Doctor told me I would explode.

[ch0ppersrule]

I feel your pain. I went to my regular doctor about my sinus' and he told me to just keep taking sudafed. I asked to see the Navy Dive doctor (in which you have to get a referral for) since DAN told me to get in to see a dive specialist. My dr. kept insisting that I take otc meds instead. Several months later he finally sent me to an ENT who put me on some steroids and other meds and said if I continue with problems they would do surgery. I hate seeing doctors who have no clue what needs to be done for divers and try to cure the problem themselves. Okay, it's not asthma, but it is a problem that prevents you from diving.

 

[DennisW]

Doc,

Thanks for the statistics. Catherine, I stand corrected. Maybe the lower IQ guys move to Florida.

 

[Cacia]

Doc,

Thanks for the statistics. Catherine, I stand corrected. Maybe the lower IQ guys move to Florida.

hahaha. But you do have a lot of foreign medical grads. You have too many old people!

(kidding) I really like people that "stand corrected" I might add. Feel free to correct me anytime, i have been known to go out on limbs!

 

[DennisW]

I've been around long enough to know I don't have all of the answers. I also know that I can't always believe what I hear or read. And I am enough of an engineer to know that statistics are used more for misinformation than for truth. So anytime I read a study, I take am skeptical of the results. I will readily admit if I am wrong or if there is better data to show something different than what I may think at the time. People that don't have an open mind are very limited in many ways.

And Florida does have too many old people. One day, someone is going to have to close the gate.

 

[mdjh51]

Cyklon

I disagree. Asthma is a disease that is very narrowly defined based upon pulmonary functiuon testing, patient presentation and symptomology. There is a big difference in what the general public believe is asthma and what is truely asthma. Having said that, perhaps I was a bit cavalier in my "life is not worth it" statement. It is up to each individual to decide what is wrong and what is right for them. I am glad you have found a way dive and I hope that you continue to dive safely for many years to come.

 

[cyklon_300]

Cyklon

I disagree. Asthma is a disease that is very narrowly defined based upon pulmonary functiuon testing, patient presentation and symptomology. There is a big difference in what the general public believe is asthma and what is truely asthma. Having said that, perhaps I was a bit cavalier in my "life is not worth it" statement. It is up to each individual to decide what is wrong and what is right for them. I am glad you have found a way dive and I hope that you continue to dive safely for many years to come.

may be concise, but the range of intensity of symptoms is quite broad. As a child, I was admitted to the ER and treated with O2/corticosteroids so many times I can't count them. The sound of a vaporizer gives me a visceral reaction...

After puberty, for over 15 years I was asymptomatic, then the condition returned. I spent several years using just a rescue inhaler for exercise-induced episodes. With improved pharmaceuticals and immunotherapy for allergen triggers, I have not had anything resembling an asthma 'attack' in a very long time.

In contrast, my sister was also told she had asthma; I think she wheezed once or twice and used an inhaler for a couple of months. Maybe physicians are just cavalier with this diagnosis...

I've had this argument with several people over the years. One pulmonary specialist
from a highly prestigious east coast medical facility told me I was a *liability* to everyone on a dive boat...

Perhaps...but I'm content with the risks I take. If someone else doesn't like it, they're hereby released from any obligation to save my diseased carcass while diving with me.

 

[JeffG]

Perhaps...but I'm content with the risks I take. If someone else doesn't like it, they're hereby released from any obligation to save my diseased carcass while diving with me.

But can we split your gear?

 

[cyklon_300]

But can we split your gear?

I have no heirs...and btw, it's all good stuff. Apeks, Halcyon, OxyCheq, custom HID, DUI TLS350, jets, 104s...

 

[MoonWrasse]

hahaha. But you do have a lot of foreign medical grads. You have too many old people!

(kidding) I really like people that "stand corrected" I might add. Feel free to correct me anytime, i have been known to go out on limbs!

A friend of mine used to have a doctor who just didn't seem to understand medicine.
Then one day she told me he went to med school on Grenada, which is the same place Zonker went

 

[mstevens]

I am not sure I agree with the IQ thing. (Doctors having the same average intelligence as the general popoulation.) I thought average was an IQ of 100. Most physicians I know are...higher than that.

where are the MENSA people when you need them?

I did a pair of IQ tests on 35 physicians. These were the Raven Advanced Progressive Matrices (which is a totally non-verbal, non-numeric test) and the Slosson (which is entirely spoken). The scores ranged from 107 to 165. Average was right around 119, which isn't all that impressive. The highest result, though, was my wife's. I'd just added her to get practice administering the tests. She's a molecular biologist, not a physician.

I quit mensa in high school after coming to realize how incredibly dumb smart people can be. Intelligence is overrated compared with other qualities such as perseverance, judgment, empathy, and so on. If you can combine those with intelligence, you've got a real winner. However, IQ is not a very good substitute for any of them.