Lexapro/Xanax and Diving

[jo8243]

I have a co-worker who is taking Lexapro and Xanax for Anxiety problems. His anxiety problem (not panic attacks) has a specific trigger which has nothing to do with diving. He is interested in taking scuba lessons but I told him I wasn't sure if the effects of the medication could change with depth. Apparently lexapro is a fairly new medication and there isn't much data on it. Other than this he is in good health. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks

 

[100days-a-year]

Tell your friend to get clearances from his shrink and a dive doc.Also tell him to consider a new shrink, Xanax is definitely not the best drug to treat anxiety.A quick read of a PDR is always a good idea before starting out on a new drug.The narcotic effect of Xanax added to the effects of nitrogen narcosis may be to debilitating.

 

[H2Andy]

Xanax is definitely not the best drug to treat anxiety.

i am not a doctor, but i completely agree. Xanax is highly addictive to boot.

FYI, i take lithium and celexa (the "older" version of lexapro -- not really, but i don't know the real difference) and have been diving with no problems for two years. i was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder
and recently as being bipolar.

definetely have your friend get a second (or third) opinon on this from a
doctor, though.

 

[beche de mer]

I have a co-worker who is taking Lexapro and Xanax for Anxiety problems. His anxiety problem (not panic attacks) has a specific trigger which has nothing to do with diving. Thanks

I'm not sure that scuba is the best new hobby for your friend. Although his/her anxiety disorder has a specific trigger which is not dive-related (is it a phobia?), there is crossover between the various anxiety disorders.

Would he/she be a greater risk than, say, you, if he/she were in a life-threatening situation which required the correct decision making and execution?

FWIW. "The Sports Diving Medical" by Dr John Parker - a reference I use a lot, states that "I would not recommend anyone with any disabiling anxiety symptoms or requiring benzodiazepines to dive."

 

[Drew Sailbum]

Call it an anecdote, but I have seen a diver on Xanax go into nasty convulsions post dive. Profiles were well within table limits, and recompression treatment followed. Chamber technician reported that things got much worse as recompression began before it got better.

I would definitely be wary of diving on Xanax.

 

[Saturation]

A diver with anxiety or panic disorders are 2-3x more likely to panic in water. The effect of the drugs themselves at depth are not as significant if the patient is without side effects on the surface [e.g. sleepiness] and divers limit their depth. As others mention, the risk of increased effects of narcosis at depth maybe greater with Xanax, and other classes of benzodiazepine, but if one is on such drugs for a time, the effect is less an issue than panic control by the medication itself.

Panic and anxiety disorders may not be an issue in most dives but should anything go wrong, it would not be pleasant: gear malfunction, aggressive shark, confusion due to narcosis etc. Since you can only die once, one has to panic at the wrong time but once to create a problem, and potentially for the normal buddy. A large number of accidents reported to DAN are related to panic.

http://scuba-doc.com/psych.htm#Anxiety