i tried to fly out today and i ended up being bent

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Deleted

 

[daniel1948]

"Alternative" medicine that has been proven to work is called medicine.

Dilution in the so called homeopathic medicine is so big that sipping from the ocean gives you better chance of getting a molecule of active ingredient. Feel free to show me any medical scientific research showing that homeopathic or any other "alternative" medicine works. As far as therapeutic index is concerned, attempts of deliberate overdosing by severe margin have been done during live audience (and "mass suicide" bu homeopathic "medicine" as well) and all are still well. Reason is very simple, homeopathic medicine doesn't work any better than placebo does.

While what you say about homeopathic "medicine" true (it is nothing but water, if liquid, or sugar if a tablet) there are unfortunately products sold under the "homeopathic" rubric which actually have drugs in them. This is fraudulent and illegal, but it is going on. Purchase of a "homeopathic" "remedy" is no guarantee that you are getting what the label claims. Some include OTC or "natural" drugs, and some contain (illegally) prescription drugs. They get away with it because "homeopathic remedies" are not controlled by the FDA and are not tested.

 

[Rick Murchison]

Sort of a tangential issue, but FAA part 121 (Airline regs) allow unpressurized flight above 10K' with the following general restrictions:
from 10K - 12K - flight deck crew must have oxygen available and use it if flight duration above 10K more than 30 minutes. Other crew must have oxygen available.
above 12K - flight deck crew must use oxygen; other crew must have oxygen immediately available.
Oxygen has to be available to passengers.
Don't know what's still flying out there commercially, but I suspect that in Alaska there are quite a few operating unpressurized and above 10K.
Rick

 

[DandyDon]

I was assuming he was at 10k just by the time and where he started to throttle back some. The helicopter pilot who air lifted me said those airlines like to get up fast it saves them fuel getting into the jet stream.

I don't know what altitude they throttle back? The Jet Stream blows from west to east, besides wandering all over the continent, so that was not accurate at all - but the jets are more efficient at altitude yes. Your cabin was pressurized tho so whatever was happening must have cascaded with take off, whatever the pressure. Hope you're feeling well now.

I know that Dr.Deco has suggested a number of safety tricks developed when he was with NASA working with pilots and astronauts - like the Silent Safety Stop: floating effortlessly once surfaced for a full minute. On small boats where the skipper is willing, I let him pull my kit aboard so I don't have to carry it up the ladder.

 

[AfterDark]

While what you say about homeopathic "medicine" true (it is nothing but water, if liquid, or sugar if a tablet) there are unfortunately products sold under the "homeopathic" rubric which actually have drugs in them. This is fraudulent and illegal, but it is going on. Purchase of a "homeopathic" "remedy" is no guarantee that you are getting what the label claims. Some include OTC or "natural" drugs, and some contain (illegally) prescription drugs. They get away with it because "homeopathic remedies" are not controlled by the FDA and are not tested.

Also some herbs have powerful affects

 

[farsidefan1]

Some suggestions that may be useful. I experienced an "unexplained" dcs some time ago in Coz. My computer never complained. I had done 2 days of 2 dives a day and 4 on the 3rd day. In the past I had done up to 5 dives a day for a week on liveaboards with no problems. Possible aggravating factors were as follows. The night before my 4 dive day I walked 7 miles in the August heat. I was exhausted, and probably deydrated (yes, the dreaded dehydrated excuse, although in this case too much excercise may have exascerbated the problem. I had symptoms within an hour of returning from night dive and was in chamber within half an hour (6 hours followed by 3 more the next morning). Upon return I was checked and found to have a pfo (actually it was an ASD or something, pretty much the same thing) which I had repaired.

Suggested solutions (for me at least) in addition to the heart "procedure". I now use nitrox virtually every dive. I don't do more than 3 dives a day (except when I reeeally can't help myself ie, liveaboard in Palau, but I did use nitrox every dive and dove as if it were air). I am now 60 myrs old and still a bit overweight although I can probably keep up with most of you on a mountain bike or an eliptical (most not all:mooner: ie: 51%). I added a lot to my excercise regime. I have had no problems since. I am glad you seem to be nearly symptom free. Perhaps you will consider some of these suggestions. Best wishes.

2 other things I just remembered. I am extremely carfull the last 15 feet of my ascent to be slow and I let the crew take my bc instead of wear it up the ladder to avoid the "hold my breathe and grunt" exertion climbing out. Those last 2 are important things I forgot to add (it was 3 am or so last night, sorry about that).

