COVID-19: Diving after you have had COVID?

[Pod Diver Radio]

I recently interviewed Doug Ebersole MD* about returning to diving after you have had COVID. I am really interested in hearing from divers who either have or have not returned to diving after being diagnosed with the virus. What is your story about diving and COVID?

*Cardiologist Dr. Ebersole graduated from the University of Miami Leonard M Miller School of Medicine in 1986. He works in Lakeland, FL and specializes in Cardiovascular Disease, Internal Medicine and Interventional Cardiology. Dr. Ebersole is affiliated with Lakeland Regional Health and Sarasota Memorial Health Care System. He is an avid technical and cave diver as well as a CCR trimix instructor and cardiology consultant to Divers Alert Network (DAN). His medical background and diving experience gives him a unique perspective on diving physiology.

 

[12th Man]

I barely survived Covid and Covid Phenomena. I was on a ventilator for six days and 16 days in the ICU. I spent 40 total days in the hospital. I lost 30 lbs of muscle mass the 16 days in the ICU. I had to learn how to walk and eat again. The the tube in my throat cause my throat to swell and food would get stuck when I ate. I got out of the hospital on Nov 12th. I've recovered pretty well to this point with a ton of rehab. However, every few weeks something happens and I take one step back. Currently memory loss is my biggest issue I'm dealing with.

I've been able to walk 5 miles every few days. My lung capacity was at 60% in Jan, no telling what it was in Oct or what it is now. I've had EKG's, echo cardiogram and a CT of my lung and heart. Both lungs look good with little scar tissue. My lung doctor discovered my right lung is not functioning. My diaphragm is paralyzed in the open position which does allow air to go in when I inhale which keeps the lung healthy. We thought it might have been covid related, but a 2013 CT scan showed the same results. Doc said I've probably had it all my life. My heart is in great shape according to the cardiologist!

I'm scheduling my follow up with my lung doctor where he'll retest my lung capacity as well as other tests.

My goal is to have a dive evaluation in July. This will include some lung and heart tests as well as going into a hyperbaric chamber. It's a one hour test and they'll take me down to two atmospheres. If all that goes well, my wife and I are scheduling a 10-day dive trip to Belize in Sept.

If you'd like to talk send me a PM

 

[Pod Diver Radio]

I barely survived Covid and Covid Phenomena. I was on a ventilator for six days and 16 days in the ICU. I spent 40 total days in the hospital. I lost 30 lbs of muscle mass the 16 days in the ICU. I had to learn how to walk and eat again. The the tube in my throat cause my throat to swell and food would get stuck when I ate. I got out of the hospital on Nov 12th. I've recovered pretty well to this point with a ton of rehab. However, every few weeks something happens and I take one step back. Currently memory loss is my biggest issue I'm dealing with.

I've been able to walk 5 miles every few days. My lung capacity was at 60% in Jan, no telling what it was in Oct or what it is now. I've had EKG's, echo cardiogram and a CT of my lung and heart. Both lungs look good with little scar tissue. My lung doctor discovered my right lung is not functioning. My diaphragm is paralyzed in the open position which does allow air to go in when I inhale which keeps the lung healthy. We thought it might have been covid related, but a 2013 CT scan showed the same results. Doc said I've probably had it all my life. My heart is in great shape according to the cardiologist!

I'm scheduling my follow up with my lung doctor where he'll retest my lung capacity as well as other tests.

My goal is to have a dive evaluation in July. This will include some lung and heart tests as well as going into a hyperbaric chamber. It's a one hour test and they'll take me down to two atmospheres. If all that goes well, my wife and I are scheduling a 10-day dive trip to Belize in Sept.

If you'd like to talk send me a PM

Wow. Thanks for sharing that info. You might be interested in the interview I did with Dr. Doug Ebersole. He talks about the 4 different levels of COVID and what steps you need to take before you get back into diving. It sounds like you had a level-4. Dr Ebersole is working with DAN on this and you could reach out to him. His research with COVID and Diving is on-going, I sure you could help with some of data points. Here is a link to the audio interview you might find helpful. <Scuba Diving after COVID> http://traffic.libsyn.com/poddiver/PD209.mp3

 

[12th Man]

That was a really good podcast. Lots of great info. Thanks for the link

 

[Dr Simon Mitchell]

Hello,

A peer reviewed guideline for investigation prior to return to diving after COVID-19 infection was published in Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine Journal by the UCSD group in September last year. I have uploaded it to this post.

Simon M

 

[Pod Diver Radio]

Hello,

A peer reviewed guideline for investigation prior to return to diving after COVID-19 infection was published in Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine Journal by the UCSD group in September last year. I have uploaded it to this post.

Simon M

Thanks for that report. However, I think I need an MD to explain the details.

 

[12th Man]

Well written report, thank you for sharing! I agree, very technical but I found what I could understand was great info!

 

[Germie]

I know 2 with a positive test and no illness, they still dive without any interruption. They only got tested because of a job. Not because they had symptoms. It also could be a false positive. Just a positive test is not an illness of course.

12th man, you are really unlucky. Hope you can return diving soon.

 

[hilljo88]

The article you cite provides 4 classifications of severity of COVID illness: 0 = No history of illness; 1= Mild symptoms including no hospitalization or oxygen deficiency; 2= Moderate and 3 = Severe.

Divers like me who have had Mild cases, will likely respond to your survey that we have resumed normal exercise activity, including diving. Others with Severe cases have been more negatively impacted.

 

[Texasguy]

I had a mild case. No temperature, cough that persisted for 2-3 weeks. Don't feel like I have lost any use of lungs. Built my own gym, do exercise frequently.