Record dive for me - 5 Hours. ...in the chamber.

[BMETdiver]

What is a PFO? And how would it affect DCS?

 

[Rick Inman]

Did you feel dehydrated? I try and keep hydrated, but without the pee test, I can't always tell... unless I am thirsty which means you are dehydrated.

I think the hot shower may have had a lot to do with it too. Something about capilary reaction or something like that...

Sounds like a time that I hope I don't have to experience. Glad you are OK.

Chris

This is what I'm thinking:

I drank ZERO water before the second dive, and not much before the first on Monday. I did drink a mocha coffee between dives. I did not hook up my pee valve. About 20 mins into the dive, I really had to go.

Bad! So bad, that I was miserable holding it. In fact, when I shot the bag, I'm sure I let go of it because I was distracted and fumbley. Then I swam hard to the exit point 'cause I needed to get outta' there and hit the head, so I was panting going up the slight hill.

All these small things - the dehydration, the having to pee, the small bounce, the slight exertion, the hot shower... Who knows?

PICS:http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/sh.../34228/cat/507
http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/sh.../34229/cat/507

 

[DandyDon]

What is a PFO? And how would it affect DCS?

It's a heart abnormality that can make DCS more likely. See Dr.Deco forum, as our Search feature will not handle a 3 letter word.

 

[MonkSeal]

Who knows?

Sometimes it's really hard to find out what caused DSC. A month ago friend of mine had similar symptoms after two dives. I was a team leader :-( (three divers) and we made a usual dive for rest two of us with usual deco profile. However, it seems that he wasn't in the same condition as we were and he got DSC. Three chamber rides and he was Ok but that left unanswered question in our minds. He haven't dived for a quite time before that weekend but I remember more agressive dives with him.

 

[lamont]

Did a table 6 chamber ride today. Here's my story:

Another "undeserved hit"?

Monday I did 2 dives. First dive was on 31%, max depth 88', lots of time shallow, 55min dive time.

1 hour SI (no water, just a dbl mocha ).

2nd dive was on 34%, max depth 93', 55min dive time, another good check-mark profile with tons of time shallow. The only hitch was, when we hit 20', I took out a bag to shoot, lost hold of it and it floated to the surface. So, I did a bounce up to 6' to grab it and then back to 20'.

I just can't see this as being all that bad. Compare this bounce to the practice of blowing off all your deco, hopping up onto a ship and getting sent back down in a chamber to complete the deco.

Particularly:

26 hour SI, then the third dive on Tuesday night.

After a 26 hour SI, any free-phase bubble shower from the little bounce is going to be largely gone.

And then...

3rd dive: Dived on straight air. Touched 72' for about a second, then a long slow assent with tons of time from 25' to 0'. Dive time, 45mins.

That's nice and conservative and as the bubbles expanded slowly in your system, you were filtering them through your lungs and eliminating them.

21% is for tires though.

What was your hydration like before and after the 3rd dive? What about excersize before/during/after?

And I'd definitely think a PFO test was in order.

 

[Rick Inman]

What was your hydration like before and after the 3rd dive? What about excersize before/during/after?

I was well hydrated before the third dive. The only exercise was at the end of the second dive, and that was just a couple of mins. of hard exertion.

21% is for tires though.

Yup.

Actually, the DAN guy said that this kind of event is not that unusual.

 

[Uncle Pug]

PFO. You need more than just the echocardiogram... it needs to be administered in conjunction with the introduction of bubbles into your blood stream. Transesophageal would be the most definitive.

TIP: to do searches on three letter *words* include the wildcard * and select boolean search ~ for example: a boolean search of PFO* will return 116 hits.

 

[Damselfish]

TIP: to do searches on three letter *words* include the wildcard * and select boolean search ~ for example: a boolean search of PFO* will return 116 hits.

That actually seems to be broken now, unless you choose the Boolean option under advanced search.

 

[JohnL]

Gad to hear you are doing ok Rick. I am pretty new and this is a really good reminder that allot of little things can cascade into a problem (probably). Also a good reminder not to ignore symptoms despite a conservative profile.

Also glad to hear that you will be getting back in the water soon.

Despite the seriousness of DCS I still believe that the ride to and from is far more dangerous than the diving.

John

 

[Saturation]

This event reads like an abnormally high offgassing event leading to a very large bubble load, describe theoretically many times but never proven as a combo of:

cold water dive [then surfacing to warmer conditions] so diver didn't offgass adequately at depth then offgasses too quickly in warmer conditions

dive near end of NSL

older divers, > 40 y/o

possibly a PFO or some other shunt

underlying vascular disease or lower level fitness
dehydration

The more risk factors present the more likely an 'unexpected hit'

More risk for divers:

Felt cold at dives end?
In a wet suit?
Felt comfortably warm on surface?

One hint of the diagnosis can be had if CK enzymes were drawn, they elevate markedly in AGE like events. Becaue bubble loads are high, some eventually make it through the lungs even without a shunt, and those shower of bubbles lead to the DCS II.

What is described is likely an inner ear DCS, a type of neurologic DCS and is associated with shunts. Shunts come in many sizes that likely maybe small enough to not be an issue except in high levels of bubbling. Tissue types are not static as blood flow to organs, although idealized as this photo, can change depending on how a diver feels intra-dive.