I've got a question for the Diving Doc's on the board. I know you can't make a diagnosis over the internet but I would really like to know what you think about this.
Back in September I went on a weeks vacation to Provo. I made 2 dives a day for the first 3 days, took the 4th day off, made 2 AM dives and one PM dive on the 5th day and one AM dive on the 6th day. All dives were done with a computer and within the NDL displayed. I made safty stops after every dive and even extended the stops from 3 minutes to between 6 to 10 minutes just to be safe. I was out of the water on the last dive of the vacation about 28 hours prior to my flight home. Somewhere between the 5th and 6th day I noticed a very mild ache in my left shoulder. I didn't think anything about it at first because it was so minor that I barely even noticed it and because I had followed all the rules, made my safty stops, took a day off of diving in the middle of the week and didn't blow my NDL's. There was no numbness, no tingling, no loss of strength, no skin rash nothing that would tell you it could be DCS other then a very mild ache. My first thought was that I had pulled something after carrying all that heavy gear for the last 5 days and I didn't give it another thought.
After I got home and the pain in my shoulder didn't go away I began to think maybe something was wrong. I called DAN and told them my story. They suggested that I go see a Hyperbaraic specialist at the local hospital just to be safe.
I went to the local hospital that DAN recommended and spoke with the Doctor there. After telling him the same story and a quick nero exam and some Xrays of my shoulder his exact words to me were "If you had told me the same story but said the pain started after you finished cleaning out your garage I'd tell you to go home, take 2 aspirin, and put a heating pad on it but sense you say you noticed it shortly after a dive I can't tell you for sure one way or the other". He told me that sense it had been about a week since I first noticed the pain, and that seeing as it was such a mild case, if in deed it even was DCS, that he was going to leave it up to me whether or not to take a chamber ride.
I desided to take the ride figuring that it couldn't hurt and if I was bent it could only help. 5 hours later as I stepped out of the chamber I was feeling good. The pain seemed to have subsided and the Doc was pleased at the out-come.
It's been a few weeks sense the chamber dive and the pain in my shoulder has returned. I remember the Doc telling me that might happen as the swelling might come back for a week or so, but not this long. I still have full strength in my arm it's just that my shoulder joint hurts and now, sometimes, I think I might feel a little tingling although it's hard to tell if it's real or just in my mind because I'm thinking about it all the time.
What should I do? I've never had DCS before, nor do I know of anyone who has, so I don't know what I should and shouldn't be feeling, or how long all this takes to heal. It it common for DCS to return if this was in fact DCS to begin with? Should I go back for another chamber ride? The reason I'm not so sure that some of this isn't just all in my head is that if I'm preoccupied with something, like work, I don't even notice anything but a slight pain in my shoulder.
Please give me some advise as I have no idea what's going on and I'm really starting to get worried.
Thanks,
Scott
Back in September I went on a weeks vacation to Provo. I made 2 dives a day for the first 3 days, took the 4th day off, made 2 AM dives and one PM dive on the 5th day and one AM dive on the 6th day. All dives were done with a computer and within the NDL displayed. I made safty stops after every dive and even extended the stops from 3 minutes to between 6 to 10 minutes just to be safe. I was out of the water on the last dive of the vacation about 28 hours prior to my flight home. Somewhere between the 5th and 6th day I noticed a very mild ache in my left shoulder. I didn't think anything about it at first because it was so minor that I barely even noticed it and because I had followed all the rules, made my safty stops, took a day off of diving in the middle of the week and didn't blow my NDL's. There was no numbness, no tingling, no loss of strength, no skin rash nothing that would tell you it could be DCS other then a very mild ache. My first thought was that I had pulled something after carrying all that heavy gear for the last 5 days and I didn't give it another thought.
After I got home and the pain in my shoulder didn't go away I began to think maybe something was wrong. I called DAN and told them my story. They suggested that I go see a Hyperbaraic specialist at the local hospital just to be safe.
I went to the local hospital that DAN recommended and spoke with the Doctor there. After telling him the same story and a quick nero exam and some Xrays of my shoulder his exact words to me were "If you had told me the same story but said the pain started after you finished cleaning out your garage I'd tell you to go home, take 2 aspirin, and put a heating pad on it but sense you say you noticed it shortly after a dive I can't tell you for sure one way or the other". He told me that sense it had been about a week since I first noticed the pain, and that seeing as it was such a mild case, if in deed it even was DCS, that he was going to leave it up to me whether or not to take a chamber ride.
I desided to take the ride figuring that it couldn't hurt and if I was bent it could only help. 5 hours later as I stepped out of the chamber I was feeling good. The pain seemed to have subsided and the Doc was pleased at the out-come.
It's been a few weeks sense the chamber dive and the pain in my shoulder has returned. I remember the Doc telling me that might happen as the swelling might come back for a week or so, but not this long. I still have full strength in my arm it's just that my shoulder joint hurts and now, sometimes, I think I might feel a little tingling although it's hard to tell if it's real or just in my mind because I'm thinking about it all the time.
What should I do? I've never had DCS before, nor do I know of anyone who has, so I don't know what I should and shouldn't be feeling, or how long all this takes to heal. It it common for DCS to return if this was in fact DCS to begin with? Should I go back for another chamber ride? The reason I'm not so sure that some of this isn't just all in my head is that if I'm preoccupied with something, like work, I don't even notice anything but a slight pain in my shoulder.
Please give me some advise as I have no idea what's going on and I'm really starting to get worried.
Thanks,
Scott
