Will I ever dive again?

[Nut Bubblefish]

I am completely lost! Here is the story that brings the question in the title:

30th October 2005, 2nd day of diving in Lembongan (south of bali), 5th dive (3 dives on day one, and on my way for 3 more on day 2). Lot of current, probably did not drink as much water as usual, whatever... Very mild pain in the right arm, hardly noticeable actually, after the 5th dive.

After the 6th dive (all dives within computer limits, and by a comfortable margin), things started to be more concerning. Pain in the right shoulder, itchy skin on the arm, some pain in the right hand palm. Nothing excruciating, no general symptom. I was already in the hotel, the guys from the dive center were gone already, I could not believe it could be DCS. I took 2 tablets of aspirin, fluids, kept thinking that it could be pulled muscle, and slept on it. The morning after there was no improvement, and I decided to call DAN.

They told me to go to an hospital in Bali and see a doctor there. After a very quick questionnaire, no physical examination, few lab tests and an X ray, I ended up in the hyperbaric chamber for 5 hours. Treatment therefore started 18 hours after the last dive.

After the treatment, I felt OK. I must say that I did not feel any sudden improvement in the chamber. I rather felt slowly better during the treatment, and when I left for my hotel room, I just had some mild soreness in the back of my arm.

The day after, the doctor let me go back to my hotel, with rest, fluids, ... I flew back home ( 2 flights, 2 hours each) without any problem 5 days later. I still had this mild soreness in the right arm and shoulder, plus some hypersensitivity (when rubbing) on a small area of the arm skin. Nothing worsened when flying.

Back in my home (Borneo island), I did not notice any major improvement after one week, and went to see a doctor in charge of the hyperbaric chamber there. Once again, few questions, very basic examination, and 2 hours in the chamber on the day after. I was under the impression that I was improving after the treatment, so we repeated the sessions twice, 2 hours each time. I did the last one 2 weeks ago.

Now, 5 weeks after the incident, and with 4 sessions of hyperbaric O2 for a total of approx. 10 hours, I have no abnormal feeling on the skin. I feel some on /off discomfort in the right shoulder, or in the armpit, it depends. Sometimes, I feel some numbness in the right little finger, although it does not last a long time. I had that before the incident also... I have no weakness in the arm, and I could start again some golf, with no subsequent change.

To cut a long story short, I feel that I am slowly recovering, but I do not feel 100% the same on the right side compared to the left arm....

Now, my questions are: is this a normal course of evolution? Should I repeat hyperbaric treatment again? If so, which table? If I wait a little, can I expect recover within 3 months (which was the time I was given before considering diving again).
I was given different timeframes before diving: 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months... Should I count from the incident? from a complete recovery?
If my condition remains as it is today, should I consider that I am not fit for diving anymore?

Any opinion will be welcomed. Similar experiences would help a lot as well. I don't know what to think... Thanks.

 

[MikeFerrara]

I can't really answer your questions because I'm not qualified. But...the concern with type 2 DCS is that the nervs are effected and it can take a long time to heel and there can even be permenant damage. As far as returning to diving, again you need to talk to a doc but some issues are, what caused the DCS and whether you recover to the point where you are fit to dive. If you were bent because of dehydration or screwy profiles then you just don't do that any more. On the other hand if there's a PFO or some other medical condition that may be predisposing you to DCS then you may not want to dive. I do know divers who have had severe cases of DCS and were released to dive again.

 

[ArcticDiver]

The two questions at hand are:
1: Are you physically fit to dive again?
2: Do you Really want to dive again?

The answer to Question 1 can only be obtained from a comprehensive physical exam by a qualified person. No one can give you the answer who hasn't seen you and performed the necessary tests and examinations. If you are not satisfied with the quality of the medical treatment you have received go to another Provider. A qualified Provider should be able to give you a clear answer in terms you can understand. It may not be a yes/no answer. It may be a risks vs. benefits answer. But it will be a clear answer.

Only you can give the answer to Question 2. From your post I get a flavor that you may not actually want to dive again. If so that is fine. What we do is supposed to be a fun hobby. If it isn't fun any more then by all means go on to something else; many do just that each year. If you want to continue diving AND if the answer to Question 1 is that you are fit then certainly get at it.

