Originally posted by TexasMike
Pasley...
So that we all might learn, would you mind sharing your stories about your experiences?
The following story is what happened to me the two times I have had Decompression Sickness (DCS). I offer it for your enjoyment and to help others profit from my errors. I also want to dispel some common misconceptions. One: You can get DCS from a shallow dive, not just a deep dive (see my second incident). Two: The dive does not have to be long to cause DCS, and Three: You can do everything right and still get DCS.
First about me: Male, age at time of DCS: 47, weight: 155, height: 6, run 2 miles in 17:45. Take and pass an Army Physical Fitness Test twice a year (run, push-ups and sit-ups). Non-smoker, non-drinker. I hydrate and was drinking plenty of water at the time of these incidents.
One Wednesday August 15th, I was making my 12th lifetime dive, having been certified in June of 2001. I and two other divers, were beach diving at Redondo Beach, CA at Vets Park, just below the pier. We swam out approximately 20 yards past the end of the pier and about 100 yards south of the pier.
We dove down and found the sandy bottom at 84 feet depth with no plant life (or much of anything else). We continued to swim around, looking at what limited sea live was available along the bottom. The area lacked any kelp or other vertical reference point to indicate we were slopping down. I checked my computer and discovered that we had wandered down to a depth of 110 feet. My air supply had diminished to 700+ PSI. I then began to surface, following my Oceanic DataMax computer up as quickly as it would indicate it was safe to do so. I kept my assent rate in the green, the entire time. I leveled off and waited at depths of 80, 60, 40, and 20 feet until the computer indicated it was safe to leave that level. We only made the one dive that day for a total duration of 19 minutes.
The next morning I began to notice a very minor, discomfort in my left ankle. Here we are talking a very dull minor ache, the kind that if you are busy, you may not even notice. At first I attributed it to the swim out (fin foot), or possibly to getting tossed around in the surf while entering the water.
The discomfort continued and grew in intensity instead of diminishing as I would have expected with the passage of time. On Friday, August 17th, I contacted D.A.N. Insurance for advice. They also doubted it was Decompression Sickness (DCS) but my dive profile was borderline and so they referred me to the Long Beach Memorial Hospital Hyperbaric Department for evaluation. I in processed through the emergency room as directed by the Hyperbaric staff and reported to the chamber where they instituted treatment for Decompression Illness by Dr. Appell.
At the hospital I received one treatment for two hours in the decompression chamber (a 17 by 7 Plexiglas tube filled under pressure with pure oxygen.) and was told to return the next day for another treatment. Now, just to prove I am not the brightest light in the harbor, I had other plans and they did not include the chamber the next day. I was still not fully convinced I had DCS and so I told them I would not be returning the next day but was heading to San Diego instead. They gave me no argument and so I figured it was not important. Big mistake!
I was advised not to dive for seven days. We discussed my plan trip to Catalina (Avalon), CA on the following Thursday August 23, 2001. We did the calculations and that being exactly 7 days later, I was told that would be all right.
The following Thursday, I went diving at Avalon Underwater Park, Catalina Island, California as scheduled. This dive consisted of two dives one and a half hours apart. The first dive was to a depth of 47 feet for 17 minutes with much of the dive being spent at 20-30 feet. The second dive to 44 feet was for 37 minutes and all but the first two minutes was spent at between 20 and 8 feet depth with me making an effort to stay around 15 feet. I was helping my daughter (her 6th dive) work on improving her buoyancy control.
On Friday, I noticed an old familiar discomfort in my left ankle. Now the discomfort had never completely gone away from my dive on August 15th. On Saturday August 25th I drove to Hemet California which is at 1,400 feet altitude from my Lakewood, California home which is at 48 feet elevation. I noticed a distinct increase in my discomfort at this altitude and its subsequent diminishment upon returning to sea level. In short, I had absolutely no doubt about my having DCS this time. I again contacted D.A.N. and reported back to Long Beach Memorial Hospital Hyperbaric Department where I was seen and treated for DCI. I received two treatments of two hours each over two days.
I continue to experience discomfort in my ankle and other body parts for some time after. For two weeks I had a strong tingling sensation, rather like a foot that has been asleep and is waking up, very annoying. After two weeks or so of this the discomfort began to diminish and then for the next month or so I only felt a deep ache rather like a shin splint.
Lessons learned; One, dive your plan (I had planned for a max of 70 feet as I was still new). Two, watch depth and air, not just air on the gauges. Three, take as long for decompression as you can. I surfaced with way too much air for this situation. Four, even conservative computers are not guarantee you will not get DCI. Five, pay the extra money and get a computer you can download data from. It would have been helpful in my diagnoses to have known how long I was at 110 feet. If I had had this information and better sense, I would have, should have, gone directly from the water to the hospital after the Redondo Beach dive.
I now dive a SUUNTO Cobra computer set for its most conservative mode (it has three standard tables, normal, conservative, ultra conservative.). At this setting the ascent meter goes red at 30 feet per minute instead of the normal 60 feet per minute. I also remember that in my dive plan, I plan to be dry with about 700 PSI remaining. But, that cushion is for emergency use, and this was one.
My physician wants to evaluate me for a patent foramen ovale (PFO). One in three people tend to have this condition, which may make you more prone to DCS that most. See the medical forum for more on this.
Good luck and safe diving.
Even the smallest bubble shall beat me to the surface.