 

[vladimir]

Some good suggestions, Farside. I have also made my repetitive diving more conservative, but in a different manner. We all follow prescriptions for avoiding DCS based on other divers experience (tables, computers), and based on our own experience ("I did 5 dives a day on the Palau Aggressor and I was fine.") Rather than following a rule that has kept me and other divers safe, I rely more on feedback from my body, and I pay more attention to the circumstances of my prior dives. If I'm feeling particularly fatigued after a dive I'm done for the day. If I had a ragged ascent or a long surface swim, I'll extend the surface interval or skip the next dive.

 

[Blastman4444]

Some suggestions that may be useful. I experienced an "unexplained" dcs some time ago in Coz. My computer never complained. I had done 2 days of 2 dives a day and 4 on the 3rd day. In the past I had done up to 5 dives a day for a week on liveaboards with no problems. Possible aggravating factors were as follows. The night before my 4 dive day I walked 7 miles in the August heat. I was exhausted, and probably deydrated (yes, the dreaded dehydrated excuse, although in this case too much excercise may have exascerbated the problem. I had symptoms within an hour of returning from night dive and was in chamber within half an hour (6 hours followed by 3 more the next morning). Upon return I was checked and found to have a pfo (actually it was an ASD or something, pretty much the same thing) which I had repaired.

Suggested solutions (for me at least) in addition to the heart "procedure". I now use nitrox virtually every dive. I don't do more than 3 dives a day (except when I reeeally can't help myself ie, liveaboard in Palau, but I did use nitrox every dive and dove as if it were air). I am now 60 myrs old and still a bit overweight although I can probably keep up with most of you on a mountain bike or an eliptical (most not all:mooner: ie: 51%). I added a lot to my excercise regime. I have had no problems since. I am glad you seem to be nearly symptom free. Perhaps you will consider some of these suggestions. Best wishes.

Thanks for the suggestions feeling better thanks for asking Ill look into the PFO anyway DAN didn't think my DCS was caused by it why not have it checked out anyway. How do they repair it does it require a major surgery? I was lucky my primary care insurance is covering all of it except for $250 I would suggest everyone get the highest DAN insurance they offer $75 a year isn't much for what you get. If you leave the country I'm not sure regular insurance even covers you.

 

[Christi]

The OP's case is interesting and perhaps instructive, so I don't want to go too far off topic, but I have often wondered how the depth limits apply in the case of divers who plan a dive to recreational depths and get swept much deeper, as seems to have happened to the divers in THIS TRAGIC INCIDENT in Cozumel.

I am not sure where you read that the Cozumel dive incident was planned to recreational limits? It was actually a planned deep bounce dive, although things went wrong and they ended up much deeper than planned. When the time is appropriate, more details will emerge for accident analysis. For now, the focus is on recovery and getting the treatment needed.

As far as the OP here and what caused his hit - I'll just point out that:

• dehydration is a huge and very common reason for DCS
• IMO, the back to back 100ft dives with very short SI was not the best plan for dives the day prior to flying - nitrox would have been very helpful IMO
• rarely is it one factor that causes a DCS hit - it is typically a combination of things as I suspect in this case
• I agree 100% with Don on the DAN coverage....people, spend the extra $10 and have much more coverage and without limitations that are present with the basic plan

 

[vladimir]

I am not sure where you read that the Cozumel dive incident was planned to recreational limits?

Thanks, Christi. Yes, that was an erroneous assumption that I made and tried to correct (at Dandy Don's urging) in an earlier post to this thread:

Yes, that's why I was careful to qualify my statement with "seems," but perhaps "perhaps" would have been more apt.

Thank you for correcting me again, apparently "perhaps" is also incorrect. All of which is besides the point of my post, which was to pose a question about DAN coverage, which Dandy Don already answered. But it is certainly worthwhile to keep the facts of that incident straight.

As far as the OP here and what caused his hit - I'll just point out that:

• dehydration is a huge and very common reason for DCS

I know you have your own experience that predisposes you to this conclusion. DAN is much less sure of dehydration's role in DCS:

DAN Divers Alert Network : Decompression Illness: What Is It and What Is The Treatment?

Rapid ascents are closely linked to the risk of AGE. Other factors thought to increase the risk of DCI but for which evidence is not conclusive are obesity, dehydration, hard exercise immediately after surfacing, and pulmonary disease.