Best to you

 

[pasley]

ARCTICDIVER has it right on. Tehre really are two question here.

Disclaimer: NOT A DOCTOR. You should consult with your doctor before you go diving again.
I have been bent and in my case it was: Bent, treated, told no diving 7 days by my doctor (but DAN said 30), waited 7 days went diving, chamber again. At that time they told me, wait 30 days from when I no longer have symptoms (I was not over the first time when I went diving again). My doctor cleared me to dive about a month later.

Now about should you dive again. That is between your doctor and you. In my situation, I had Type II DCS, unexpected, good dive, but I probably was dehydrated that day. That was lifetime dive 12 and 13 in September of 2001. Yesterday was dive number 232 and no more problems.

On another note, a dive buddy of mines husband kept getting bent. had to give it up. There is also a discussion of PFO you should look into.
I hpe that helps. Diving should be fun. If you are not enjoying it, dont' do it.

 

[pipedope]

You will have to decide for yourself if you want to dive or not.

For some background and a different perspective search for the articles by Richard Pyle, "Confession of a Mortal Diver" (or close to that) and the sequel.
Dr. Pyle had a couple of major DCI hits and returned to diving.
His stories are good reading for entertainment if nothing else and can be a real wakeup call for some divers and a reassuring message for others.

I used to have links for the stories but they are on a HD I can't get to right now. I bet someone will pop up with them soon now that I have mentioned it.

 

[Saturation]

Most of the questions raised are answered in older posts, search scubaboard for unexpected or undeserved bends, DCS, or hits.

After recompression, a good minority, 10-30% of patients may not feel 100% back to normal but will feel close to normal by 3-6mo. After 1 year, any residual sensations are likely permanent, and will fade ever so slowly, if not at all. Persistent symptoms suggests damage to nerves, spinal cord, or brain, and these organs need time to heal.

No diving is counted from the last compression. To dive safely, one should see a dive doc to find why the bends occurred, to start procedures to avoid recurrence. The number of further recompressions is decide by the chamber doc, as each treatment increasingly becomes less effective, and gives you a good 02 dose, typically 650 OTU each dose. If strength is baseline with R=L essentially, and all that remains is numbness, pins needles, stiffness etc., compression are usually ended, as the patient builds up their 02 toxicity quite a bit.

02 toxicity lingers 2-3weeks post treatment. There is experimental evidence it persists over 6 weeks. Divers are best if fully recovered before return to diving. With lingering neurologic signs, at least then 3 months from last compression. If diver was fully recovered after compression, then return to diving is at least 4-6 weeks, the longer the wait the better.

I am completely lost! Here is the story that brings the question in the title:
...

To cut a long story short, I feel that I am slowly recovering, but I do not feel 100% the same on the right side compared to the left arm....

Now, my questions are: is this a normal course of evolution? Should I repeat hyperbaric treatment again? If so, which table? If I wait a little, can I expect recover within 3 months (which was the time I was given before considering diving again).
I was given different timeframes before diving: 2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months... Should I count from the incident? from a complete recovery?
If my condition remains as it is today, should I consider that I am not fit for diving anymore?

Any opinion will be welcomed. Similar experiences would help a lot as well. I don't know what to think... Thanks.

 

[Nut Bubblefish]

Hi Guys,

First, a big thank you for the replies. It was a great relief to learn that there was some hope.
I went to see a (good) doctor in Singapore last week, and the news are good. I do not need further treatment, I am fit for diving, I just need to wait until February.
Suddenly, I feel much better....
So, a few weeks to go, and I will go underwater again. YESSSS!

 

[ArcticDiver]

Hi Guys,

First, a big thank you for the replies. It was a great relief to learn that there was some hope.
I went to see a (good) doctor in Singapore last week, and the news are good. I do not need further treatment, I am fit for diving, I just need to wait until February.
Suddenly, I feel much better....
So, a few weeks to go, and I will go underwater again. YESSSS!

Good on you for seeing a qualified Doc. All good decisions begin with knowing the facts.

Glad you decided to continue diving. See you in Neptunes Palace someday?