DCS - 2 months later???

[dw850]

Hi there,

About 2 months ago I took my open water certification in thailand. On my first dive I had some equalization problems and got a minor middle ear infection. No more problems after that. I also contracted hep a during this time which may have hidden other symptoms/made my physical condition worse.

I was fine for 1 week after the dives, then experienced a few days of dizziness. I then took a flight (no problems there). Rested for 3 weeks in one spot. I never experienced any tingling, except a when in salt water (this was a burning sensation, but could be due to the fact that i have very sensitive skin/eczema).

I then took 4 more flights.

I am now back home and have been feeling dizzy and fatigued lately, 2 months after my last dive. I went to see an ear doctor (due to some clogging/popping in my ear...thinking that the dizziness could be a result of that). He told me i should go to a hyperbaric chamber. From my research online that now seems rather pointless (too late?). Please let me know your opinion on this matter because Im really scared that i may have done some serious permanent damage to myself.

thanks,

peter

 

[BarryNL]

Well, it certainly sounds like something you need a doctor's opinion on, but I very much doubt it's DCS. Generally you expect DCS symptoms within an hour of diving and certainly within 24 hours. If you had no symptoms for a week then DCS seems unlikely.

Furthermore, the depths and times for dives you should have been making for the OW course (max 12m and about 30 mins per dive) are so conservative that I can't believe they would cause DCS unless you were bouncing up and down between the surface and bottom a number of times each dive.

So, doctor yes, but DCS - almost certainly not.

 

[DocVikingo]

Well, it certainly sounds like something you need a doctor's opinion on, but I very much doubt it's DCS. Generally you expect DCS symptoms within an hour of diving and certainly within 24 hours. If you had no symptoms for a week then DCS seems unlikely.

Furthermore, the depths and times for dives you should have been making for the OW course (max 12m and about 30 mins per dive) are so conservative that I can't believe they would cause DCS unless you were bouncing up and down between the surface and bottom a number of times each dive.

So, doctor yes, but DCS - almost certainly not.

Hi Peter,

I think that Barry has done an excellent job of concisely presenting the situation and agree that the chances of the current symptoms being DCS-related are almost nil.

Your statement that 2 months after the last dive recompression therapy "seems rather pointless (too late?)" is also spot on.

This notwithstanding, the symptoms described should receive prompt medical attention. An internist would be a sensible place to begin, with any appropriate specialist referrals to follow.

BTW, if an ENT consultation is suggested perhaps a different one than last time would be a prudent idea.

Helpful?

Regards,

DocVikingo

This is educational only and does not constitute or imply a doctor-patient relationship. It is not medical advice.

 

[DandyDon]

My Hep A & B vaccinations seemed like good ideas, like my home's smoke detectors and fire extinguishers.

Good luck!

 

[bigvivec]

Get your butt to the chamber...I got bent and didn't feel any symptoms until I woke up one day and it hit me like a train after weeks of gentle everyday profiles...I did some aggressive reasearch dives a month earlier and the doctor theorized that there might have been some cumulative connection...needless to say the day that I realized that I was bent I had been doing nothing but shallow water training and resort dives >30 foot the previous two days, and boat dives the week before that on very safe profiles...it can hang out in your body and doesn't go away on its own...put that DAN insurance to work!

 

[DocVikingo]

Get your butt to the chamber...I got bent and didn't feel any symptoms until I woke up one day and it hit me like a train after weeks of gentle everyday profiles...I did some aggressive reasearch dives a month earlier and the doctor theorized that there might have been some cumulative connection...needless to say the day that I realized that I was bent I had been doing nothing but shallow water training and resort dives >30 foot the previous two days, and boat dives the week before that on very safe profiles...it can hang out in your body and doesn't go away on its own...put that DAN insurance to work!

Hi bigvivec,

You sustained DCS at the culmination of "weeks of gentle everyday profiles."

dw850 did an OW cert months ago. After this, there was no more diving and he is "fine for 1 week," then experiences "a few days of dizziness." He then flies, rests in one spot for 3 weeks and then takes 4 more flights, all apparently without medical issue. He gets back home and has been feeling dizzy and fatigued, "2 months after the last dive."

And, oh, BTW, during the cert he experiences equalization problems and gets a middle ear infection, and contracts hepatitis (not otherwise specified) somewhere along the way.

