Chest discomfort after pool portion of OW training - is it normal?

[Phil_C]

Hi Scubanoob - as one trainee to another I would get checked before doing the final dives. It certainly doesn't seem good that you have had symptoms after diving which have lasted for a couple of days and are only just now subsiding. It is probably nothing to worry about, and you will check out fine, but it was obviously worrying you enough for you to post on here, and no matter the qualifications of anyone on the board (and many are highly qualified) they can't give you any reall assurances without a proper medical check up.
Certification isn't worth your health (or worse) if it is a something related to the diving. If the dive school/isntructor is any good they will want you to check it out first in any event and do you certifcation dives later if you need to. Best wishes - and I hope it is nothing - P

 

[boulderjohn]

I agree with everyone so far. It is possible to get a lung injury if you hold your breath in a 6 foot ascent. It could also be something unrelated to scuba. I once had a student start having all kinds of strange symptoms during a pool session. It caused us all sorts of concern. It turned out he had a bad case of influenza.

When you do get back to the pool, it sounds to me like you are having a lot of issues related to your breathing. As a quick summary, you need to have continual slow, relaxed inhalations and exhalations. Many students who are feeling anxious breathe very rapidly and shallow. They feel like the regulator is not giving them any air, but that is because most of the air is not getting to the lungs before they are exhaling it out again. That leaves a lot of old air in the lungs and body, resulting in carbon dioxide buildup. When carbon dioxide builds up, you get a growing sense of panic.

Practice long slow breaths. Think 4-5 seconds inhaling and exhaling, but not so much that your lungs really fill up. It is more the way you breathe while you are relaxed and watching TV, or you are about to fall asleep. Exhaling fully is important.

 

[TSandM]

As another medical professional, I agree with getting checked out. There are things that can happen to you in six feet of water that can cause chest pain and difficulty breathing. And there are non-diving things that can do it, too, that can be aggravated by diving. We know nothing about you, your age, your medical history or anything else, and nothing can be diagnosed over the internet. But there was a recent thread from a fellow who got some chest discomfort during HIS early dives (or maybe his class; I don't precisely recall) and as a result of our advice here, he got a cardiac workup and ended up with a couple of stents.

Chest discomfort simply must be taken seriously, until a benign cause for it has been identified.

 

[jm]

You should see a doctor before continuing diving. If not for yourself, then go for a loved one or friend.

No matter how silly or trivial you feel your problem is, at least your mind will be at ease concerning your medical issue and you can give your full attention to LEARNING AND HAVING FUN!

 

[Juardis]

Scubanoob, so what happened? Did you carry through with your certification or go see a Dr. and if so, what was the prognosis?

 

[tyesai]

For the hijack:

I agree that anytime anyone is having chest pain or discomfort they need to go to a doctor period. But what is it about SCUBA that brings about the hypochondriac in people? I bet 99% of the cases are nothing and what makes people think that they aren't going to be sore after a new activity. I'm not referring to the original poster, this is just a general thought. Like the guy that had sore toes, or people that get calf cramps, ect.

 

[MG11]

Any update scubanoob???

Mike

 

[darren_uk]

My input:

I get this / used to get this. I've now just a little over 100 loggable dives (in open water - I don't count the pool sessions).

This is what was causing it for me:

It a personal thing for me that I found myself rather being slightly negative buoyant so I didn't slowly drift up to the top. So what this meant for me - and it took me a few dives to figure it out that this was a habit I'd gotten myself into - was that I'd be swimming around with "big lungs" - I'd be breathing with a higher volume of air in my lungs than on land, because I'd be breathing in to go up and over obstacles.

End result: aches in my lungs.


I've never had any issues, despite being asthmatic: as part of my UK's HSE Diving At Work Regulations Medical, and incidentally my commercial pilot's medical at the CAA in Gatwick (they're also hot on asthma) I had my asthma thoroughly checked by four separate parties.


So I've put it down to just breathing deep. Over the last 20-30 dives I've slowly (when I'm not enjoying sightseeing / instructing and I'm actually thinking about improving my buoyancy) started to experiment and hopefully improve my trim / weight / balance even more.