Denisegg's incident and near miss at Jackson Blue

[denisegg]

God bless you!! I cannot at this moment say what the future holds for my diving. But without doubt I will try it again. Rob Neto, who came to visit me everyday while I was in the hospital who is a medic there and also a cave instructor volunteered to help me ease back into diving with his aide in OW and see if it happens to me again, he will be there and know what to do to help me. What a blessed group of people I am surrounded by who have shown such care and compassion to help me get back into what I love so much.

I would also like to add that not one of my beloved family has asked me to stop diving. They know my passion and love for it just as they love me and pray that this will never happen to me again.

 

[CheddarChick]

Be peaceful D....You will be back in time..I feel it....Just rest easy for a while...

 

[philmottrek99and02]

Here's wishing you a speedy recovery Denise!

Howard

Thank you. And thank everyone how has participated in this thread, pm'd me, called or text-ed with their concerns. I won't even try to thank each one individually who has shown compassion and concern but know each one of you how much it means to me. Your comfort, hope and encouragement gives me the strength to carry on and face this situation and once again try to sink beneath the surface and experience the unbelievable awesome experience of diving the depths of the ocean and springs that through research and technology God has opened the door to the fantasy of life to swim beyond the reaches of mankind, the soul of those who experience life beyond the reaches of mankind and for just brief moments experience the awesome reality of the depths of earth that God has made possible to those of us who so passionately reach beyond the surface to explore that which is beyond.

 

[sibermike7]

Praying for you D!

 

[denisegg]

Be peaceful D....You will be back in time..I feel it....Just rest easy for a while...

Beautifully said. Thank you.

Thank you Howard and Mike!!

 

[boyoconnor]

Denisegg - You already made the potential hydration connection to IPE, and commented how you were more hydrated than usual. I'd wondered about that separately before reading your comment. All that extra water goes into your blood stream, plus your vessels constrict, and you effectively become hypertensive.

The other bit of anecdotal evidence mentioned is the increased occurrence of IPE in recent years. I'm recently certified, and remember hydration was heavily stressed in the course materials and by the instructor - lots of emphasis on excessive alcohol (which can cause dehydration) but I interpreted it as: hey, I'd better drink a little extra to minimize my chance of the bends.

There's a hugely increased awareness of the need to hydrate for sports activities driven into our minds by Gatorade and similarly marketed drinks. I've heard of people overhydrating so much on bicycle rides that they literally die of water poisoning (one guy literally drinking 2 gallons of water on a 1 hour bike ride). That never happened 20 years ago.

I'm a diver with hypertension, under control with medicine but still a concern. I can imagine the perfect storm of events is the diver who:

- Travels on vacation and forgets the hypertension meds
- Has a few too many drinks at the bar the night before and becomes dehydrated
- Overcompensates by drinking a couple 32-oz Gatorades in the morning before the dive
- Does some strenuous diving to catch up with the group pelting for the bottom


Just a theory, but one I'm personally concerned about. Thanks again for posting your experiences, it's helped us all think through the what-ifs.

- D

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I have questioned all the doctors I have seen, cardiologists and pulmonary, and they look at me like I am crazy. They say there is no connection, yet the study done by Duke University on this condition administered the drug given to patients who also suffered from IPE the same drug administered to patients with pulmonary hypertension that "this is not the same thing, test shows that is not what is wrong with you" The test conducted by Duke University in conjunction with DAN used the same drug which is used for pulmonary hypertension and they say """oh no, you don't know what you are talking about, it is not the same thing"""

@denisegg: To which Duke University study are you referring? Did the physicians/DAN give you a citation on the study. Personally, I prefer to evaluate the study on its own merits...and not take someone else's word on it.

Here's a link to an American Family Physician (AAFP's official journal) article that discusses the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension (published in 2001, so it may be a little dated). In Table 3 (about a third of the way into the article), listed under "Diseases: Possible causal relationship" of pulmonary hypertension is "Thyroid disorders." It's beyond me how someone with any medical background at all can be so adamant about disease pathogenesis when we still know so little about immersion pulmonary edema. Perhaps this ignorance is more a function of IPE being at the interface between pulmonary and endocrinology specialties (maybe your endocrinologist would be more knowledgeable about the condition?).

On a side note, I find it a little disconcerting that the DAN-referred pulmonary specialist had never heard of immersion pulmonary edema. Hopefully, he/she will take this as a learning opportunity and come back with some useful advice for you in the future (or at the very least admit that not much is known about the condition).

Take care!

 

[denisegg]

This is the link to the study but there are no published results:
Immersion Pulmonary Edema - Full Text View - ClinicalTrials.gov

 

[denisegg]

"Diseases: Possible causal relationship" of pulmonary hypertension is "Thyroid disorders." It's beyond me how someone with any medical background at all can be so adamant about disease pathogenesis when we still know so little about immersion pulmonary edema. Perhaps this ignorance is more a function of IPE being at the interface between pulmonary and endocrinology specialties (maybe your endocrinologist would be more knowledgeable about the condition?).

On a side note, I find it a little disconcerting that the DAN-referred pulmonary specialist had never heard of immersion pulmonary edema. Hopefully, he/she will take this as a learning opportunity and come back with some useful advice for you in the future (or at the very least admit that not much is known about the condition).

Take care!

Wow! So you found a possible link when none of my doctors did?? But the pulmonary doctor said he didn't believe I had pulmonary hypertension because the tests done by the cardiologists should have ruled it out but if they did not do a cath of the right side of my heart (which is the test for it) he would be sure I got one. I had a cath but I don't know if they did the right side.
I have been a bit disconcerted also because one passes me off to the other. You wouldn't believe the releases I have signed so that one could see the tests/procedures that the other ones have done. A nurse argued with me today saying pulmonary doctor #2 could not request pulmonary doctor #1's records because #1 referred me to #2.
So I call #1's office and tell them to send my records to #2 because they wanted me to see him in the first place because I showed DAN's list of suggested doctors to #1 and he chose #2 out of the group who use to be an associate of his.
But I have to say that #2, who was referred by DAN, has called getting request forms from me for the hospital in Jackson County in Marianna, the SE Medical in Dothan and the cardiologist from SE Medical Hospital and he promised me he would study IPE and we would sit down and figure something out when I see him in one week.
I still haven't followed up with the cardiologist and endocrinologist because it has not been 4 weeks yet. I can't even get into see the endocrinologist for 6 weeks from now he is so booked up. Both of these doctors are 3 hours from my home.

 

[denisegg]

From the Duke Study Link Above:
Detailed Description:
Immersion pulmonary edema (IPE) is a condition that has sudden onset in swimmers and divers, and is characterized by cough, shortness of breath, decreased blood oxygen levels,

I have to share a curious finding relating to pulmonary doctor #1's desire for me to go through a sleep apnea study. I'm like, please, I'm not interested in why I'm not sleeping well, I want to know why I had IPE. He told me he did not specialize in dive related incidents but talked me into going through their study. I went last week for the first night and had to go again last night for a follow up. The Tech wanted me to sleep with a Cpap during the night and I say look, no one has even told me why I am here. I haven't even seen the doctor again. He says the doctor will explain everything after the study when you see him but I am insistent so he tells me on the first night while sleeping my blood oxygen levels dropped below normal (which caught my attention) and last night while sleeping with the Cpap they were normal. Even before seeing the doctor again they want me to sleep with one at home for a couple of weeks and then follow up with the doctor.

?????

Again, I have not talked to a doctor about this. This came from the Tech performing the test. I still have to follow up with 4 doctors on this.