Paresthesias

[Mr_Durden]

Hi.

Can paresthesias caused by a nevrological dci come and go and shift location?
I'm having these sensations in my left foot that come and go and shift location from the right and left side. Some times I feel it under my foot as well.

Thanks

 

[fisherdvm]

Have to think of MS (multiple sclerosis) when you have shifting and changing neurological signs. Best to see a good neurologist, there are many causes of peripheral neuropathy.

 

[Luc Dupas]

Also make sure to have you checked for diabetes and/or insufficient blood circulation in the lower limbs.

 

[cudachaser]

I have neuropathy from a degenerative cervical condition

 

[Dr Deco]

Hello Mr. Durden:

One would certainly need to know something about the dive profile to know if we are even talking about DCS.

As readers of this column know, I often comment that not everything that occurs to divers must necessarily be related to diving. Many people get pains, weakness, paresthesias, etc and have never dived in their life.

While it is always good to have a high index of suspicion when diving, many times we hear of divers who should see a medical specialist and yet have gone back and forth seeking some problem they believe arose from their last dive. Many times, these dives could not bend a pretzel.

The folks at DAN might be able to assist, but this is not a substitute for medical attention.

Dr Deco :doctor:

 

[Mr_Durden]

Thanks for all the answers.

The dive lasted about one hour and when I started the ascent at ca 40 minutes the computer said 7 min deco. The dive was stressful because of unexpected currents. The deco was not planned, but I finished it.

The next morning a felt pins and needles under my foot. I've had Paresthesias in my legs before and even when not diving so I figured it was that and not dci (Denail I guess). However, this pins and needles laste for about 4 weeks before I started getting better.

I contacted the local hyperbaric docs, but I did so two weeks after the dive. They said a chamber ride was no use at this point. I've also had a MRI of my spine and I had a large prolapse in L4/ L5, but no nerve roots were pinched.

Now it's been 10 weeks since the dive and I'm almost back to normal. I feel it sometimes, but 90% of the time I'm ok. I don't know if I got hit or not, but I've not been diving since.

Should I quit diving or is it ok to do short and shallow dives with nitrox when I'm back to normal?

Thanks

 

[fisherdvm]

I think that would be up to your orthopedic/neurologic surgeon, occupational health physician, or physical therapy/Rehab doctors.

I think shakybrainsurgeon is definitely the one you would direct the question to. Many occupational docs wants to protect your employers and will impose severe weight restriction at your work place and outside of your work place. It is best for you to obey their restrictions, as your employer can termninate your worker's comp if it was handled in that matter.

 

[Mr_Durden]

Hello.

I visited a neurologic doc yesterday, but he couldn't find anything wrong. He tested all reflexes and performed several sensivity tests and he said I responded like a normal person would have done. He didn't know anything about diving, so I didn't get any answers regarding the possible dci hit.

I'm going back in a couple of weeks to take an EMG. Maybe that test will give me some answers.

Thanks

 

[DocVikingo]

"Can paresthesias caused by a nevrological dci come and go and shift location?
I'm having these sensations in my left foot that come and go and shift location from the right and left side. Some times I feel it under my foot as well.Thanks"

Hi Mr_Durden,

This thread seems to have wandered very far from the initial inquiry and at times borders on the incoherent.

The answer to the original question is, no, the paresthesias that can occur in neurological DCI are not known to come and go or shift location from one foot or the other.

This, combined with a prior history of such sensations even when not diving and MRI findings of a vertebral column abnormality, seems to lend credence to Dr Deco's remarks in post #5 above.

Please keep us posted on any additional developments--it helps us learn.

Regards,

DocVikingo