A little worried about the bends... Delayed onset?

[CyberHippie]

Ok, so here's the situation...

A week ago today, I had a pretty dodgey dive. When I first went down, I coudln't get down too far, and came back up for more weight. Tried to go down again, but once I get down (40-60 feet tops), I couldn't stay down, my BC keept filling with air forcing me to go up. The dive master tried to hold me down for a bit so I didn't come up too fast, but I still came up pretty quick. So basically I have two possibly three (memory is foggy) very quick descents and reascents. It seems to me that in a short period of time I went through an awful lot of air, probably from exertion of trying to stay down. All my other dives have been great in the past, and I learned a lot of lessons from this eperience about what I should and shouldn't have done, so moving on...

I went back on the boat, while the dive master went on with the rest of the group. When he came out, he asked me if I had any pain in my joints, which I did not. When I got back to my room, I was pretty sea sick and incredibly fatigued. Went to sleep for about an hour. I was ok for the rest of the day, did some snorkeling and whatnot.

The next day we left the island and headed inland into the mountains. It was Belize, so it's not like we were going through the rockies or anything like that. That afternoon my back become very sore. I wasn't sure of the cause, but chalked it up to lifting my pack off the bus incorrectly (although I don't normally have back trouble, it was a heavy pack though). That night, I remember waking up having sharp pains in my knees while I was sleeping. So, we are now talking last thursday. For the rest of the week/weekend, my back still was really bothering me, but that's about it. We flew back home sunday night, which invoved going on two planes.

Sunday night while sleeping I had the knee pains again. And over the last couple of days I've had some bends-like symptoms. Reocurring pain in my knees, a couple of times in elbows, tingling and numbess in my toes. I've been trying to stretch my back a lot and sometimes it seems as though there could be little bubbles in my shoulders and back. On monday I felt dizzy for most of the day and had a but of tunnel vision. Last night I had a bit of a 'spell' where I thought I was going to pass out.

I went to the doctors this morning and explained the situation. He checked me out, and my breathing and heart are all fine. He figured if I did have dcs, I was at the tail end of it and to just ride it out.

I feel a little better about this but still uneasy, given the potential seriousness of the bends especially when it could involve the spine. I could have simply pulled my back, and the other symptoms could perhaps be explained by stress of travel, stress from being back in the big city, back pain just reaching out and effecting other areas. I dunno. I'm thinking it's been a week since I had the dodgey dive so I shouldn't be in any kind of trouble. But... It is possible that I did have the bends and the symptoms didn't show up until the next day, and then flying 4 days later just made it worse?

I'd appreciate any input on any ideas you might have.

In any case I definitely learned some lessons in dive safety and won't be making the same mistakes again. Shoddy equipment or not.

 

[dherbman]

What is your age age and physical condition? Was this the only dive you made? When was the last dive made prior to this? Do you smoke? Were you rested when you made the dive?

I used to assist in AOW training where CESA was taught from 60' and made many consecutive ascents from that depth without any apparent effects. That really means nothing in your case, though.

 

[CyberHippie]

I'm 31. In average pysical condition, but I'm a fair bit overweight for my size. 5'5'' and 220lbs. I don't smoke cigarettes and hadn't smoked anything else at least 5 days prior to the dive. It was the only dive I made on this trip. Was very well rested at the time, although a little anxious. The last dive I made prior to this was about 2 years ago.

 

[speedhound]

Hi Cyberhippie
Where are you located? In the US there's an organisation called DAN - Diver's Alert Network, that does a lot of research , and gives a lot of information and assistance on diving. As mentioned above was this your first or last dive?

I've attached a link to the DAN website. I'm not a doctor, but these guys can put you (or any medical personnel) in touch with a "diving doctor" . Before I forget here's the link:
http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/faq/faq.asp?faqid=12

As you may know the only way to not get DCS is not to dive, so while DCS may be unlikely in your case it can never be ruled out. I think DAN would rather here about someone that is worried about DCS sooner than later. They also do some good insurance deals to.

I hope this helps. Dive safe and have fun.

 

[dherbman]

I'm 31. In average pysical condition, but I'm a fair bit overweight for my size. 5'5'' and 220lbs. I don't smoke cigarettes and hadn't smoked anything else at least 5 days prior to the dive. It was the only dive I made on this trip. Was very well rested at the time, although a little anxious. The last dive I made prior to this was about 2 years ago.

No one on the internet can answer you conclusively.

It's entirely possible that you have experienced a hit. 5'5" and 220 is a definate contributing factor, but no assurance either. The repetitive bounces are certainly not good and could in fact result in DCS, but it would not seem likely without other conditions present.

Just kinda thinking out loud here, but I'd guess it's not a hit. That means absolutely nothing and I'll write again No one on the internet can answer you conclusively.

Speedhound gives the best advice, I'd jump on that.

 

[CyberHippie]

Thanks, I've sent DAN a message.

 

[Carl P]

CyberHippie,

I echo every on else's comments. Contact DAN and trust the local doc who has actually seen you. Was the doc that you went to a diving specialist? DAN are phenomenal, and will give you more help than you will get here.

One thing I can add, is that DCS can sometimes be delayed by a day or so, and your symptoms do sound very DCS like. Sometimes the symptoms can be brought on much later by post dive behavior. One not well known contributing factor is a hot shower / bath after the dive - may be the following morning. Also, there is much talk about alcohol before diving. It is less well known that alcohol, or dehydration after the dive are also contributing factors.

DAN keep tons of statistics from every incident that they know about - and they catch most incidents by being plugged into the re-compression chambers and medical profession. They then try to find patterns in the data. They have a lot of information that is not commonly known, so do contact them. They will probably ask you quite a few questions about things you did before and afterwards. It is confidential, and will be used to help in your case, and will add to their body of knowledge.

Please do update as you find out more.

 

[DandyDon]

Wonder how he came out. Sounds like a resort dive gone bad - underweighted, faulty BC - guessing based on what he told.

Also sounds like bends, with residual cartilage damage - but I'm speculating loosely here...

 

[dumpsterDiver]

sounds like he is over weight and went hiking in a hot jungle with a heavy pack, tweeked his back, strained his kness and then got a mild flu.

 

[DandyDon]

sounds like he is over weight and went hiking in a hot jungle with a heavy pack, tweeked his back, strained his kness and then got a mild flu.

Or both...? Overweight, untrained, faulty BC, probably dehydrated, travelers ills, etc.