All signs point to DCS, but it's not...

[boulderjohn]

I don't know how much this will help you, but it may be good to know that the percentage of dives that end in DCS is something lo 0.001%. It is really an extremely rare event. The real danger in scuba statistically comes from a panicked, breath-holding ascent to the surface. The only people I know who have gotten DCS (and I know several) were really pushing the envelope on deep decompression dives.

---------- Post added July 15th, 2013 at 09:34 AM ----------

Well 60 ft would be in Cozumel, and would be my 'floor'.

That will be a floor that you will not be happy with in Cozumel. They usually do 2 tank dives, meaning the boat goes out with divers on it, and they do one dive, followed by a surface interval, then another dive. Most operators ask divers where they want to go after they get on the boat. If you announce at that point that you don't want to go below 60 feet, you will see a lot of unhappy faces. They do the deeper dive first, and 100% of the good first dives are deeper than 60 feet. It will be possible for you to stay 20 feet or so above the rest of the group, but you will be missing the good stuff. The second dives are all above 60 feet.

If you want to stay above 60 feet on all your dives, shop around with operators. letting them know ahead of time. Many, especially the bigger operators with multiple boats, will be able to put you on a boat in which both dives are to your liking.

 

[The Chairman]

The problem with irrational fears is that there is no rational way to alleviate them. Experience and time should help you considerably. However, I have a few suggestions:

• Go diving on some warm shallow reefs like we have here in Key Largo. Lots to see in the 15 to 30 foot area and you simply don't have to worry much about getting bent.
• Learn to dive NitrOx. Less is always best!
• Do something fun after the dives to take your mind off of your fears. I know it's hard to chillax when you are experiencing these irrational fears, but you have to make an effort to put them behind you.

 

[Skittl1321]

If you want to stay above 60 feet on all your dives, shop around with operators. letting them know ahead of time.

The op already knows. I think the first day will be planned shallow. Depending on how that goes, she might end up having me have a private DM the second day, or maybe all will be fine. Who knows.

---------- Post added July 15th, 2013 at 10:47 AM ----------

They do the deeper dive first, and 100% of the good first dives are deeper than 60 feet.

If after a few days I'm still not going under 60 feet, I will skip the first dive. I'd rather be comfortable and safe than 'get my money's worth'.

 

[Lorenzoid]

That's not at all what my motivation of this thread was. I just wanted to know if other people had this sort of "my joints ache, my hands are tingly, oh crap" feeling when they left a dive that they knew left them at virtually no danger of DCS. And how long it took for them to know what was normal after a dive.

I am satisfied now that this is actually very normal, and many people feel this way. Other people may not have the same fear of actually getting DCS as I do (since most people don't have my medical history), but the "is this a bad thing or a normal thing" appears to be a very common reaction to all the "symptoms" that new divers exhibit after dives.


How it turned into a "diving is clearly not for you" is baffling to me. It isn't just baffling me, but also the few people who have emailed me to express a WTF about the turn of the thread.

Okay, thanks for clarifying. Your original post led me (and apparently others) to believe otherwise, as you listed a bunch of symptoms but added that you KNEW it wasn't DCS. It sounded like you were admitting your fear is irrational and you are a hypochondriac or have some phobia. You asked how long it took people's "paranoia" to go away or whether you are just "a freak." I think people may have taken this as an admission you have fears that you know are irrational.

Since you know you can't get DCS from an hour in the pool, why don't you just see how you feel after some open water dives so you have some baseline for knowing what aches are typical for you after you've exerted yourself diving?

Yeah, the "diving's not for you" comment was definitely uncalled for. But if you re-read your original post, you didn't just list some aches and pains and ask if this is possible DCS. You suggested you knew very well that you were being irrational and "paranoid" yet listed all your supposed symptoms anyway.

 

[Skittl1321]

You suggested you knew very well that you were being irrational and "paranoid" yet listed all your supposed symptoms anyway.

I guess the "am I just a freak" was in the question of "is it normal to see severe issues in benign symptoms" from a few of the nicer posts on this thread, and a few emails- I find that it is, so I'm not a freak. New divers often see their aches and pains and think "oh no!", which is what I'm doing. I KNOW it isn't DCS, but because these symptoms are drilled into us in the classroom, I see symptoms and then wonder if I should worry. I really just want to know how long it is until that wonder if you should worry goes away. As someone else said early in the thread "if you have DCS, you know" - but then alluded to maybe you don't. From the accidents/incidents forum, I see all the time people shouting at the OP to "go see a doctor!" so maybe people don't know how to differentiate benign symptoms from serious ones.

I do understand I was being a little paranoid, but I think the fact that I also understood where every "potential symptom" could come from instead shows rational thought, not irrational thought. To some extent I meant for the list of symptoms I was "suffering" to be tongue in cheek. Clearly it wasn't taken that way, it seems one person saw that and the rest decided I have a serious mental health problem (I think it would be more accurate to say I have a very minor one, I'll add a so people clearly know I am joking).


I have to say I am really offended by the notion that all divers must be perfect and calm all through their classes or they shouldn't be diving. I am NOT the only one in my class who is stressed by the new environment. In either of the two classes I've taken.

 

[diverrex]

Good for you for trying to tackle diving even though you have issues that make it difficult. While I admire that I'll admit I am on the fence about whether you should continue or not as some of your issues (possible panic) are so dangerous in scuba. But it does seem like you have thought this out and are willing to go slow. I would advise you to continue with very small steps. Cozumel is a difficult place to go slow, even shallow dives can be subject to strong current and a feeling of not being in control of the dive. Unless things change much to the better for your diving before then I would recommend a private DM for all your dives, even if the first few go okay because conditions can change dive to dive.

As to your original question I really have not come across anyone that has felt the way you do about DCS. One of the ways you reconcile various aches and pains versus DCS is context. As pointed out DCS is very rare in diving and even more rare, if at all, during 13 foot dives.

My back gets sore sometimes, I am aware of that. So sometimes it also happens diving, never during the actual diving but after a dive. I aware of the context of the dive and a not so unusual occurrence of a sore back while also doing other things so I know that it has nothing to do with DCS.

During my first pool session (out of only two) I felt a very mild claustrophobia the first time under the water. I even commented to others afterwards that maybe I'd turn out to be a diver that didn't have any interest in going below 30 feet. That feeling didn't come during the second pool session and never came up on any of the OW dives. I now probably prefer 60' and deeper dives than under 30' dives.

I would advise as many pool sessions as possible until all aspects of diving are very comfortable. Diving is not for everyone, there is no shame in that. As much as I like diving I don't try to push anyone into it, I figure people should really want to do it before trying it.

Please continue to post about your experiences. I am curious to how it works out. Good luck to you.

 

[tech_diver]

The subtle, generalized, variable nature of DCS has always confounded divers. The joke amongst some of my buddies was that, "After a rough Saturday night, I wake up Sunday morning with DCS symptoms even if I wasn't diving."

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

What? Where did you get that from my post? I came home from the pool session talking a mile a minute because it went so much better than last month and I was really feeling good about it.

I am reading between the lines. Maybe not correctly. After my first dive, I had one thought and only one. When is the next dive?

You are having to do a lot of processing after a shallow dive despite have a handle on the facts. Irrational fear leads to panic and panic leads to dead divers. Our sport is not physically challenging, even mentally its pretty easy (tech divers and photography excepted) and the equipment is very reliable. Panic and lack of planning are the 2 items that you need to watch out for.

 

[MMM]

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[toddthecat]

Being a psychologist myself I can tell you that your fears are simply manifests of your knowledge of DCS. I'm willing to bet either your instructor had really graphic stories about DCS dangers or you went and found many of them online (or both). It's entertaining when students go through the abnormal psychology class and come out thinking they have schizophrenia! It's normal for people to learn about symptoms for conditions and then evaluate themselves. It's also normal for people to want to think their symptoms match whatever condition they may be reading about. You don't need to go get therapy for this. You've already got the answers. You said yourself you KNOW that you don't have DCS based on the dive profile and what you know. Soooooo at this point why are you still worried about it? Let it go, move on, and dive another day! If it causes you THAT much distress then you might reevaluate whether or not you should be diving. I would never suggest a claustrophobic go tooling around in caves. Likewise, if you have that much predisposition to a fear of diving, I wouldn't suggest you dive.