Bigdiver2908
New
Hi I’m a new diver who just finished up doing some of my first open water dives after being certified for open water. I took a trip to Roatán. After meeting the dive crew and an heavy night of drinking with them ( I didn’t know this increased dcs risk until after. Guides were drinking and it was the first night in a new country I was having a good time). Woke up and chugged some water and had three dive profiles the first day.
Day1:
71ft. For 41min
67ft for 33 min
60 ft. For 45 min
First two dives had a safety stop but my third one did not because one of the guides took a look at my rented computer, saw it did not have a safety stop timer and sent me to surface. I trusted him because I’m so new to diving but looking back on this it was a dumb decision to listen to him.
After the first day of driving I went back to the hotel and had a nap. I awoke about 3.5 hours later to some chest tightness and a painful ear. I chalked it up to my breathing because I was trying to take as deep of breaths as my lungs could hold and I figured I stretched out some of the tiny muscles in my chest. And I figured my ear just needed to get used to pressure because I was new to diving and didn’t experience any discomfort while equalizing on decent or ascent. When I awoke the next morning I asked my dive instructor/ dive master of the trip about my symptoms she told me not to worry about my symptoms because I was new to diving and not used to the strain and to continue diving.
I dove 2 dives the second day and the profiles were:
67ft for 47 min
61ft for 46 min
3 min safety stops for both dives.
Same story after the dives I went home and took a nap and awoke to major ear pain and a bit of dizziness and a headache. I called DAN to get a second opinion and they told me to go to an urgent care after I told them my story. however the only clinic with a dive doctor in town was closed for the day. I had to wait until the next day and at around 3pm they finally got me in. I was extremely fatigued and slept for about 12 hours until I got a call that told me the clinic could see me. This is about 27 hours after the last dive and most of my symptoms were gone but my ear was still in pain and I had a bit of a headache, tingling in my forehead and left hand. He told me he was not concerned about dcs because of the timeframe in which I saw him but from what I’ve read online it seems like those might be symptoms of decompression illness. He diagnosed me with a lvl 3 barotrauma in my right ear and a level 4 in my left ear and said that was the cause of my dizziness and sent me on my way. Im writing this about 50 hours after my last dive and still have a bit of a headache/ fuzzy head and I’m still extremely fatigued (had to take another nap today) I am scheduled to fly back home in 2 days. I was wondering if anyone has had a similar experience and if you think it’s safe for me to fly home?
Thank you.
Day1:
71ft. For 41min
67ft for 33 min
60 ft. For 45 min
First two dives had a safety stop but my third one did not because one of the guides took a look at my rented computer, saw it did not have a safety stop timer and sent me to surface. I trusted him because I’m so new to diving but looking back on this it was a dumb decision to listen to him.
After the first day of driving I went back to the hotel and had a nap. I awoke about 3.5 hours later to some chest tightness and a painful ear. I chalked it up to my breathing because I was trying to take as deep of breaths as my lungs could hold and I figured I stretched out some of the tiny muscles in my chest. And I figured my ear just needed to get used to pressure because I was new to diving and didn’t experience any discomfort while equalizing on decent or ascent. When I awoke the next morning I asked my dive instructor/ dive master of the trip about my symptoms she told me not to worry about my symptoms because I was new to diving and not used to the strain and to continue diving.
I dove 2 dives the second day and the profiles were:
67ft for 47 min
61ft for 46 min
3 min safety stops for both dives.
Same story after the dives I went home and took a nap and awoke to major ear pain and a bit of dizziness and a headache. I called DAN to get a second opinion and they told me to go to an urgent care after I told them my story. however the only clinic with a dive doctor in town was closed for the day. I had to wait until the next day and at around 3pm they finally got me in. I was extremely fatigued and slept for about 12 hours until I got a call that told me the clinic could see me. This is about 27 hours after the last dive and most of my symptoms were gone but my ear was still in pain and I had a bit of a headache, tingling in my forehead and left hand. He told me he was not concerned about dcs because of the timeframe in which I saw him but from what I’ve read online it seems like those might be symptoms of decompression illness. He diagnosed me with a lvl 3 barotrauma in my right ear and a level 4 in my left ear and said that was the cause of my dizziness and sent me on my way. Im writing this about 50 hours after my last dive and still have a bit of a headache/ fuzzy head and I’m still extremely fatigued (had to take another nap today) I am scheduled to fly back home in 2 days. I was wondering if anyone has had a similar experience and if you think it’s safe for me to fly home?
Thank you.
