My Dry Dives and Other Adventures with DCS, PFO and Migraine with Aura

[BubbleBlocker]

Just a quick update for anyone wondering: I've done over 50 dives since the closure, including some in the Red Sea and off Jupiter, FL that I've referred to as "scuba boot camp" between lots of swimming and pretty good currents. :coolingoff: I'm able to dive less conservatively than I used to (in the past I'd pretty much have to stick to air profiles while on Nitrox in order to completely avoid symptoms), and have not had any problems whatsoever. I feel better diving now than I have in years.

 

[Missdirected]

Appreciate the update. :thumbs-up Still no migraines? If not, that is just incredible.

 

[BubbleBlocker]

Should have mentioned that. Still no migraines!!!! :banana: It really is incredible.

Another close friend just had the same procedure I did two months ago. We had been comparing symptoms for over a year and she finally got tested and it turned out she had a PFO and ASA as well. It also turned out that she had been getting migraines with aura but she didn't realize what the "aura" part was. Someone else I know has been in the chamber this week after an unexplainable hit (not the first time) and will be getting tested soon. I think the best thing about what I went through - other than getting the problem fixed and being able to continue diving, of course - is that it's raised awareness of the problem and the fact that there is a relatively easy fix.

The one downside of all of this is that my diving habit has gotten expensive again. I've been so psyched about diving that I've gone out and bought myself brand new B2 regs (my first new ones in 20 years), a new BP&W, new fins, and my first prescription mask. Of course this was on top of scheduling trips to the Red Sea, Caymans, and PNG and flying down to FL to get in the water every chance I get. But hey, you live once, right? :cool2:

 

[Missdirected]

The one downside of all of this is that my diving habit has gotten expensive again. I've been so psyched about diving that I've gone out and bought myself brand new B2 regs (my first new ones in 20 years), a new BP&W, new fins, and my first prescription mask. Of course this was on top of scheduling trips to the Red Sea, Caymans, and PNG and flying down to FL to get in the water every chance I get. But hey, you live once, right? :cool2:

Yeah, you're not getting any sympathy from this lady. Good try though :tongue:

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

Glad to hear such great improvements in so many areas for you BubbleBlocker, and of you helping others with similar issues understand the issues and the treatment / corrective procedures available.

My headaches remain problematic, which simply shows mine are more complex than current medical science can adequately explain. Mine share some traits of symptoms that fit in the 'migraine headache' box and some symptoms that appear in the 'cluster headache' box. For now, I'm simply thankful there are modern meds to alleviate these; I tried a med that some migraine patients reported successful in preventing migraines in 2006 and it didn't to squat for me. We'll see what the future brings for me as science continues to advance.

However, my RMV / normalized SAC remains about 0.50 ft3/min (we took a 2 week vacation to Curacao this summer and confirmed the results matched closely with our trip to St. Croix in March 2009) rather than about 0.75 ft3/min before my PFO was corrected. I bought my wife a 5 mm wetsuit since my gas consumption has dropped so significantly, she was getting cold in her 3/2 mm full wetsuit on both our trips this year!

 

[Lopaka]

Another close friend just had the same procedure I did two months ago.

From reading that "other" board, Angie is already back in the water, after only two months..................That girl is hardcore, no doubt about it. She is taking very slow she says, only down to 80' so far...

I am so pissed I cannot get the guys that worked on me to stop hemming and hawing around. Getting down to "If you can't give me a solid reason why not, then back off, I am diving in".

 

[Dr. Doug Ebersole]

Yes -- Angie was driving herself (and probably everyone around her) nuts. At our last appt, we decided since she had such a great result that she could dive a little earlier than planned as long as it was shallow and on a rich mix. I don't remember mentioning diving to 80 fsw earlier than three months, though.

(Oh, I'm the one that closed her PFO by the way -- not just some random guy on the internet)

 

[Missdirected]

Yes -- Angie was driving herself (and probably everyone around her) nuts. At our last appt, we decided since she had such a great result that she could dive a little earlier than planned as long as it was shallow and on a rich mix. I don't remember mentioning diving to 80 fsw earlier than three months, though.

(Oh, I'm the one that closed her PFO by the way -- not just some random guy on the internet)

Amazing how these random people on the interent, like debersole, can perform such great surgeries.

 

[BubbleBlocker]

Yes -- Angie was driving herself (and probably everyone around her) nuts.

LOL! I only know her husband has got to be breathing a sigh of relief that she's back in the water!! :laughing:

I don't remember mentioning diving to 80 fsw earlier than three months, though.

Well, at least her 40+% mix kept her from going too much deeper!

And to think I thought I was pushing the rules too much by doing a 60 foot dive a couple of weeks ahead of schedule. All in all, it was well worth the wait! Heading to the Grenadines next week.

 

[Amazz]

OMG!!! I'm so busted. For the record, Dr. Ebersole gave me a 3 month hiatus from diving. I told him I was going at it at 2 months and nobody was stopping me, shallow of course. Yes, I was getting impossible to live with. Seriously. I ended up going 86 ft. briefly at just under 2 months. I didn't stay that deep too long. GEEZ......I'm soooooo busted. Sorry doc, I have so much respect for you but like you said, I have been miserable to live with. I really am taking it easy. I have always been difficult to control. All is well and Angie is in her happy place because she is diving. I keep forgetting that everbody reads the internet. :-(