Scared I Missed Safety Stop

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RedyTedy

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Today I went down 80 ft, and as we were going up I attempted to safety stop. Due to a combination of not enough weight and a BCD that was hard to release air, I somehow got to the surface without realizing it.

I went on a second dive an hour later to 60ft, and did a safety stop fine.

What is the likelihood I have dcs? I did not and do not feel any symptoms, other than a quiet ringing in my ear I had to today which is not abnormal for me. My joints feel perfect, no headache or anything.
 
Its a "safety stop", not a mandatory "decompression stop". I think you will live. Biggest worry to me would be how fast you came up from 80', however if you were able to ask this question on a forum I think you will be okay. You may want to join DAN if you haven't already, they will answer questions of concern if you call them I believe.
 
By definition, DCS has symptoms. If you have no symptoms, you don't have DCS. The vast majority of DCS cases are symptomatic within the first eight hours after diving, so if you don't have a plane flight scheduled in the next couple of days, you're probably okay.

Just a piece of advice -- Unfamiliar equipment and uncertain weighting might suggest a more conservative initial profile. You're very unlikely to get hurt on a dive to less than 60 feet, even if your buoyancy control isn't ideal, but as you go deeper, your risks increase.
 
As stated, you're probably fine since no symptoms. How close were you to your NDL? Was it a multi-level dive or square profile?
 
If you were worried about being bent why did you go on a second dive? If bubbles are made by a rapid ascent the second dive provides an environment that allows them to grow and become more of a problem. Sitting out the second dive may have resulted in less worry at the end of the day.

My recollection is the bends rate is something like 1 in 2000 recreational dives. That is for dives with a 60 foot per second ascent rate and no safety stop at all (the DSAT standard). Presumably if you slow the ascent, and add stops, the risk of DCS is even lower. Gas embolisms are far more common. Worrying about DCS for this sort of dive amounts to putting too much focus in the wrong place. It is like spending your life worrying about terrorism and not buckling up. Spending more time on buoyancy control would be better.
 
Big difference between "i was at 80' for 10 minutes" or "I was at 80' for an hour".
 
"What is the likelihood I have dcs?"...................................-------.00000028 %.........:)
 
I agree with the above, but I want to point out that asking for medical advice on an Internet forum isn't a very good idea.

Please call the Divers Alert Network. It's free and you don't have to be a member, but you should.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalko
 
As stated the likelihood of you having DCS is pretty much 0 as you would be in or have been in treatment and have written about that possibly. Yes a safety stop is not mandatory just extremely good practice to do on every dive. I is important to ensure you are familiar with all Of your dive equipment and weighted properly. If you're not familiar with your equipment he has not been serviced properly or you are underweight you have the increased chance of a rapid ascent which could cause DCS. Also if you believe you have DCS you should notify someone immediately and not continue diving.
 
DCS risk is a valid concern ... but I think in a lot of early scuba training it tends to be overstated, sometimes at the expense of more immediate concerns.

Missing safety stop isn't good ... but the risk of it producing DCS symptoms are extremely low, especially if you weren't down very long or you didn't rocket to the surface.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)
 

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