute renal failure. The Nephrologist assigned to my case said it was caused from over-exertion from the diving and dehydration. I was admitted to the hospital for 3 days where I received IV fluids and other medications to flush out the kidneys. Luckily, the kidney function returned to normal and there is no long-term damage.
So...my advice to any diver reading this story is ...hydrate, hydrate, hydrate and take your diving in moderation especially if you dive only 1-3 times/year. The Doctor says I can dive again, but believe me, I'll do it in moderation from now on.