Hello,
I'm not sure in which forum to post this, but Cozumel is the place where I've done the majority of my dives. Your comments are very much appreciated because I'm in need of help.
I'm 41, very fit and a cyclist for 20 years, because of this I've never smoked or been overweight. I've been certified for 16 years now and since I was a kid I wanted to be a scuba diver. I'm certified AOW and nitrox diver, done almost 30 dives in those 16 years and I'm terrified of getting DCS since my 27th dive.
First time I dove was is Cozumel, deepest I've gone is 95 ft, I've done night dives too. Never noticed anything out of sorts after my first dives, just a very inflammed (but not painful) pinkie on my right foot after returning from my first trip (could not wear shoe for a couple of days).
15 years ago, on the first dive of my 3rd trip I was buddied up with a very novice diver that ran out of air (did not dive nitrox that time) at 70 ft and 24 minutes into a dive in Palancar Gardens, I gave my buddy my octo and he shot to the surface, me trying to stop him. He shot thru our safety stop and surfaced, I returned to do an extended safety stop until the group surfaced. At night I started feeling nausea and some anxiety, no tingling nor pain anywhere. The remainder of the trip I didn't eat much and my apetite went away. I called DAN and the Dr told me not no worry, it was probably a stomach bug.
Since then I've been very afraid to dive and done only a couple of 25 - 30 ft dives. After a long time (10 years) of being out of the water I returned to diving and was psyched. I was last week in Cozumel and did a shore dive with my instructor to check my bouyancy and air consumption...I aced the dive and felt comfortable in the water. The dive was 25 ft max and 55 minutes on air.
I was excited and wanted to dive from a boat the next day, but was very apprehensive about any odd sensation in my body. I started feeling anxious and in a fog about three hours after surfacing. The mental fog cleared by the evening and at night I felt nausea and a really bad pain in my stomach, some headache, tachychardia as well as slight diarrhea. I was in panic, my wife (who is not a diver) felt stomach cramps too.
I called the Dr in Cozumel and explained my symptoms and my dive profile, he said I should go see him so he could run some neurological tests on me. The moment I stepped into his office he checked my BP, and put a pulse oxymeter on my finger and told me that from my call he knew I wasn't bent and was very anxious. He wrote a presciption for some antibiotics and said I has a stomach bug and was running a fever and should not dive if I was dehydrated. When I asked him about the possibility of being bent, he said I didn't have any symptoms and I should look into geting therapy for my DCS phobia. I felt incredibly good after seeing the doctor.
I wanted to dive again during the week but didn't feel 100% and mostly didn't want to face the possibility of having to expose myself to DCS and go thru this again. I can't keep my mind still after diving, even if diving very safe and shallow profiles I keep thinking I will get bent and it's all downhill from there. I snorkeled the rest of the trip and felt so bad about myself for not having the courage to do it again.
I'm thinking of hanging my fins for good or maybe take up freediving. I just don't want to give up yet.
If you have been through something similar, please share your experience, it will be of great help.
Many thanks
I'm not sure in which forum to post this, but Cozumel is the place where I've done the majority of my dives. Your comments are very much appreciated because I'm in need of help.
I'm 41, very fit and a cyclist for 20 years, because of this I've never smoked or been overweight. I've been certified for 16 years now and since I was a kid I wanted to be a scuba diver. I'm certified AOW and nitrox diver, done almost 30 dives in those 16 years and I'm terrified of getting DCS since my 27th dive.
First time I dove was is Cozumel, deepest I've gone is 95 ft, I've done night dives too. Never noticed anything out of sorts after my first dives, just a very inflammed (but not painful) pinkie on my right foot after returning from my first trip (could not wear shoe for a couple of days).
15 years ago, on the first dive of my 3rd trip I was buddied up with a very novice diver that ran out of air (did not dive nitrox that time) at 70 ft and 24 minutes into a dive in Palancar Gardens, I gave my buddy my octo and he shot to the surface, me trying to stop him. He shot thru our safety stop and surfaced, I returned to do an extended safety stop until the group surfaced. At night I started feeling nausea and some anxiety, no tingling nor pain anywhere. The remainder of the trip I didn't eat much and my apetite went away. I called DAN and the Dr told me not no worry, it was probably a stomach bug.
Since then I've been very afraid to dive and done only a couple of 25 - 30 ft dives. After a long time (10 years) of being out of the water I returned to diving and was psyched. I was last week in Cozumel and did a shore dive with my instructor to check my bouyancy and air consumption...I aced the dive and felt comfortable in the water. The dive was 25 ft max and 55 minutes on air.
I was excited and wanted to dive from a boat the next day, but was very apprehensive about any odd sensation in my body. I started feeling anxious and in a fog about three hours after surfacing. The mental fog cleared by the evening and at night I felt nausea and a really bad pain in my stomach, some headache, tachychardia as well as slight diarrhea. I was in panic, my wife (who is not a diver) felt stomach cramps too.
I called the Dr in Cozumel and explained my symptoms and my dive profile, he said I should go see him so he could run some neurological tests on me. The moment I stepped into his office he checked my BP, and put a pulse oxymeter on my finger and told me that from my call he knew I wasn't bent and was very anxious. He wrote a presciption for some antibiotics and said I has a stomach bug and was running a fever and should not dive if I was dehydrated. When I asked him about the possibility of being bent, he said I didn't have any symptoms and I should look into geting therapy for my DCS phobia. I felt incredibly good after seeing the doctor.
I wanted to dive again during the week but didn't feel 100% and mostly didn't want to face the possibility of having to expose myself to DCS and go thru this again. I can't keep my mind still after diving, even if diving very safe and shallow profiles I keep thinking I will get bent and it's all downhill from there. I snorkeled the rest of the trip and felt so bad about myself for not having the courage to do it again.
I'm thinking of hanging my fins for good or maybe take up freediving. I just don't want to give up yet.
If you have been through something similar, please share your experience, it will be of great help.
Many thanks