In the past: Possible decompression sickness?

[Dave.E]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this but here it goes...

I'm leaving for a trip to Mexico in a week and am getting my dive gear together. Looking back through my log book and remembering my dives I noticed something that freaked me out.

My last time diving was in August. I did two dives in a morning with an hour surface interval. The first dive had an average depth of 20 feet with a maximum of 40. Total time 39. The second dive was a wall dive with a maximum depth of 70 feet. Total time 42. The depth gauge that I rented didn't work at all, telling me I was at 7 feet the entire time. We were on a tight schedule so I chose to follow my buddy's profile carefully and trust his computer.

I felt weak after the dive and kind of out of it. I didn't drink any water that day so I figured I was just a bit dehydrated. I had some water and took a breather. We had plans to go rock climbing after diving so we did that for a couple hours. Afterwards my left bicep was hurting quite a bit. I figured I just pulled something climbing.

Later that day I felt like I got run over by a bus and didn't think anything of it because of my busy day. I slept for like 12 hours and felt good but my bicep hurt for a couple more days. That eventually went away and I didn't think about it until now.

Thinking back on it, I might of/probably had decompression sickness.

Thoughts?

Dave

 

[danvolker]

No way for DCS unless you have a PFO....

More likely you were feeling some other issue....not to say it might not be important to figure out--just not the "normal" kind of DCS.

 

[theduckguru]

+1, get out a dive table.

 

[Dave.E]

Thanks for the replies! Good to hear that I'm wrong. I put it through on the PADI eRDP before posting and it exceeded limits.

...But that was assuming I was at the maximum depth the entire time which definitely isn't the case.

What is a PFO?

Dave

 

[pasley]

That said consider this.
DAN and other experst recommend "Avoid strenous exercise for 24 hours after diving (and before too) such as "climbing a hill".
Dehydration increases your risk for DCS.

Most likely you had a long strenous day with lots of exercise and were dehydrated.

 

[theduckguru]

Diving without a Least a depth gauge, watch, and predive planning isn't a good idea.

Thanks for the replies! Good to hear that I'm wrong. I put it through on the PADI eRDP before posting and it exceeded limits.

...But that was assuming I was at the maximum depth the entire time which definitely isn't the case.

What is a PFO?

Dave

 

[flots am]

My last time diving was in August. I did two dives in a morning with an hour surface interval. The first dive had an average depth of 20 feet with a maximum of 40. Total time 39. The second dive was a wall dive with a maximum depth of 70 feet. Total time 42. The depth gauge that I rented didn't work at all, telling me I was at 7 feet the entire time. I trust my dive buddy so I just followed his profile and computer.

According to vPlanner, assuming it was a square profile, you blew off 12 minutes of decompression on the second dive. There's no way to accurately model your multilevel dive since you don't have the information.

I have no idea if you had DCS or not, however I would not suggest doing any more dives without being certain they're well within the no deco limits, or that they are properly planned and executed decompression dives.

Also, as mentioned, rock climbing after diving is a bad idea.

flots.

 

[Dave.E]

According to vPlanner, assuming it was a square profile, you blew off 12 minutes of decompression on the second dive. There's no way to accurately model your multilevel dive since you don't have the information.

I have no idea if you had DCS or not, however I would not suggest doing any more dives without being certain they're well within the no deco limits, or that they are properly planned and executed decompression dives.

Also, as mentioned, rock climbing after diving is a bad idea.

flots.

Thanks for the reply. The second dive was indeed a multi-level dive. I have written in my log book that less than 3 minutes was spent at 70 feet.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

I want to join theduckguru in commenting on diving without a functioning depth gaugeand watch or a working computer. Even in close buddy proximity, this is a no-no. Glad you were ok, but I strongly recommend you have your own working equipment on every dive. I would go even further and say NEVER dive without your won working equipment on any dive.
DivemasterDennis

 

[KD8NPB]

Buy a $30 capillary depth gauge, submersible watch, and some PADI dive tables so you can avoid this near suicide attempt ever again.

With that being said, judging by your symptoms, it was not DCS, though you most likely put yourself in the region of "silent bubbles".

Did you do a 3-5 minute safety stop after each dive? If so, that may have been your only saving grace.