Help: The bends or lung over expansion.

[Pao]

Go back to see a doctor. Just curious, were X-rays taken? You could have fluid or trapped air in the chest cavity outside your lungs.

 

[sjwhite26]

In Malta they don't shy away from putting you in the chamber if needed and if from the EU you should have an EHIC card that will cover your treatment, if you don't use that card and you are from the UK your travel insurance won't cover it.

I would return and discuss with a doctor what you are feeling, go via emergency if needed.


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[rjk75]

So on the 25th at about 11:40 I had a rapid ascent from about 20 - 15 meters give or take to the surface due to a panic attack.

Presumably you were not OOA and so you had your reg in your mouth--you were breathing. Do you think you might have held your breath for even a short time during your ascent?

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

So on the 25th at about 11:40 I had a rapid ascent from about 20 - 15 meters give or take to the surface due to a panic attack. I was taken to the hospital and put on 100% oxygen for over 16 hours. In this time I showed no signs of the bends so I discharged myself from hospital after 26 hours because it was Sunday in Malta and I would have to wait until Monday to be discharged. My one concern before leaving was that my lungs felt sore. I asked the nurse if this meant I needed to go in a decompression chamber but he said it was normal. I'm breathing normally but I can definitely notice pain around my lungs from what I can only assume is tissue trauma due to over expansion. I was burping up lots of air on the surface which leads me to believe it is lung over expansion. I don't show any signs of decompression sickness but am paranoid and I feel like my mind is playing tricks on me as I will think there is an ache in my ankle for a few minutes but then it will go away. The only constant pain is around my lungs. Should I go back to the hospital and ask to be put in the chamber or are sore lungs normal?

100% O2 can alleviate symptoms of DCI but they often reoccur if the O2 is removed. Pain in the lungs after a rapid ascent could be several things, the worst of which is probably pneumothorax (air between the lung and chest wall) due to lung overexpansion. Ditto flots... get back to the hospital and tell them what's going on. They probably won't put you in the chamber for that symptom alone but they may want to investigate it further.

Best regards,
DDM

 

[DandyDon]

I would also suggest first speaking to DAN and based on their feedback go back to hospital. I am not a doctor but if the dive was well within the NDL limits and I assume here the dive was very short, I struggle to see any DCS unless you have some other underlying problems.

Was your lung sore before you went to hospital? If so, your lung did take some sort of over expansion. If not they are most probably sore from the long exposures to O2 while in hospital.

Only his examining doctor can tell for sure, but I have seen a couple of totally undeserved hit, one life threatening. Hard to call injuries without a good exam. I was on Coz last week when a friend's husband took an unexpected hit from a relatively safe dive - but a bubble got stuck in a bad place. I spoke with one of the chamber folks who could not give out private info, but it was confirmed. She even attended a lady recently who took a hit on a 20 ft deep helmet dive - which sounds impossible, but confirmed.

 

[pasley]

I discharged myself admittedly because I am an internet marketer and really couldn't stay in the hospital and miss another day of work.

Ok, so we have the cost of missing work versus the cost of what?... Oh, yes, you health (including the potential for said injury to be putting pressure on heart). Oh, and the stress (also good for the heart) of worring about it until Monday when you do what, thats right go see a doctor who will answer your question. Yep, Relase against Medical Advice is always the best course of action and cheaper too! I can eaisly see how you would put a single day of work head of your health.

When did we get this way? Putting work ahead of our own health and our families. Prorities! I promise you will not lay on your death bed saying "I wish I had spent more time working". You may wish you had spent more time doing many things (with the kids, wife, girlfriend, your buddies, fishing etc but definatly not working).

Do you have an Lung Overexpansion Injury? - Only a doctor who has examined you or at least your records could say. You have talked to DAN so you have for now the best advice you could have outside of your own doctor.

 

[RiverRat]

I think if that was to happen to me I would have insisted on X-rays asap. I went to the ER a number of years ago with pneumonia that developed after the Flu. I was very sick. The ER doc said "I don't know what to tell you" I was like :shocked2: . I started to feel like I was overreacting, bad for coming to the hospital for "the flu" etc. When the X-rays came back he was like "OH WOW! Hummmm...you have pneumonia". One lung was fully infected and the other was a 3rd (I guess one "lobe" of 3?) My pulse ox was low. 4 days of breathing treatments, steroids etc. and I was discharged.
Listen to your body!