Acute sarcoidosis

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Mr.Ray

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Messages
40
Reaction score
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Location
Germany
# of dives
200 - 499
🤞 Are there any divers familiar with the Löffgren Syndrom? I've been diagnosed with it this week. According to the internet I've seen so far, it's a acute form of sarcoidosis and mostly isn't chronic .

Unfortunately I haven't read anything to the length of the surface interval I'll be facing now. Is there a knowledge base to this at Schubaboard?
 
🤞 Are there any divers familiar with the Löffgren Syndrom? I've been diagnosed with it this week. According to the internet I've seen so far, it's a acute form of sarcoidosis and mostly isn't chronic .

Unfortunately I haven't read anything to the length of the surface interval I'll be facing now. Is there a knowledge base to this at Schubaboard?
Here's a link to a short article from StatPearls that includes normal resolution time:


Of primary importance for divers would be the risk for air trapping by granulomas in the lungs:


Prior to returning to diving, you may need radiographic imaging to rule out chronic disease and/or air trapping.

Best regards,
DDM
 
@Duke Dive Medicine thank you for that artikel.

When reading correctly, there'll be bluntly said a 90% chance for me diving again next year?

According to my physician the bronchoscopy showed no signs of damage to my lungs.

Can those swollen lymph glands also couse Lung overexpansion injuries? They're not in the air ways, so they shouldn't trap any air?
 
@Duke Dive Medicine thank you for that artikel.

When reading correctly, there'll be bluntly said a 90% chance for me diving again next year?

According to my physician the bronchoscopy showed no signs of damage to my lungs.

Can those swollen lymph glands also couse Lung overexpansion injuries? They're not in the air ways, so they shouldn't trap any air?
Hi @Mr.Ray , I would defer to your physician to interpret any test results. A bronchoscope can only go so far into the airways so it's not a very sensitive method of assessing risk for air trapping. For that you would need some kind of radiographic imaging.

Best regards,
DDM
 
My wife was affected by sarcoidosis when she was 33.
She was forced in bed for almost one month, with legs red, plumpy and aching.
She did stay away from diving for a whole year, until her lungs were normal again.
Just a single case, which has little statistical value. But it corresponds well with what was posted here above.
We always asked ourself if the large number of dives she made during previous years while she was working as a diving instructor could have been a concause for this illness.
Our doctors had no evidence of this correlation. But this was in 1993.
Perhaps now there are some studies evaluating incidence of sarcoidosis among divers...
 
There's a possibility my surface interval won't be too long. I've gotten a range of scans now.
CT shows my lungs are ok. Possible it's not lofgren.

Now it's up to Dr. House to find out what's really wrong
 
The episode comes to an end. I'm definitely diagnosed with sarcoidosis and I'm now with a professor specialized in sarcoidosis.
The good news is, non of my organs have bin damaged. A few final tests are still coming up, but now the healing process is initiated with finding the right medication for my body.

I'm still hoping to get back to diving soon.
 
Hi @Mr.Ray
I found myself in a similar position about five years ago (Sarcoidosis and diving)

Your post prompted me to dig up that thread, and I realised I never followed up on it - the outcome is that I'm back diving again and enjoying it as much as ever.

To recap on my thread, my symptoms where predominantly arthritic ankles and lupus pernio (skin blotches). I felt no difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, but CT scans revealed granulomas in my lungs.

My treatment was a week of bed rest in hospital while they figured out what was wrong with me (I couldn't walk anyway due to a combination of pre-existing plantar fasciitis and the sarcoidosis-induced arthritis) and then onto a course of prednisolone over 3-4 months IIRC.

I had some good advice from @Dr Simon Mitchell and from the head of the hyperbaric unit at the local hospital. I stayed dry for 12 months, and then had another CT, DLCO and spirometry test before starting diving again - shallow at first (5-8m shore dives).

After another 12 months I book in another CT, DLCO and spirometry, and they all came up good.

Now I'm diving as per normal, and have been getting chest x-rays every 12-18 months just for piece of mind. Not as accurate as a CT, but doctors and radiologists don't generally like subjecting patients to CT levels of radiation simply as a precautionary measure unless an x-ray has highlighted something worth looking further into.

Remember also that there isn't a positive diagnosis for sarcoidosis - it's a diagnosis by eliminating all other causes for your symptoms. Which means that there is no medically objective test for the nature or severity of the disease.

I remember when I first starting reading up about it, I came across so many people had a chronic, severe and often un-treatable symptoms, so if you have found the same I hope my story has given you some hope. But do remember that every situation is different, and if your symptoms linger, your health is more important than looking at rocks and fishes underwater.
 
@stiebs
Thanks for your experiences. Gives me some hope. I've got similar symptoms but haven't got any granulomas in my lungs.

The professor said, as for the lungs I should be fine diving. But the medication (Prednisolon and coming up mtx) should get me out of the water for the duration of the therapy.

Living in Germany I'll probably won't get any x-rays. They're very reserved on electional treatment.
 
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