DCS? Went to the hyperbaric chamber just in case.

[squee!]

had a crappy weekend, so I thought I'd share. I've been somewhat stressed a bit at work, so I thought i would go diving on Saturday morning and give myself a mini-break/vacation and go diving in one of the more scenic area of Puerto Rico. So I leave early (around 5:00am) and truck down to the other side of the island and get to it. First dive is a conservative profile for 32% oxygen gas mix that we are using, something like 100' for 13 minutes, 60-70' for 5 minutes, 50-60' for 12 minutes and a 5 minute safety stop at 15' before surfacing. At the surface, I started getting really dizzy, and attributed it to seasickness (which I practically never get). After trying to get the symptoms to subside for 30 minutes, my legs locked up and went into rigor and I couldn't feel them anymore. Then my hands started to tingle and they locked up too. At this point I was noticing an acute compression occurring on the left side of my neck, and that is when the divemaster administered 100% oxygen. After 30 minutes, the symptoms subsided in the order they came, and I felt well enough to drive back, though not through the mountains as I didn't want to risk high altitude and a recurrence of my symptoms. It took me 4 hours to get back home the long way. I called the Diver Alert Network out of Duke in North Carolina and spoke with a doctor and he reccomended that I get checked out in the ER. So i took his advice.

I don't know if any of you have ever been in the ER before, but the ER at centro medico in Puerto Rico is ghastly. I would say 90% of all admits are gunshot victims. Anyhow, it was probably the worst healthcare I have ever recieved in my life. The doctor had told me they were going to put me on 100% oxygen, and this was at 1am. the nurse attempted but the outlet nearest me was broken, and so was the next closest one. She left me with the mask and said that she would try to find another source. Needless to say I never saw her again. I asked another nurse a few hours later, and she said she'd look into it. Nothing. I asked 2 more nurses an hour after that, and they couldn't find my chart but would help me when they found it. Eventually some old lady that was there with her grandson (a 3 year old who was shot in the face and had a bullet lodged in his throat) felt sorry for me and talked to the nurses. Apprently these nurses had noticed that I wasn't being tended to, but didn't have my chart and had no idea what doctor admitted me. Argh. Anyway, to make this part of the story somewhat brief, I was eventually given oxygen 10 hours after being admitted, and a hybaric specialist was called and I was put in the hyperbaric chamber at noon that day (which was 14 hours after I had been admitted). And for anyone who is curious, riding in the hyperbaric chamber sucks. Breathing dry 100% oxygen for 6 hours is one of the most painful things to do. It is really irritating when your lungs burn and the only way to stop the pain is to stop breathing. Anyhow, I'm out now, and just wanted to share my experience. I got checked out again today and the doctor said i was lucky to not have any residual effects. And I can't go diving for 4 months. Oh well.

[BigJetDriver]

Squee!,

I am sorry the local system failed you so badly. At least you persevered, and got the treatment you needed! It is good to note that your DM did the right thing and administered 100% O2 right away. That obviously helped a lot! You also did the right thing by calling DAN as soon as possible.

With your symptoms, I would not, as a DMT, have recommended that you drive home, but at least you made the better choice by doing it at sea level.

Your dive profile appears to be quite reasonable and should not have been problematic, however, we should all remember that all of the tables and models are statistical in terms of their results. There is always the chance for an "unexpected" occurrence even well within the limits.

Another thing you might have checked out is the possibility of the existence of a Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) within your heart. It is a flap between the chambers of the heart that has not sealed as it should, and occurs in a fair percentage of the populace. I might suggest, given the state of health care where you are, that you talk to DAN about it, and get their suggestion as to where to go to get that check. (Note: DAN cannot and will not "recommend" particular physicians, except to point out specialists in certailn areas.)

I'm glad you are OK now, and thank you for posting your story.