issues after treatment in chamber

[scuba_nut]

i was suggested to post my problem here, to save alot of typing i have cut and past below with problem from another discussion page, so there is no confusion it is my discussion.
im hoping someone can give me some more insight or point me in the right direction.

[h=6]july 2010 i got a DCS while teaching, it is down as a unexplaned DCS i had 2 dry days before, i was helping teach 1 student of a friend instructors in confined water just a few trouble skills for them. i was in the water for 20mins max depth reached was 5m. surfaced with no ascent warnings etc on the computer (suunto D9) 15mins later had numb arms legs and part back which turned into sharp pain in most joints and a loss of most coordination and balance (was still able to walk etc just fall over easy)
where i was it was almost 48hours before recompression and i required 7 treatments, 3 months later i went through a major medical back in australia with bolld tests CT scans etc done and was given the all clear and full recovery status.
my problem is from about 6 months after onwards i get chronic joint and back pains like arthritis is the best way to describe it, the physio said my joints and back are all inflamed but even after months of rest there is no change and with work or exercise and cool weather it is much worse to the point of not being able to get up out of bed or the couch if i sit still to long. on top of this i now have been diagnosed with hypertension and after months of tests and numerous types of medication we have not found something to sucsessfully lower it.
do you think the DCS could be contributing to any of this?

i have been doing some searching and googling and there was a Q&A with someone else having joint pain years after a DCS and it said the joints being damaged can be producing a chemical kinins which causes the inflammation and from what i have read kinins also have something to do with BP control so im trying to work out if any of this can be related.

comment : Loss of balance and coordination 15min after a shallow dive and no diving two day previously sounds more like a cerebral arterial air embolism than DCS to me. Was there any CT or MRI done at the time, maybe a chest X-Ray at all? The fact that it took almost 48h before recompression would make be guess none of the above. I think this case should be discussed with a well experienced diving physician and take it from there.

me :
i went to a doctor that is listed on DAN for dive medicine who is the one that sent me for treatment. at the time no scans or tests were done, i was in malaysia at the time of the incident. it was requested i returned to australia and get clearance from the royal adelaide hyperbaric unit. they got all the info and considered it could have been a cerebral arterial air embolism also, they sent me for CT scans of my lungs and heart etc as they said there would still be signs of it being that which all come back negative. they also had considered the PFO as a cause but i didnt have that also. everything come back as a all clear and full recovery.[/h]since the incident i have had high blood pressure and alot of problems with my joints especially in cold weather. i have been to numerous doctors and be sent for so many different tests with them all coming back all clear. the doctors have now taken to just trying random medications to try fix the high BP but its not really working
i understand your point of going to a physician but they are having not much luck so was hoping i can find someone that has come across or had similar problems that could point me in the right direction to ask the doctors to test and try

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[scuba_nut]

comment from same person : thank you for providing more details about your case. Sounds like a very bad deal and I am sorry to hear that. My guess is that quite a few people have been scratching their head over this one. It is possible that the symptoms you are having now are not caused by your incident of possible unexplained DCI, actually even the symptoms after the dive could have been caused by something else. It would be interesting to hear how the symptoms progressed during the treatments, too. I am not a doctor, just a diver medic technician and chamber operator, who sees people with suspected DCI all the time. Addressing your problem at an appropriate internet forum, is IMO a good idea. The 'Diving Medicine' forum on Scubaboard could be a very good one to post your story. There are a few very knowledgeable and active members, like doctors from Duke Diving Medicine on there, who will most likely be very interested in your story. All the best and hope you will get better soon!

me : the progress through treatment was not so nice, actually the first 2 treatments the pain in my joints got MUCH worse after i was taken out the chamber. i best describe it like having kitchen knifes stuck in all my joints and having people constantly moving them. the 3rd treatment on the pain started to decrease. the issue i had from the 3rd till the 6th treatment was as the decreased the pressure in the chamber (bringing me back to the surface) all my joints would get the feeling of alot of pressure and then "pop" like i was cracking my joints and this would continue every few minutes on the way up on the 3rd treatment and by the 6th treatment it only happened 2 times and none on the 7th treatment where they decided it was enough and i was put on a tablet which they said was to aid the healing of the nerves etc.
cant say it was the most pleasant experiance.

 

[GrimSleeper]

Just came across this. Did anyone ever confirm that it actually was DCS or CAGE? Did the chamber treatments actually make any difference? Seven times in the pot seems a lot - I had only six for a spinal bend, with a similar delay before treatment due to location. I'm wondering if everyone just leapt to the assumption that it was diving related, simply because you'd been underwater. But to get a neuro hit after 20 minutes at 5 metres sounds massively unlucky/unlikely.

Given that you were in Malaysia, has anyone checked for tropical diseases such as dengue or malaria? Dengue, in particular (also known as 'breakbone fever' because of the pain it causes) is extremely hard to diagnose definitively. Might be worth getting some blood tests and consulting a tropical specialist.

Bear in mind that I'm very definitely NOT a doctor.

 

[Bombay High]

Did you have doppler or any scans done before your chamber rides to conclude that this was indeed DCS ? It seems highly unlikely considering the depth you were at. Especially the joint pains.
I would look in some other direction as well to find the source ...

 

[whaylonsmithers]

Hi Scuba_nut. I hope this is works out for you. I second putting this in the Medical part of Scubaboard - I was just looking at it and its very active with some knowledgable people participating.

I rush to state I have no medical training or experience, but.....Grim Sleeper suggested Tropical Diseases. Perhaps a marine poison should be considered also. I had Dengue in East Timor in Febuary and it doesn't sound like what happened to you. The joint pain was minimal for me, but not for some others. I did have a couple of falling over incidents, but don't think they came from loss of balance - both time I fainted while on the way to the toilet to throw up. Apparently the symptoms are extremely variable. For me onset started feeling like a cold was coming on, then I was in bed with horrifying headaches within 6 hours. Another guy said the long bones in his limbs felt like they had been frozen.

Good luck mate.

 

[supergaijin]

That's a tough break. 48hrs from a recompression chamber- where were you teaching? I assume you were uninsured?

I am in no way a doctor but from reading this it doesn't sound possible to be nitrogen related. PFO sounds more likely but that was ruled out after a check.

Could an AGE do something like this?