crohn's disease

[pinhead]

hello all,

i am 31 yrs old and i want to start diving for a hobby(bout time i hear u say) i have completed the PADI medical questionaire and now have made an appointment to visit my doctor as i had to answer yes to a question. when i was about 25 i had a heart attack, but not caused by heart disease. the consultants put it down to a viral infection that caused my heart to swell and i received some cardiac damage.

i am confident that i will be ok to start diving as i have had no medication to take and can easily do 45 mins cardiovascular workout, i hold a heavy goods vehicle licence (truck driver)and had to have a medical due to heart problem and everything was ok or i would have lost my entitlement to drive.

the main reason (at last) is that i also had crohn's disease at the age of 22 which i had to have about 4 cm of my small and 6 cm of large intestine removed at the point where they join. i have had no other problems since (fingers crossed)and also never had to take any medication post op, but wonder if this could be a problem, if not now there maybe a possibilty of it flaring up in the future. as i have read about intestinal problems and diving. i'm not sure if this would be of concern i hope my doctor can ok me but not sure if he has any expertise in scuba diving, so i thought i'd post on here as u are the experts and i want to feel confident that i can persue this hobby with minimal risk to myself and others

thank you in advance for your time and replies

 

[DocVikingo]

In general, an individual who has:

1. sustained a viral carditis of some type 6 years ago & undergone bowel resection for Crohn's disease 9 years ago with no history of cardiac or intestinal attention since those dates; and

2. no further signs, symptoms or treatment of the conditions; and

3. no other illness imperiling scuba; and

4. an adequate level of physical fitness

would be cleared to dive.

If you or your doctor have questions, they may be submitted to DAN at http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical

Also, you may ask you doctor to either contact or refer you to a UKSDMC medical referee at http://www.bsac.org/medical/medrefs.htm

This is educational only and does not constitute or imply a doctor-patient relationship. It is not medical advice to you or any other individual, and should not be construed as such.

Please do let us know about the final decision.

Best regards.

DocVikingo

 

[pinhead]

thank you for your quick response
i will see my family doc on tues and will discuss these concerns with him. i will reply when i know the outcome:wacko:

and if it all clear i'll be straight down my LDS to book my OW course then hopefully soon after My AOW and try to gain as much knowledge whilst under supervision from experienced divers.
as you all say DIR

once again thank you and hopefully i will be posting my yippee message when i get my c card (think thats what its called lol)

 

[Scubatooth]

Pinhead


Its good to see others that have the same condition that i do. I was diagnosed with crohns at age 15-16 im now 21. I have had my ups and downs but am currently doing ok.

Just like you i have had surgury to remove the illial joint (were the sm and lg meet). I havent had any major problems since then but i do have times i dont feel good.

Even though i still have crohns im still able to dive (i get my padi medical clearance through my GI since i see him more and that effects my health more then my general health) the only times i dont dive is when im not feeling the best.

My recommendation would be to talk to your GI doc if you have one since thats more likely to effect everything then general health.

If you have anymore questions feel free to ask

 

[pinhead]

Even though i still have crohns im still able to dive (i get my padi medical clearance through my GI since i see him more and that effects my health more then my general health) the only times i dont dive is when im not feeling the best.

nice to see it has not prevented u from pursuing a hobby u enjoy.
i am quite lucky i suppose as i have inactive crohns since op, but i have read that the op normally clears things up for about 10 yrs then it is possible that the crohns will come back either side of the new join in the intestine.

so in a way i was fortunate that they operated rather than having to suffer the medications, steroids and such. as i am clear i have no consultants i have to see just my family doc.

hope all goes well 4 you (and me lol) as i know some people who suffer allot more long term than i have

 

[Scubatooth]

hmm that a statistic i hadnt heard i was give a 50% chance of getting sick again within 5 years.

as for the meds i have run the gamut from just a few to over a dozen including steriods, but after i came off 4 years of prednisone i convinced my doctor to not do that again and to used a alternative to cortisone based steriods if needed, and he agreed. one good thing for me was the month after i stopped steriods i had lost 2/3 of the weight i put on and after 3 months was back to pre steriods weight (thank goodness it was only 30 lbs because i have a few friends who have put on well over a 100 lbs)

you got lucky to not have that run with meds, but then everybody is different.

Cheers and good luck

 

[pinhead]

scubatooth dunno if u heard of this but i was reading uip on it few months ago i mite consider trying it if my crohns flares up in future. trouble is it aint very cheap but if it works mite be worth a try


http://www.molocure.com/?site=overture_uk&keyword=molo_cure:)

all the best

 

[Scubatooth]

hmm thanks for the link. Will have to forward that to my doc to look at and look at the white papers on it. Things like this i have been alittle skeptical about until my doc does or says its something to try based on current research.

thanks for the info

 

[pinhead]

argghh still waiting for my docs verdict, he is studying my notes before he decides and charging me £30 for the privilage:upset:

when i asked for a checkup while i was there he only took my blood pressure which was 120 over 80 (normal i think) and checked my heartbeat, thought he might of gone a bit more in depth. oh well all i wanna do is get stuck in but i'll have to wait in suspense a few more days.

let you know when i get an answer (fingers crossed)

 

[pinhead]

woohoo i got the all clear my doc signed the med form. gonna book me OW now thanx for your input. hope to become a fellow diver soon and prob have many questios to ask on the forum......hopefully not medical.

kind regards:teeth: