Did I get DCS? Very Puzzled

[grushka]

(Note, I posted this in the "Accidents" section, but realized it's more appropriate here. Sorry for double posting).

Anyway, I'm really interested in getting some opinions on what might have happened to me.

I went on a 10 day diving vacation in Central America. I got my Advanced Open Water certification on the trip, but consider myself a novice diver.

I dove 2x a day during the trip, taking a half day off here and there. I did a 5 hour surface interval between dives. The whole time, I did two 90 foot dives - first dive of the day and a SLOWWW ascent with safety stops. Most dives were 60 ft and above.

Only one minor incident the whole trip which involved getting short on air and missing the 15 foot safety stop. However, I had purposely been diving at 20-25 feet anyway for some time, so I'm not too concerned about that.

ANYWAY, I wait 36 hours after my last dive - yes, 36 hours - before getting on the 3,000 foot puddle jumper to the mainland. After that, it's another 5 hour wait til I get on the jet.

Which is where it starts. About an hour into the flight I feel extensive tingling up my right leg, with some on the left leg. Tingles were persistent and strong. No pain, no numbness, but an electric (almost bubbling tingling) the whole flight.

OK, please no judgements, but I get home late on Christmas (Dec 25) and go to sleep. I wake up, with intermittent but persistent tingling. I call around NYC for barometric chambers, but no one is answering. I don't get a call back until Dec 27, at which time most say I've missed my window of treatment.

As of now, I still feel some substantial tingling, and bone aches in both legs. The tingling gets very bad after drinking (so I have not had any more booze) and even after eating spicy food. The tingling and bone aches are definitely real (not in my head).

So, my question is: what the heck happened to me? I called Dan TWICE, and both guys were very unsure what had happened, given the extremely long interval before getting the symptoms (though one WAS concerned about the tingling). A dive doc told me the same thing - that it was not likely DCS, given the 40+ hour timeframe before symptoms appeared. My own dad, an internist with no dive medical experience, told me that whatever happened was likely mild and that no doc would be able to diagnose me any more finely than that (thanks, Dad!)

Your thoughts? Am I screwed? Doomed to osteo necrosis? Permanent nerve damage? Did I get hit?

 

[Dive-aholic]

Doesn't sound like you took a hit. That is a long time between diving and flying. What you've written of your dive profile during the trip sounds very conservative. A safety stop is just that - for safety. It is a recommended practice, but not mandatory. And you were only at 25 feet. My computer doesn't tell me to do a safety stop unless I've hit 30 feet or deeper. You've called DAN. You've talked to your Dad (a doc). What you might want to do now is go to your doc regarding the tingling feeling and have him/her evaluate you for that alone. I could be totally unrelated. It could be something to do with the cramped airplane seats. Good luck.

 

[jagfish]

What you might want to do now is go to your doc regarding the tingling feeling and have him/her evaluate you for that alone... Good luck.

Sounds like good avice to me...

 

[Rick Inman]

I just went through the same kind of thing, but just in my arm (see: http://www.scubaboard.com/t83463-.html). Turned out to be a neck injury. Most likely a herniated disk. In fact, if I bend my neck way back right now, I can make my right hand tingle and my arm ache.
How old are you? It seems that hauling your gear back onto the plane can cause these kind of things.
However, the bigger risk is in NOT having it checked out for DCS and taking an untreated (or late treated) hit.

 

[Rickg]

(Note, I posted this in the "Accidents" section, but realized it's more appropriate here. Sorry for double posting).

Anyway, I'm really interested in getting some opinions on what might have happened to me.

Which is where it starts. About an hour into the flight I feel extensive tingling up my right leg, with some on the left leg. Tingles were persistent and strong. No pain, no numbness, but an electric (almost bubbling tingling) the whole flight.

As of now, I still feel some substantial tingling, and bone aches in both legs. The tingling gets very bad after drinking (so I have not had any more booze) and even after eating spicy food. The tingling and bone aches are definitely real (not in my head).

Your thoughts? Am I screwed? Doomed to osteo necrosis? Permanent nerve damage? Did I get hit?

grushka,

Did you eat a lot of fish while you were on your trip, in particular reef fish such as barracuda, jack, rainbow runner, etc?

If so, you may have ciguatera poisoning. Here are several links about the subject:

http://www.rehablink.com/ciguatera/

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ciguatera/default.htm

http://www.tahitinet.com/presense/ciguatera.html

http://www.whoi.edu/science/B/redtide/illness/ciguatera_fish_poisoning.html

The other possibility is you did something that impacted your sciatic nerve.

Either way, hope you can get this resolved.

Rickg

 

[grushka]

a family friend. He thinks I did take a hit. He's not a diving expert, but thinks the tingling (which I still have) is from a sublcinical hit I took that the plan flight made more obvious.

After 2 weeks, a chamber probably won't help.

Now I just have to see what the damage is.

Dammit. I consciously made an effort to dive safely and conservatively.

 

[grushka]

This occured to me as an issue. I had shrimp one night, lobster on my last night, and a mixed-fish pasta dish.

The day after the shrimp, I did indeed have a serious stomach bug, that lasted 24 hours. However, no tingling. Also, I drank alcohol after that with no tingling.

Interestingly, though, one of the links said that a sign of cinguatera poisoning is that it worsens with alcohol - which mine definitely does. However, I've also seen that as a DCS symptom.

In general, it seems like alcohol is bad for any nerve damage issues. Unfortunately, there are just some things medicine cannot figure out.

Thanks again - all these ideas are helpful.

 

[Nemrod]

If your diving was as conservative as you say I suspect you have a lower back problem. I hurt my back long ago and sometimes if I do something I should not--I get tingling and leg aches. Bone necrosis to my knowledge is the result of all -chronic-- diving over a long period more so than getting bent once. I may be wrong but I read a lot. If you did get bent I think from the sound of it you will be OK. BUT--I think you slipped a disk, pinched a nerve sitting in the seat or something like that. You would be amazed how back problems manifest themselves. I think some exersize and weight training for the back is in order. N

 

[dvrliz1]

As a nurse, definitely sounds nerve related. Since you are experiencing the pain in your lower extremities, I would guess something is pinched in the Lumbar / Sacral area of your spine. Did you at anytime feel a pull or a twinge in your lower back? You may have done it in the water, not even realizing it. Usually a buldging disc causes pain down the side that is affected. A ruptured disc could put pressure on both sides. I would definitely get to an ortho or neurological MD or even a chiropractor, have x-rays taken. Good luck!

Liz

 

[BEM]

I started a thread quite awhile ago about whether or not you could determine if you got hit or not (in non-obvious cases).

I found that on one occasion I had the symptoms of having been “bent”, but I dive very conservatively (but I know ***** happens). I got the tingling and numbness in my left toes, then foot, then leg (ten minutes after the dive.) That freaked me out as I was a new diver, 30 dives, 2nd dive in the ocean and had been down to 70 fsw. My mind raced and wondered if I should get medical help. I confided in my buddy (wife) and she mentioned that it sounded like the same symptoms that I had some years earlier with my back (sciatica.) I thought about it and I remembered lifting my BC (weight integrated) off the boat onto the dock and twisted while doing that. End of story was, I wasn’t bent but had pinched the nerve a bit.

After that I started a diary of my aches and pains and the symptoms. I keep it very brief and realize how many things happen to us and I never noted them before. I forgot how many times I got bruised ribs and knees while playing hockey and just day-to-day living.

This has helped me to be more aware of my body and recognize the normal from the abnormal. Not that I won’t start to get nervous if I get the tingling after a dive, but now can make a more informed self diagnosis.