Fast ascent, lingering headache

[InTheDrink]

Hi,

This is probably trivial and I'm certainly not overly concerned about, but if anyone has had similar would be good to know.

7 days ago I was on a dive where I was underweighted. Pulled myself down the line to 17m. Viz was 1-2m, current was strong. On ascent had to fight, ended up with a 4minute penalty and 3m ceiling. Unfortunately I went from about 9 or 10m to 0 in 30 seconds according to my computer but I think it was probably longer. This was a first for me.

Anyhow, didn't think that much of it apart from being embarrassed. I had a moderate to severe headache for three days which I put down to skip breathing as I was trying to have no gas in my lungs to compensate for being under-weighted.

A week later I'm fine but have residual headache and any cough, sneeze, etc. is fairly painful.

I have zero intention of seeking medical help as this is very minor, but just wondering whether others have had similar symptoms after having a (kinda) rapid ascent? If so, what do you think the causes are? Can CO2 last this long in terms of minor damage?

Not a biggie, more a question of curiosity.

J

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I'm a little unclear as to what happened. It sounds like, due to being underweighted, you pulled yourself down the line to 17m upon initial descent. At some point during the dive (probably when you used up some of your gas), you had an uncontrolled ascent to the surface at an approx. ascent rate of 60 ft/min. Your dive computer reported a rapid ascent and indicated that you should perform a 4-minute stop below a 3m ceiling. Based on what your computer was indicating, you re-descended to fulfill the stop obligation.

If this ever happens again (unintentional ascent to the surface), you might want to consider just exiting the water and refraining from diving for the rest of the day. It's easier to monitor for signs of barotrauma or arterial gas embolism and obtain medical treatment when you're back on the boat.

It's highly unusual for a CO2 retention headache to last for an extended duration (3 days).
You may have experienced some sort of sinus barotrauma that persisted post-dive.

Precisely where is the pain located when you cough, sneeze, etc.?

 

[TSandM]

I'd be thinking sinuses, too, especially if you feel congested or have a nasal voice.

 

[InTheDrink]

I'm a little unclear as to what happened. It sounds like, due to being underweighted, you pulled yourself down the line to 17m upon initial descent. At some point during the dive (probably when you used up some of your gas), you had an uncontrolled ascent to the surface at an approx. ascent rate of 60 ft/min. Your dive computer reported a rapid ascent and indicated that you should perform a 4-minute stop below a 3m ceiling. Based on what your computer was indicating, you re-descended to fulfill the stop obligation.

If this ever happens again (unintentional ascent to the surface), you might want to consider just exiting the water and refraining from diving for the rest of the day. It's easier to monitor for signs of barotrauma or arterial gas embolism and obtain medical treatment when you're back on the boat.

It's highly unusual for a CO2 retention headache to last for an extended duration (3 days).
You may have experienced some sort of sinus barotrauma that persisted post-dive.

Precisely where is the pain located when you cough, sneeze, etc.?

Sorry, I wasn't particularly clear in my post. No, I didn't re-descend from the fast ascent. I felt light at 17m and suspected I might have some issues on ascent, especially with the current and my not being terribly familiar with my drysuit. This indeed transpired. At 12 metres I had to fin down pretty hard to avoid going north. At about 10 metres I knew the game was up, tried - as sympathetically as possible - to use my buddy as ballast, but ended up on the surface in short order. Probably a minute from 10-0 metres although profile says less (from what I can make of it). As I mentioned I got a 4 minute penalty at 3m although I really don't know what that was from, although my stinger is very conservative. Irrespective, it didn't get its due, I spent max 1 minute on ascent and from there made my way back to the boat, again, working fairly hard. The current and viz throughout made sure it was always going to be a challenging dive despite my thinking it would by a little pootle.

Headache is definitely not sinus related. I've had sinus issues in the past and this doesn't feel like it. It's more like when I move my head, hence sneezing, laughing, etc. Feels more like a tension headache although that doesn't describe it well either. It's the typical dull thud you get when skip breathing - moving your head hurts. I am otherwise fine, apart from dented pride, but it has surprised me that the residual effects have last this long. The first 3 days the headache was pretty bad, nearly enough to keep me off work and I haven't taken an day off in more than 10 years. That said, this really is more of a curiosity post, to see whether others have had a prolonged headache after a rapid ascent or heavily skip breathing or working really hard or a combination of any of these factors.

