please help advise me

[philfoofighter]

new to site and diving would like advise if poss i have completed medical form and was completely honest and had to go to my gp who has passed me as physically and mentally fit but has noted on form i have been through alcohol detox in the past 12 months and currently on small amount of anti deppresant is this going to affect whether they allow me to dive your advise woukld be greatfully appreciated

 

[flots am]

new to site and diving would like advise if poss i have completed medical form and was completely honest and had to go to my gp who has passed me as physically and mentally fit but has noted on form i have been through alcohol detox in the past 12 months and currently on small amount of anti deppresant is this going to affect whether they allow me to dive your advise woukld be greatfully appreciated

First, the SCUBA instructor wants your money, so you won't be disqualified unnecessarily.

Whether or not any particular medical conditions or drugs prevent you from diving would depend on the specific drug, the exact conditions you have, and the opinion of your doctor.

As long as your doc says you're OK to dive, it's very likely that your instructor will figure you're OK.

However, I will say that your doctor may not be well-versed in SCUBA diving and really has no idea if you'll be OK on the meds, so I would suggest that you read the article: DAN Divers Alert Network : Medications for Depression and Fitness to Dive for more information.

flots.

 

[spectrum]

flots am gave a good answer. Instructors are not doctors so they should defer to the opinion of yours. I have heard of cases where an instructor will take matter to their own hands but in that case just find another instructor. The important thing is that a dive savvy physician deem you fit to dive.

Pete

 

[Moebius]

new to site and diving would like advise if poss i have completed medical form and was completely honest and had to go to my gp who has passed me as physically and mentally fit but has noted on form i have been through alcohol detox in the past 12 months and currently on small amount of anti deppresant is this going to affect whether they allow me to dive your advise woukld be greatfully appreciated

Just elaborating on what flots am said. When I took my Open Water class, the instructor told us about DAN (DAN Divers Alert Network). He said that when his doctor put him on a new medication, he called DAN to see if he could still dive. He also said that we didn't even have to be members of DAN to call them for medical advice. I would check out the link flots mentioned and call them to see if they can help.

Chris

 

[terrylowe]

It can depend on the current severity of the medical problem and on the type of medication that is being used. For instance, it is probably not a good idea to dive at times of acute depression. Some doctors still use benzodiazepines (valium, xanax, ativan, librium) to treat depression (not sure why, but I've seen it). Since this family of medication can affect both your mind and reflexes, it would be a good idea to switch to a safer medicine before diving.

I fully agree with the suggestion to call DAN.

 

[philfoofighter]

thank you for you advise will take on board

 

[philfoofighter]

all your advise greatfully recieved first dive today @4.00 pm nervous but wouldnt be normal if i wasnt would I ?

 

[bowlofpetunias]

Great advice already posted and glad to hear you took it on board. It is a great sport and I am glad you are getting to give it a try. As you can already see.. this board has a wealth of knowledge! Enjoy both your diving and SB

 

[flots am]

all your advise greatfully recieved first dive today @4.00 pm nervous but wouldnt be normal if i wasnt would I ?

Assuming this is your first pool session, the instructor should start you in the shallow end of the pool, where you can simply stand up if you're unhappy about anything.

Considering that you were asking about whether or not you can dive on meds just a couple of says ago, I hope this isn't actually your first Open Water dive.

One of the things you'll need to do is learn how to figure out the difference between

1. "I'm nervous because this is new"
2. "I'm nervous because I might not be ready"
3. "I'm nervous because I'm not sure what to do"

If it's #1, that's normal.

If it's #2 or #3, that's also normal, but means you should get more training and/or pool time before you do the dive. Never let anybody push you into doing something you don't feel you're ready for.

Anyway, have fun!

I think you'll really like diving. There's nothing in the entire world as relaxing and peacefull and hovering weightless over some fish doing their "fish things" and just staring at them until it's time to come up.


flots.