How long till I can dive again?

[ponder]

I'm pretty sure I got some minor DCS after my last dive. I did 2 dives, the first to 60 feet, the second to 80, for about 30 minutes each in cold water. About 1.5 hours after finishing the second dive I started to get a deep, aching pain in my right shoulder joint. At the time I didn't consider DCS, so just went to sleep, and when I woke up in the morning the pain was mostly gone (I still had an occasional, very light ache in over the next 2 days, but much less intense than the previous shoulder pain). Didn't even consider DCS at the time (just thought I had a sore shoulder from working out or something like that), but now it seems likely after doing some research. I had no other DCS symptoms at all, just the shoulder pain, and the pain was not excruciating, just annoying/moderate. I did not recieve any treatment, as by the time I realised it was probably DCS, I was already symptom free, and it seemed like very mild DCS.

I was hoping to go diving again this weekend, again doing 2 dives down to roughly 60 feet. This will be 2 weeks after getting the bends. Does this seem like a safe/reasonable recovery time? I would make sure to be overly careful this time, ascending very slowly, and doing a good 5 minute safety stop.

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi Ponder,

While there was no diagnosis or treatment of DCI, what is described sounds much like an event of joint-only DCS affecting the shoulder. As such, the following guidelines are worth consideration:

Diving Medicine FAQs
Return to Diving After DCI
DAN Divers Alert Network

Helpful?

DocVikingo

This is educational only and does not constitute or imply a doctor-patient relationship. It is not medical advice to you or any other individual and should not be construed as such.

 

[stefo2]

If it really was DCS, you should also consider what it was in your dives that may have caused it. Except for a reverse profile, the depths and times you mention don't really show much. Was your second dive a square profile or how long did you actually spend at 80ft? Did you come up fast / do no safety stop / maybe even omit a short mandatory stop? Were you dehydrated? Etc.
If everything was well within limits this "undeserved" hit may indicate a medical problem that you should have checked out.

Oh, and I'm a not a professional in that area by any means, btw.

 

[ponder]

Re: stefo2
I was at 80 ft for roughly 10 minutes, with about 15 minutes spent around 60 feet, and another 10 or so minutes coming up and down. There was no mandatory stop (on my first dive I only spent about 10 mins at 60 feet, with the rest around 40 feet, and I had a surface interval of nearly 2 hours between my first and second dives), but I didn't do a safety stop. I may have been slightly dehaydrated, but not much (I'd been drinking the night before, but not too heavily. I had no hangover at all, and drank water in the morning). We didn't ascend particularly quickly - we were slowly ascending along a rock face, checking things out along the way, until about 30 feet, and then we ascended the last 30 feet in about 1 minute. If it was indeed DCS that I was experiencing, it does seem to me that it was an "undeserved" hit, and as you suggested, I might have a medical condition that pre-disposes me to DCS such as a PFO. I'll be even more cautious with future dives (taking a good sized safety stop, even if it seems unecessary), but if I do that and still get any DCS symptoms, I'll definitely go to a doctor.

Re: DocVikingo
Thanks for the link, they seem to suggest 4 weeks symptom free. My dive buddy backed out for this weekend anyways, and I can't dive next weekend, so I'll be waiting at least 4 weeks regardless.


Thank you both very much for your help, and don't worry, I realize that this is not professional advice

 

[DandyDon]

I'm not a pro at anything, just offering an amateur's suggestion. This seems to be your problem...

...but I didn't do a safety stop. I may have been slightly dehaydrated, but not much (I'd been drinking the night before, but not too heavily. I had no hangover at all, and drank water in the morning).

1: No safety stop after 60 or 80 ft descents is risky. Sure they're only suggested, but every good ideas. I'm not qualified to explain, but as I understand it - the multi-level and slow ascents will reduce N2 loading but are not effecting at safe off-gassing. Do the safety stops!
2: I pretty much quit drinking when I got into scuba a few years ago, but I remember some from my heavy drinking years, including the fact that I hardly ever felt a hangover or dehydrated even when I was probly still legally drunk and quite dehydrated. I don't know your age (I'd olllld now) but I suspect that you could avoid having mor than 1 or 2 beers the night before diving; I know what you're thinking - why bother at all? Ok then, don't. But if you do, drink a full quart of water before going to bed and another full quart when you wake up.

Many of us think of PFOs ,explained at this Mayo Clinic link, when we hear of "unexplained hits," but then they are so common with about a quarter of the population having them, while DCS hits are so rare, I have to surmise that about 25% of divers have PFOs with no problems.

Please let us know if safe diving practices help, okay...?

 

[windi_g]

To take care of this:

Make sure to double your deco time at 45 feet, 30 feet and at 15 feet. This should hep with making sure all existing issues are taken care of as well as prevent reoccuring issues. You may even want to start this at the 60 feet mark. Learned this technique on a unihabitated island shoudl deco issues happen.

 

[Bratface]

The biggest mistake people make when they think they are bent is not to seek medical help. I hope you never have an incident, but if you even suspect you have DCI, please see a doctor and call DAN right away. If you aren't a member of DAN, check into why you should join. Good luck on your next dives.

 

[realdiver7]

I had a suspected "minor" DCS incident about four weeks ago that was much worse than what you described. Severe pain in my right elbow with numbness in my right arm and more numbness that spread to parts of my upper body. I immediately called DAN, went to the emergency room, was admitted to the hospital for oxygen, IV therapy, and observation, and was released the following afternoon from the hospital without having to go to the chamber.

It was interesting to discover, depending on the severity of DCS and the type of treatment prescribed, that commercial and military divers are allowed to resume diving anywhere from 24 hours to one week after an incident. I was informed that one week was ample time for me to resume diving, but just to be conservative and stay on the safe side, it was recommended that I wait two weeks. It's also interesting to note that I stayed well within my dive limits, ascended slowly, made adequate safety stops, followed the rules and did the right things, but still developed signs of DCS well after I had completed diving for three days in a row to a depth of 94 feet.

There is no '"catch-all" guideline to follow because everyone's incidents, treatments and outcomes will vary, and they can vary tremendously. Based on the description of your incident, you could have had some microbubbles in a shoulder joint, but if the same thing would have happened to me and I would have called DAN, I seriously believe I would have been told that I probably did NOT have DCS, but to be conservative I would have been asked to go and get a doctor's opinion. A DAN doctor will consult with your local doctors and a joint decision will be made between all doctors involved about your treatment, if any.

I'm not a doctor and I don't work for DAN, but in my humble opinion it sounds like you have waited more than enough time to resume diving, especially if you are symptom-free. For the final word (and my "fine print"), I recommend calling DAN and following exactly what they recommend in addition to seeking a doctor's opinion.

I resumed diving after two weeks and have been incident-free (unless you include that our boat got hit by a waterspout 35 miles offshore!). Hope you can benefit from my recent experience and put your mind at ease.

 

[Dr Deco]

Hello ponder:

Was it possible that you generated tissue gas micronuclei at the end of the dive ? This could result from pulling yourself up onto the boat with your heavy dive gear, or lifting gear on the boat deck following the dive.
______________
PS. Commercial and military divers are given the OK to return to diving as they always have a recompression chamber handy should anything untoward occur.


Dr Deco :doctor:

The next class in Decompression Physiology for 2008 is November 15 - 16.
This class is at the USC campus in Los Angeles. :read:
Advanced Decompression Physiology Seminar Information