J

 

[InTheDrink]

as an aside, an this is not strictly relevant. But I was meant to be doing a 32m wreck. Unfortunately (although now I think fortunately) my primary second stage had a leak and as I had my gas turned on during the 40 minute boat ride out I'd bled 50 bar. So I decided to sit the good dive out in preference for the 17m pootle. I'm glad I did now. I'm not sure that I'd have felt much better having done a polaris from 32m rather than 10m. Lesson here is weighting. I wasn't sure what to wear with this rig and these conditions so I went with 2 kg (was wearing twince 12s) which is enough to sink me in a pool but in a strong current having to swim hard for the down line....well, I think an additional 2kg would have served me well. Weighting is context dependent.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

OK. So you didn't re-descend. That's good. Sounds like you just needed to do a proper weight check prior to the dive. Not sure if you accounted for the density difference between salt and fresh water. And, as you know, proper weighting is more than just having enough lead to make you sink. After all, you need to have enough lead to keep you neutral at the end of the dive with no air in your wing and nearly empty tanks. With twin 12s, the buoyancy swing from full to empty would be 10-12 lbs. FWIW, the typical male can effect a buoyancy swing of 10 lbs. simply by modulating lung volume. If you are a new drysuit diver, I'd recommend learning how to operate it under more benign conditions (shallow shore dive, no current, etc.).

Just because you've had "sinus issues in the past" and the pain you're now experiencing doesn't "feel" the same, that doesn't necessarily rule out sinus barotrauma.

You're going to have to be more specific about the location of the pain. If the pain overlaps with the anatomic location of one of your sinuses, then that could be consistent with sinus barotrauma.

You mentioned the pain feeling more like a tension headache. Tension headaches manifest as a dull, aching, band-like tightness/pressure across the forehead and along the sides/back of the head. Such headaches are usually amenable to treatment with aspirin or NSAIDs (ibuprofen, naproxen, etc.).

In some rare circumstances, headaches (particularly painful or "disruptive" ones with other associated symptoms) can be indicative of a more sinister underlying medical problem. If something doesn't feel "right," definitely seek professional medical treatment.

 

[InTheDrink]

OK. So you didn't re-descend. That's good. Sounds like you just needed to do a proper weight check prior to the dive.

Just because you've had "sinus issues in the past" and the pain you're now experiencing doesn't "feel" the same, that doesn't necessarily rule out sinus barotrauma.

You're going to have to be more specific about the location of the pain. If the pain overlaps with the anatomic location of one of your sinuses, then that could be consistent with sinus barotrauma.

You mentioned the pain feeling more like a tension headache. Tension headaches manifest as a dull, aching, band-like tightness/pressure across the forehead and along the sides/back of the head. Such headaches are usually amenable to treatment with aspirin or NSAIDs (ibuprofen, naproxen, etc.).

In some rare circumstances, headaches (particularly painful or "disruptive" ones with other associated symptoms) can be indicative of a more sinister underlying medical problem. If something doesn't feel "right," definitely seek professional medical treatment.

Cheers Bubble,

Being specific about pain is a hard one, no? It feels like the middle of my brain or the outside of my brain hitting my skull. It feels similar to a CO2 headache. But now it's just when I cough or sneeze, not when I just move. I've ibuprfoned myself and it's helped short term but still have the residual pain when sneezing or coughing. Like I said, it's not a big deal but was curious whether anyone else had had similar from similar situation. The ascent was much faster than I've had before but if I felt it was really fast I would have sought medical advice. The only aspect of interest is the prolonged minor residual discomfort. I do think I did some minor damage, nothing serious, just not sure what.

J

 

[scubadiveilat]

It's possible that it's related to another issue. There many possibilities that can have this affect on you.

• Temp
• Change in weather
• Climate change
• Sinusitis
• Rhinitis
• Congestion
• A cold
• A min grade
• Stress

other effects too. If it's prolonged for 7 days. Seek medical attention have a physician check you out. It's minor now it will clear away with some treatment. Otherwise it can get worse. If it's getting worse. Don't delay seek a physician check Now!!!

Regards,

 

[InTheDrink]

Thanks scubadiveilat (that's a really tough to type username by the way - do you ask people to spell that on their AOW deep dive? If not you should. Really. )

It's not getting worse, it's getting better and was really only a curiosity question in case someone had come across something similar. It certainly could be related to something other than the dive but I don't think so - which is why I posted here (I deliberated for a few days on whether to or not). Dive medicine is still in its infancy I suppose but I think it's best to ask just in case...as well as letting others know the kind of after effects - serious or not - one can get from different diving failure modes (in my case being an idiot not able to control his ascent)

Thx,
J