if you're sick after a dive, take it seriously

[DandyDon]

main reason i wasn't signed off is apparently my residual symptoms are significant enough

Who knows what the doctors and tests will decide in time? We certainly want to see you recover fully on land at least. Diving may or may not be out. It could take a significant amount of time. I recently went thru some exams and procedures that went on month after month for six months, so many trips to Lubbock an hour away, overnights at my daughter's, thousands in insurance claims, but it was all worth it.

 

[kaylee_ann]

Who knows what the doctors and tests will decide in time? We certainly want to see you recover fully on land at least. Diving may or may not be out. It could take a significant amount of time. I recently went thru some exams and procedures that went on month after month for six months, so many trips to Lubbock an hour away, overnights at my daughter's, thousands in insurance claims, but it was all worth it.

Hopefully we can find the cause for it. And depending on the cause, maybe someday I can dive again. And yeah, I'll spend as much time as I have to- even without diving, I want to know what's going on.

 

[BlueTrin]

@kaylee_ann i am sure you already went to see a specialist. But I had a minor nerve compression around the neck area (non diving related but made diving uncomfortable) I had a CT spinal injection about two months ago and with physio it helped a lot.

Just mentioning in case that is if any help.

I went to see a upper body specialist who referred me to a spine specialist.

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

@kaylee_ann Some good thoughts here, and very glad to see the level of support being offered. AGE is a possibility even without an precipitating event like a panic or rapid ascent - one would look for lung abnormalities with sensitive radiographic imagining like CT, as has been previously mentioned. PFO testing is not indicated. This dive would have been highly unlikely to produce clinically significant venous gas emboli, so discovery of a PFO would be an interesting side note but it would probably not have played a role in your event. One other callout that's worth repeating is that diving just widens the differential diagnosis, so a continued search for the cause of the event would be time well spent. Kudos for sharing your story - if it could happen to you, it could happen to someone else as well.

Best regards,
DDM

 

[kaylee_ann]

@kaylee_ann Some good thoughts here, and very glad to see the level of support being offered. AGE is a possibility even without an precipitating event like a panic or rapid ascent - one would look for lung abnormalities with sensitive radiographic imagining like CT, as has been previously mentioned. PFO testing is not indicated. This dive would have been highly unlikely to produce clinically significant venous gas emboli, so discovery of a PFO would be an interesting side note but it would probably not have played a role in your event. One other callout that's worth repeating is that diving just widens the differential diagnosis, so a continued search for the cause of the event would be time well spent. Kudos for sharing your story - if it could happen to you, it could happen to someone else as well.

Best regards,
DDM

I’ll be looking for specialists today as recommended by others regardless of diving, I’m pretty curious of what happened and why.

 

[DandyDon]

I've been watching for updates to this thread as I guess have others. I don't want to bug you about any information you'd rather not share so please feel encouraged to tell about any you do not want to discuss. That said, how did your week go, in personal recovery, lining up appointments, or any exams? I know that it can often take weeks or months to get in to see some specialists and I hope not in your case.

Funding can be a challenge in some cases. I guess that you have DAN dive insurance and they might be willing to pay, depending on the diagnosis. I hope you are well covered in medical and accident insurance as well. If this may be a problem, some here might be able to suggest lower-cost facilities.

 

[kaylee_ann]

I've been watching for updates to this thread as I guess have others. I don't want to bug you about any information you'd rather not share so please feel encouraged to tell about any you do not want to discuss. That said, how did your week go, in personal recovery, lining up appointments, or any exams? I know that it can often take weeks or months to get in to see some specialists and I hope not in your case.

Funding can be a challenge in some cases. I guess that you have DAN dive insurance and they might be willing to pay, depending on the diagnosis. I hope you are well covered in medical and accident insurance as well. If this may be a problem, some here might be able to suggest lower-cost facilities.

hi! sorry, i don't get notifications for this thread unless someone quotes or mentions me. it's been okay, more so hard emotionally/mentally because i'm hoping, somehow, i can get a "one-time clearance" for the Invasion. not only that, it's just really hard to think i may not be able to dive again. i saw a pulmonologist a couple days ago, who ordered a CT scan based on family history of lung problems. so i have that scheduled for September 15th. i see a neurologist October 26th, bubble test for a PFO is October 10th. from what i understand, if all of that comes back normal, i'll be cleared for very conservative diving. if i have a problem like this again, then no diving after that. my plan is, if that's the case, to not dive until the Invasion...that way i can do a tropical dive. I've always wanted to.
I have DAN insurance and very good state health insurance under my dad. So thankfully, everything in that regard is okay.

 

[johndiver999]

If I were doing my first dives after a something like this, I would very much want it to occur in the US or somewhere where I was confident I could receive advanced medical (emergency) care without a lengthy transport delay. You can test your lungs in nasty brown water. Good luck.

 

[kaylee_ann]

If I were doing my first dives after a something like this, I would very much want it to occur in the US or somewhere where I was confident I could receive advanced medical (emergency) care without a lengthy transport delay. You can test your lungs in nasty brown water. Good luck.

Yeah, a friend told me that for the Invasion, there’s a chamber (that takes divers) pretty close to any of the dive sites. And thanks.

 

[DandyDon]

Yeah, a friend told me that for the Invasion, there’s a chamber (that takes divers) pretty close to any of the dive sites. And thanks.

When and where is the next Invasion? I'm with johndiver999 in that I'd want to be cleared for diving and do some at home before travel.