Exceeded NDL by a bit, but computer cleared me. What should I do?

[kaylee_ann]

Often that is sub-clinical DCS. Do the full five minutes and longer if possible. If there are people getting on the boat ahead of me, I simply wait at safety stop depth if possible (air and currents permitting) and will time my final ascent to be on the tag line just as the last person clears the ladder. If I'm at a spring after a cave dive, which are usually deco dives for me anyway, circumstances permitting, I add another five to the last stop and then do another five or ten resting on the surface before I start lugging gear out. I would do that on a boat, but them thar boat operators get testy.

Idk. I don’t come anywhere near my NDL and my dives were maybe 20 feet max. So NDLs don’t even really exist there lol.
Last dive was literally a max 13 feet. I was all shaky off balance and my legs gave out so now i have to get a medical clearance to dive again. such fun, lol.
Maybe safety stops are needed for me….not sure

 

[The Chairman]

It sounds as if your entire dive was a safety stop. I have sugar issues (hypoglycemic) which can cause that if I don't eat before the dive. Hypothermia can cause similar symptoms as well. Whatever it is, I hope they figure out what's going on, but that's probably not DCS.

 

[kaylee_ann]

It sounds as if your entire dive was a safety stop. I have sugar issues (hypoglycemic) which can cause that if I don't eat before the dive. Hypothermia can cause similar symptoms as well. Whatever it is, I hope they figure out what's going on, but that's probably not DCS.

I’m not aware of any sugar issues, but always a possibility. It was nice and toasty.
I didn’t go to a doctor that day or the next, or the next after that lmao. Because the profile wasn’t enough for DCS.
I’ll figure out on Thursday though, that’s my appointment with the dive specialist.

 

[The Chairman]

Good luck!

 

[waterone]

Idk. I don’t come anywhere near my NDL and my dives were maybe 20 feet max. So NDLs don’t even really exist there lol.
Last dive was literally a max 13 feet. I was all shaky off balance and my legs gave out so now i have to get a medical clearance to dive again. such fun, lol.
Maybe safety stops are needed for me….not sure

One of my friends has come out of the water and had similar symptoms after a fairly shallow dive, though more severe. So off balance that he dropped his mask and I had to go retrieve it. He felt off for a considerable while and later told me that he shouldn't have driven home. In that particular case it was apparently determined that it had to do with water in the ear.

 

[kaylee_ann]

One of my friends has come out of the water and had similar symptoms after a fairly shallow dive, though more severe. So off balance that he dropped his mask and I had to go retrieve it. He felt off for a considerable while and later told me that he shouldn't have driven home. In that particular case it was apparently determined that it had to do with water in the ear.

You know what, I got dizzy in the water before surfacing so maybe that’s it.

 

[doctormike]

Often that is sub-clinical DCS. Do the full five minutes and longer if possible. If there are people getting on the boat ahead of me, I simply wait at safety stop depth if possible (air and currents permitting) and will time my final ascent to be on the tag line just as the last person clears the ladder. If I'm at a spring after a cave dive, which are usually deco dives for me anyway, circumstances permitting, I add another five to the last stop and then do another five or ten resting on the surface before I start lugging gear out. I would do that on a boat, but them thar boat operators get testy.

This is a really important point.

We think of DCS as a binary thing. You get bent or you are fine. But EVERY scuba dive involves breathing compressed gas at depth, which means that on ascent there will always be some bubble formation. More and more it seems like there is a link between bubble formation, inflammatory markers and clinical symptoms.

So being tired after a dive - out of proportion with the actual amount of physical work done - may well be due to those bubbles. I like the term "decompression stress" better than DCS when talking about this process, because everyone has some degree of decompression stress but not everyone gets bent.

 

[kaylee_ann]

This is a really important point.

We think of DCS as a binary thing. You get bent or you are fine. But EVERY scuba dive involves breathing compressed gas at depth, which means that on ascent there will always be some bubble formation. More and more it seems like there is a link between bubble formation, inflammatory markers and clinical symptoms.

So being tired after a dive - out of proportion with the actual amount of physical work done - may well be due to those bubbles. I like the term "decompression stress" better than DCS when talking about this process, because everyone has some degree of decompression stress but not everyone gets bent.

But at 20 feet though?

 

[doctormike]

But at 20 feet though?

The most important concept in medicine is "there is a bell curve for everything".

But I was responding to the Chairman's earlier post and the OP, who was deeper than 20 feet. I agree, if you are diving to 20 feet max, then your decompression stress is likely to be clinically insignificant.

 

[kaylee_ann]

The most important concept in medicine is "there is a bell curve for everything".

But I was responding to the Chairman's earlier post and the OP, who was deeper than 20 feet. I agree, if you are diving to 20 feet max, then your decompression stress is likely to be clinically insignificant.

Ahh okay