Question Prior Injuries and Diving (Wounds, Stroke, DCS)

[Miyaru]

Good to see you have surfaced again @Trace Malinowski

The standard advice after a chamber ride (following DCI) is not to dive for:

1 month.​

2 months.​

The rule differs per country. It is not based on any medical study.

Three years ago I wrote about my chamber ride and diving again after 5 days. The first comments were about jumping back into the water so soon.
I did discuss returning to diving the day after my incident with the doctor that DAN appointed to me. He wanted to see MRI results before clearing me for trimix dives. He didn't have a problem with me teaching OW in a pool, he advised me to dive on (high oxygen) nitrox. I was cleared for trimix dives within 4 weeks after the incident based on the MRI results.

My case was a tiny little mosquito bite compared to what you have been through. So a different advise wouldn't surprise me. Just remember that a simple no cannot probably has an insurance or liability reason and most likely not a medical reason.
So if you get a negative outcome, ask the doctor to explain exactly why. And if there's too many medical terms, ask the doctor to explain it in a way so you can understand (which is the most important part of a doctor's job). If he can't, ask him to write it down so you can get a second opinion from a different hyperbaric physician.

 

[boulderjohn]

As I age and deal with the gathering infirmities and how they could relate to my diving, I have been thinking a lot about Bob Marley.

Bob Marley is famous for two things--making great reggae music and smoking marijuana. I bet most people would be surprised to learn that he was very much into physical fitness and playing soccer. When he was having some problems with a toe, he went to a doctor and discovered he had melanoma. The doctors he consulted wanted to amputate immediately--some just the foot, but others the leg.

He couldn't stand the thought of not being able to play soccer (etc.) so he shopped and shopped and shopped until he found a doctor who thought he would be OK without amputation. That was the doctor he used. Once he was "cured," he stopped going to doctors for that problem altogether.

Well, he of course eventually died young of that melanoma. He could be around making great music while using a prosthesis, but he decided that living a certain lifestyle was more important than living. I try to keep that in mind. I have to know when it is time to let go of something for the greater good, and I have to know when I can keep going. The hard part is knowing which is which.

 

[scubadada]

No. It is not PADI bashing. It is commercial diving instruction bashing.
Please note that I now mention SSI, SDI, TDI and NAUI also!
Also, what I say, are facts. Or can you prove the opposite?

Calling this PADI bashing would be unfair. If you call this anticommercial then I will agree.

CMAS is different of course, because it is a non-commercial organization.

Does CMAS have a medical questionare for any reason, advanced training, technical training, CCR?

 

[Trace Malinowski]

There may be some diving docs here, but not one would or should give you medical advice without looking at your charts.

And as to your doctors, you aint asking them to rebuild your regulators.

You are focused on my motivations for the OP and not the questions I asked in my OP. A doctor should be able to post about the relationship of different injuries to perfusion and off-gassing.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

As I age and deal with the gathering infirmities and how they could relate to my diving, I have been thinking a lot about Bob Marley.

Bob Marley is famous for two things--making great reggae music and smoking marijuana. I bet most people would be surprised to learn that he was very much into physical fitness and playing soccer. When he was having some problems with a toe, he went to a doctor and discovered he had melanoma. The doctors he consulted wanted to amputate immediately--some just the foot, but others the leg.

He couldn't stand the thought of not being able to play soccer (etc.) so he shopped and shopped and shopped until he found a doctor who thought he would be OK without amputation. That was the doctor he used. Once he was "cured," he stopped going to doctors for that problem altogether.

Well, he of course eventually died young of that melanoma. He could be around making great music while using a prosthesis, but he decided that living a certain lifestyle was more important than living. I try to keep that in mind. I have to know when it is time to let go of something for the greater good, and I have to know when I can keep going. The hard part is knowing which is which.

I have no interest in life, but a huge interest in the quality of that life.

 

[Subcooled]

Does CMAS have a medical questionare for any reason, advanced training, technical training, CCR?

CMAS, The World Underwater Federation, founded in 1959, is an international association of non-commercial (as opposed to NAUI, PADI, SSI and others) diving clubs and it does have a medical questionnaire and its members do offer cave and trimix and CCR courses. We do value skill over profit.
Training Map

 

[Trace Malinowski]

CMAS, The World Underwater Federation, founded in 1959, is an international association of non-commercial (as opposed to NAUI, PADI, SSI and others) diving clubs and it does have a medical questionnaire and its members do offer cave and trimix and CCR courses. We do value skill over profit.
Training Map

John has skill.

 

[Subcooled]

John has skill.

I have no clue what this means, sorry???

 

[FishWatcher747]

I have no clue what this means, sorry???

Subcooled, you got triggered by the mention of the word PADI. You highjacked a perfectly good thread to discuss your opinions on training agencies.

Why don't you start your own thread on training agencies?

 

[Subcooled]

Subcooled, you got triggered by the mention of the word PADI. You highjacked a perfectly good thread to discuss your opinions on training agencies.

Why don't you start your own thread on training agencies?

OK, now I understand. You feel that my opinion on maximizing profit belongs in another thread.

1. The OP asked a question about beeing seen as fit to dive or not.
2. That question is related to not only medicine but also to risk assessment, insurance, duty of care and such, i.e. profit vs. liability.
3. Any diving organisation aiming at maximizing profit (all professional diving instruction and guiding agencies as far as I understand) needs to find a sweet spot between risk and profit. Risk is minimized by denying all diving. Profit is maximized by allowing everything once a credit card is shown (when ignoring liabilities). Somewhere inbetween lies the achievable optimum. The customer benefits. The instructor benefits. The temptation of more income may be great, though.

This just to explain my previous comment. I understand that many will disagree with this, especially with #3, because almost every instructor takes pride in safety. But then there is the really difficult question whether one should take two or four students... and we are back at #3.

I do agree that my words about one specific training agency were a bit harsh and exaggerated and pointing too much at one specific organization.

Let us forget named agencies and focus on profit vs liabilities instead.