Probably not DCS

[ERP]

OK, so I woke up Saturday with a pain in my abdomen, it's constant (I'd give it a 3 on a scale of 1-10) and localised in the upper left quadrant.

I have no other symptoms.

I last dived the previous Wednesday, was well inside the safety margin on the tables. I did fly 24 hours later.

I saw a doctor Monday night, he decided it was best to just monitor the symptoms and see what happens.

I can't see it being DCS given the time between diving and the onset of symptoms (3+ days), but I'm still in the poaranoid about DCS period of my diving and I'd like an expert opinion here.

Thanks

Rob

 

[Dr Deco]

Dear Rob:

DCS?

This is not a medical forum, and physicians cannot diagnose over the Internet, and you have a physician already, thus I will offer the “guesstimate” of a barophysiologist. You are quite correct in assuming that DCS signs and symptoms would not appear within the time frame that you stated. [That said, it simply eliminates very simple recompression treatment.]

1. It would be unlikely that a DCS problem would develop after your plane landed. If bad luck were to raise its ugly head, I would definitely suspect that the problem would have first appeared while in the low cabin pressure of the airplane.

2. You are describing what would be a neurological form of decompression sickness. This usually appears even sooner than joint-pain problems. Way out of your time frame.

Something Else

Your physician is highly suspicious that this is NOT a problem related to gas phase formation in tissues. Based on the physiology of decompression problems, I would agree with this viewpoint.

Let us know what transpires.

Dr Deco :doctor:

 

[ERP]

Dr Deco,

Thanks for the response, I understand that opinions offered over the internet are in general worth exactly what you pay for them, and I certainly wouldn't expect any sort of diagnosis over the net. Hey most of the time I count myself lucky if the doctor can diagnose the problem after an examination . Last time I visited a doctor it took then 5 months and 3 doctors to explain the problem .

I honestly didn't even think about DCS when I saw the doctor and I didn't even mention I'd been diving. Someone I was talking to about it happened to mention that the bottom of my lung was in the area of the pain, and the whole DCS thing popped into my head, I was pretty sure that it was unlikely given the time frame, just thought I'd canvas an opinion from someone with experience.

If it doesn't start to subside tomorow I'll go see another doctor.

Anyway thanks for your time

Rob