New Diver- Weird Illness After Diving

[JKampel]

Hi All-

I'm new to the boards and relatively new to scuba. I've actually been certified since 1998 but have only done a few dives... in the Bay Islands, Belize and most recently Cabo San Lucas. I'm a bit scared about my recent dive in Mexico and want to get some input from the experts.

First let me say that I am blessed with a pretty good gastro system (knock wood). I typically do not get sea sick and I've never gotten sick on previous dives. Well last Thursday, I went diving...only about 60ft. I admit I was kind of nervous pre-dive and in fact ended up sitting the first dive out. On the second dive, I was not entirely calm but I did complete the dive. I felt ok but was actually pretty cold from the moment I got in the water, all the way through the dive...though I did have 2 wetsuits on.
Post dive I was really shivering and when I finally got back to my hotel both my husband and I felt pretty bad. He is much more experienced with diving and had done other dives earlier in the week with no effects. Anyway, neither of us could eat and we were very lethargic and both had bad reflux type discomfort in our chests. This lasted the rest of the day and into the evening.

At about 8pm I finally threw up. Very scary for me since that hasn't happened a lot. It's now been 5 days and I really don't feel 100% back to normal. I feel slightly woozy but thankfully haven't gotten sick again. Yet, I've been really careful about what I eat. Also, I noticed that my ears seem to clog in elevators more... just an observation. I am pretty well rested just feeling a little "blah" still in the stomach. I also can't stop thinking about the dive and how weird it was that I got sick.

So.... I guess my question is... does this sound like any kind of mild depression sickness? Has anyone ever had this happen and if so did it pass? Again, it definitely was NOT food poisoning or sea sickness. I can tell it was related to the dive. I'm scared and would appreciate any input.

Thanks,
JK

 

[Fastmarc]

Sounds like something you should call DAN about.
1-919-684-4DAN

 

[venturediver]

If this was an open water dive, I doubt it was from contaminated water. I've never experienced any gastrointestinal issues when diving. I would advise you to go to www.scubadoc.com to find out more. You might have had an experience with contaminated tank air, but if you didn't experience any respiratory problems, this is doubtful too.

 

[Web Monkey]

Sounds like something you should call DAN about.
1-919-684-4DAN

I'll vote for that.

They'll talk to you for free, even if you're not a member.

Terry

 

[LSDeep]

yep sounds good to me also, give dan a call. contaminated air sounds unlikely if it was just stomach probs. bad air most of the times goes together with headaches and often bad taste. it might have been also a food / drink bug you got completely unrelated from the dive (not so out of this world in mexico) and it just got accelerated with your diving.
keep us updated on your findings, it sounds interesting

 

[Ed Marshall]

The previous posters are right that DAN is a good call. But, honestly, I think most divers totally underestimate the threat of hypothermia. Especially in cold water. Breathing compressed air saps heat like no one's business too. Hypothermia can easily wreak havoc with your immune system. It's happened to me both snowboarding and diving. And you can get sick almost immediately or within hours. Just my $0.02.

Ed

 

[spectrum]

I agree, call DAN.

How gradual was your ascent? What was the bottom time, or was it a multilevel dive? The cold is a contributor to DCS. Diving "air"?

Pete

 

[TSandM]

Hypothermia wipes you out (personal experience) but with predominant GI symptoms, I'd be more suspicious of contaminated food or water, which Mexico is known for.

 

[Bobbin-along]

While it's always good to call DAN, the a few things that stick out pre-dive are:

1. Not feeling right for dive 1 and sat out
2. wearing 2 wetsuits and cold upon contact with water which never seemed to warm up.
3. Been diving earlier in the week without problems, which implies they have been in the location long enough to be exposed to bad food or water.

and finally that night, nausea, stomach upset, etc.

From adventures in the peace corps, I can recall those kinds of things as a low grade fever and stomach problems most likely due to food/water contamination.

 

[Barracuda2]

How about dehydration? From personal experience, diving and a lack of sufficient water plus heat can cause flu-like symptoms as well as take you a step closer to DCS. Do you recall if you were drinking enough fluids that week? and I don't mean alcohol.