valium and diving

[Puchinita5]

Hi. So I was prescribed valium by a doctor the other day, not for psychological reasons but actually I was prescribed it for motion sickness.

I have tried dramamine and bonine for motion sickness and neither have worked in any way whatsoever. I've only gone scuba diving twice as part of my certification and I loved it but my last dive ( i was supposed to go on three instead of two) I got so unbelieavably motion sick and was throwing up on the boat. It was definitely the 20 minute boat ride that did it for me but it seems most dives require a boat ride and I hate that I can't get into scuba diving because of my motion sickness.


I asked my doctor what else I could take instead of dramamine or bonine, and he suggested I take 2.5 mg dose of valium 30 minutes before. I didn't mention it for scuba diving, I asked for long car rides and flights...but I'm wondering if anyone else has ever used valium for motion sickness and if this would be a bad thing to take before scuba diving. He said something that not only does it relax you, but it also suppresses something in your inner ear which helps you not get motion sick.

I've tried it once so far for a long car ride, and to be honest I'm not sure if I noticed any effect at all except that I didn't get very sick. But I didn't feel drowsy or very relaxed from what I could notice.


I'll double check with him obviously before I do anything but was wondering if anybody else had input.

 

[diversteve]

There's some discussion about it in this DAN article: Divers Alert Network
excerpt:

Medication For Anxiety, Phobias & Panic Disorders

(Note: Many of the medications listed under "depression" are also used for anxiety. Generic names are listed first; common brand names follow).

Benzodiazepines

Medications in this group used to treat anxiety include: Alprazolam / Xanax, Chlordiazepoxide / Librium, Clonazepam / Klonopin, Clorazepate / Tranxene, Diazepam / Valium, Halazepam / Paxipam, Lorazepam / Ativan, Oxazepam / Serax, Prazepam / Centrax.

Side effects adverse to diving:

Drowsiness: A common side effect. Be sure you know how you react to this medicine before driving or using dangerous machinery.
Dizziness: Be careful about standing up quickly, going up and down stairs and driving.
Difficulty learning: An unusual side effect, it tends to go away quickly with continued use.

It was definitely the 20 minute boat ride that did it for me but it seems most dives require a boat ride and I hate that I can't get into scuba diving because of my motion sickness.

You might look into shore diving as an alternative. Besides being able to do some excellent shore dives in California, Florida, Hawaii, many U.S. lakes etc. - some of the better diving in the Caribbean is off the shore in places like Bonaire, Curacao, Aruba, Grand Cayman, St. Croix. Many divers go to Bonaire only to shore dive - it's easy, there's at least 60-80 shore accessible dive sites and it's excellent, low-current, high visibility diving. One of the best shore dives I've ever done was Playa Kalki near Westpunt, Curacao. In a week of diving (20+ dives) my group did only one boat dive there. Maui is another good option - there's a lot of shore diving there off most of the beaches.

Some options: ShoreDiving.com - Your Shore Diving and Snorkeling Web Community!

 

[TSandM]

Valium can be a very good suppressor of vestibular-related nausea and vertigo (meaning symptoms that arise from too much stimulation of the balance portion of the middle ear). It does, however, produce a degree of sedation in most patients. I would be significantly concerned about the additive effect of Valium and nitrogen narcosis on deeper dives, and I would suspect that most people treated with Valium would show blunted awareness and slowed reaction times. I would be VERY careful about diving on this medication, especially if you are naive to it.

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

Benzodiazepines like diazepam (Valium), clonazepam (Klonopin), and lorazepam (Ativan) are typically contraindicated while diving, for the reasons TSandM gave above.

 

[tracydr]

I would say the same as the other two good doctors. If you decide to try it, make sure you try it on several easy, shallow dives in a training atmosphere first. You need to get used to how it feels.
i would hesitate to use something that basically has the same effect on the brain as alcohol before diving.
that being said, I used to take clonazapam for a medical problem and I did dive while on it. However, I feel my senses and ability to make decisions/learn are much better since I no longer take the medication.
On the negative side, though, is that I'm far more likely to get nervous and task overloaded now than when I was taking clonazapam. I do miss that.

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

If you decide to try it, make sure you try it on several easy, shallow dives in a training atmosphere first. You need to get used to how it feels.

You could make an argument for this if the diver plans to stay shallow, but since benzos act synergistically with nitrogen, this would not apply for deeper dives. Also, dives in a training environment are very controlled and generally don't require making decisions on the fly like open-water diving does.

 

[SCUBASailor]

Have you talked to your doctor about scopolamine nasal spray? I have a friend who's used it with excellent success. I got a prescription, but I've never had to use it, so I can't give a first hand evaluation of it's effectiveness for me.

 

[diverdoug1]

You should discuss this with your MD, and tell him that you want a medication to help with your nausea while diving. Explain that you would like to avoid medications which obtund your mentation. 5 Hydroxy tryptamine receptor blockers such as Zofran might be a viable option for you, but your MD should make the call.

 

[pwhiphop]

I vaguely remember suggestion of antihistamine such as benedryl. Any chance that would work if bonine and Dramamine failed? Also, remember suggestion of Dramamine night before dive and day of dive. Also, ginger tablets and just plain getting used to it helped my significant other.

 

[AFdivedoc]

I'm a bit late to the party, but having dealt with aviators with motion sickness issues for years, I'll throw in my two cents.

First of all, did you have much exposure to boat travel before your scuba training? And if so, did you experience motion sickness?

People who have initial problems with motion sickness can acclimate and do well over time. As well as the pharmaceutical route, try the following: 1) Keep your eyes outside the boat, on the horizon. Motion sickness is often kicked off by a difference in what your eyes and your inner ear are telling you. Staring down at your feet gives you a visual cue you are standing still, but your inner ear is rocking and rolling with the boat. I often give this advice to people going on incentive rides in fighter jets. Better yet, if the pilot lets them fly, the symptoms often disappear, since they now have something to focus on, and have control over what the aircraft is doing. 2) Concurrent with keeping your eyes on horizon, but especially if you can't, seek out the part of the boat where the rocking is minimal. This is going to be along the fore-aft centerline (minimizes roll), and near the center of gravity (minimizes pitching).

In my service, aviators who have motion sickness issues are evaluated by a physician, and can get a trial of motion sickness meds for a limited number of flights. They are also put through a protocol in a midieval device called a Baranay Chair (Google it), to try to help them acclimate. If they can't get off the meds, they are disqualified from flying service. Most eventually get over it, and we have very few failures. In your case, perhaps more exposure to the boat motion without the anxiety of a dive trip would be helpful. So go boating!