DCS in Cozumel

[Butch Fries]

Well, I suffered round 2 of DCS in Cozumel last week. (First one was five years earlier, also in Cozumel.) I've spoken with two doctors and DAN since; they agree on using EAN 36 in the future, watching hydration, using air tables to plan dives, avoiding exertion, and planning for long surface intervals, although they offered three different recommendations for dive profiles. I can't dictate the dives to an entire boatload of divers but I don't want another session of Navy Level 6 treatment either, so I'm wondering how to arrange future dive trips - specifically how to accommodate the restricted depth and long surface interval.
For clarity, one doctor said 80 feet on the first dive and no deeper than 45 on the second; the second doctor advised no deeper than 60 feet and diving on alternate days only (which really doesn't make a dive trip worth doing), and the third (DAN) did not recommend a specific profile but advised me to plan the dives conservatively.

 

[Dogbowl]

Curious as to what your dive profile was like this time? How many dives per day and how many days consecutively?

 

[Augustus]

Might look into hole in the heart Patent Foramen Ovale | The Heart & Diving - DAN Health & Diving
As a possible factor

 

[Dizzi Lizzi]

You didn't say how long of a SI, would it help to breathe 02 during that time? For instance on a 3 dive boat,first dive deep-no more than.....feet deep, skipping the 2nd dive and breathing 02. The 3rd dive would naturally be shallow. Bummer about this but don't end up in a wheelchair.

 

[peeweediver]

Agree with Augustus on checking for PFO. Good friend got hit with skin bends three times then was diagnosed with PFO. One surgery later, all good and no skin bends again. Not always that simple but really should rule out PFO. As to profile, you can see there is no science except trial and error, which is not a good answer. Consider either a shallow 2nd dive (fly over the group) or skipping the 2nd morning dive and relax on the boat. Good luck.

 

[Jayfarmlaw]

The easiest way on the first dive will be to hire your own DM. It usually runs about $50 a day and while you will ride out with a larger group, you and the DM will dive your own dive to you specifications. This option will work great for the first dive, but extending the surface interval would be an issue here. maybe if an op was doing an afternoon dive, you could cab back to town on the SI then catch the boat again for the afternoon dive. I have seen people just dive the morning dive with Aldora and catch a cab back from the beach club on the SI.

Depending on how many people you usually dive with, chartering your own boat is another option. We did that on our first trip years ago and it was right at $400. At that point, it's your boat and you do what you want...within reason. With a group of 4, it becomes reasonable.

I know there are some "independent" DM's on the island that are basically a DM, a captain, and a boat. It might be cheaper to charter one of those boats, but I don't know of any to contact.

I'm curious if there has been a diagnosis that makes you particularly susceptible to DCS, PFO maybe? Also, would breathing O2 on your surface interval reduce the time necessary?

Good luck,
Jay

 

[Butch Fries]

I was diagnosed on this trip with what was described as a "very small" PFO, although why it became a problem after nearly 25 years of diving is a puzzle. Clinic in Cozumel said it was too small to make surgery an option. The deepest dive this trip was about 80 feet, I've spoken with the divemasters and no one can figure out what happened. We ran into a really strong and unexpected "headwind" current on one dive, and I sneezed several times on another (how weird is that?), but there was no really obvious cause.
It's frustrating to me because I'm careful about hydration on trips - don't drink at all, not even coffee - but on one dive two of the divers were puking under water because they were so hung over. Sometimes I just think it's the luck of the draw.

 

[ReefHound]

How about boat dives every other day and 20' shore dives on in-between days? There should be plenty of ops to accomodate a 60' max depth profile.

 

[Butch Fries]

We did decide that every trip is going to start out with a shore dive to make sure weighting is correct and we get a "break in," since we can normally afford only one or two dive trips a year and that's plenty of time for rust to settle in to skills. I also live near both Lakes Michigan and Superior and think it might finally be time to get some cold-water gear so I don't go so long between dives.

 

[scbaNE2179]

I've been to Cozumel quite a few times and on my last trip I made the decision to ONLY dive EAN36. Mainly so I can get more bottom time over depth. The only limiting factor here with 36 is when I'm hunting for lionfish and them buggers are past 100ft on a wall.