Can you see any differences between your individual sets of circumstances?

No way dw850 is going to "put that DAN insurance to work" for recompression treatment because DAN wouldn't pay for it under these circumstances.

Now dw850 may still have a lingering middle ear infection and residual symptoms of hep which could account for dizziness and fatigue. Or he may have some other trauma or disease, but he certainly does not have DCS.

Inert gas taken on during SCUBA simply does "not hang out in your body and doesn't go away on its own" for a period of 2 months. Nor are the signs and symptoms of actual DCS responsive to initial chamber treatment beginning 2 months after onset.

Regards,

DocVikingo

 

[PaulSmithTek]

My honest opinion, have being bent with Stage 2 decompression Sickness, I think there may be some side effect that we he not noticed due to jet lag, and other circumstances. I believe DCS is a person to person based Illness. Granted we have it tied to several flow charts, also Neuro exams to base the type of DCS, but then there are the person to person symptoms. I mean I had twitching in my neck. Which Dr.Kay in Seattle said he has never seen. My hit was part of my CNS and could have very well contributed to the twitching in my neck. Now In contrary I do find it kind of hard to believe 2 months. But I had a Commercial Diving instructor have side affects not show up for a month. They were so small that they went unnoticed until something he did made it flare up. As for the mystery of DCS I don't think we will ever know for sure every thing that can and will happen with DCS. Just my 2 cents

 

[Rainer]

Get your butt to the chamber...I got bent and didn't feel any symptoms until I woke up one day and it hit me like a train after weeks of gentle everyday profiles...I did some aggressive reasearch dives a month earlier and the doctor theorized that there might have been some cumulative connection...needless to say the day that I realized that I was bent I had been doing nothing but shallow water training and resort dives >30 foot the previous two days, and boat dives the week before that on very safe profiles...it can hang out in your body and doesn't go away on its own...put that DAN insurance to work!

Pure crap advice...

 

[dw850]

Hi bigvivec,

You sustained DCS at the culmination of "weeks of gentle everyday profiles."

dw850 did an OW cert months ago. After this, there was no more diving and he is "fine for 1 week," then experiences "a few days of dizziness." He then flies, rests in one spot for 3 weeks and then takes 4 more flights, all apparently without medical issue. He gets back home and has been feeling dizzy and fatigued, "2 months after the last dive."

And, oh, BTW, during the cert he experiences equalization problems and gets a middle ear infection, and contracts hepatitis (not otherwise specified) somewhere along the way.

Can you see any differences between your individual sets of circumstances?

No way dw850 is going to "put that DAN insurance to work" for recompression treatment because DAN wouldn't pay for it under these circumstances.

Now dw850 may still have a lingering middle ear infection and residual symptoms of hep which could account for dizziness and fatigue. Or he may have some other trauma or disease, but he certainly does not have DCS.

Inert gas taken on during SCUBA simply does "not hang out in your body and doesn't go away on its own" for a period of 2 months. Nor are the signs and symptoms of actual DCS responsive to initial chamber treatment beginning 2 months after onset.

Regards,

DocVikingo

Well the problem is i was on quite strong antihistamines at the time due to an alergic rash on my arm. so i may have been drowsy on a and off quite a bit at the time without paying too much attention to it. I guess my main question is whether its possible that DCS results in on/off symptoms. Days without any problems and then days with.

Thanks for all the great feedback so far! youve been really helpful, Im very happy I found this forum .

 

[DocVikingo]

I guess my main question is whether its possible that DCS results in on/off symptoms. Days without any problems and then days with. Thanks for all the great feedback so far! you've been really helpful, Im very happy I found this forum .

Hi dw850,

It is not characteristic for the symptoms of DCS to follow an alternating "on/off" pattern. To the best of my knowledge, there has never been a reported case of DCS where the symptoms rotated between "days without any problems and then days with." Moreover, I cannot even conjure up a mechanism whereby this could occur.

While the symptoms may fluctuate a bit across the day, they mostly are constant. Also, while not always the case, untreated symptoms of a minor incident of DCS typically tend to gradually decrease over time until they mostly or entirely disappear.

It's too bad that you've been subjected (to quote Rainer) to some "Pure crap advice," but I'm glad that you've still found the thread helpful.

Regards,

DocVikingo

This is educational only and does not constitute or imply a doctor-patient relationship. It is not medical advice to you or any other individual.