Question for those who've taken a DCS hit.

[CuriousRambler]

Or just anyone who may know. Seems like a lot of days I come home from diving and I ache somewhere or another, an ankle, a shoulder, just something hurting. So far in all my instruction, they hammer into your mind that joint pain or aches can be a possible sign of DCS. I've never experienced any other symptoms like diziness or skin rash, but every time I come home I can't help but be paranoid that I may be bent. Question being: is the joint pain you feel any different than a regular old ache? I watch my ascent rate and don't have any other issues, I just get kind of paranoid..

 

[Island Hoppa]

hey
luckily never been beant but have heard stories and talked to people. in most cases usually when u are suffering from dcs and joint pain is the sympton the pain is overwhelming. if minor joint pain gets more and more severe as time goes on throughtout the day then maybe be a bit concerned. but i get minor join pain every now and then from diving no big deal, just stay within limits and u should be fine. stay safe.

 

[DandyDon]

How old are you, and how good of phsycial condition?

Probably just hositing tanks, weights, equipment in ways your body is not accustomed to. That'll get better with more dives.

When in doubt, tho - call DAN ASAP. Hours later may be too late to help.

 

[Drewski]

Your symptoms COULD be DCS related, BUT, what is your typical dive profile?

Specifically, how deep did you go, how long did you stay, etc?

Also, have you experienced any neurological symptoms such as dizziness, loss of focus, loss of coordination, etc.?

Finally, with joint pain symptoms, getting in a hot shower or other heat related treatments typical for soothing muscles and hurting joints will generally INCREASE your joint pain because of gas expansion caused by heat. Has this happened?

If any of your answers to the medical questions are "yes," I'd suggest placing a call to DAN for a referral immediately. If all are "no," respond to this thread for more discussion.

 

[CuriousRambler]

I'm all but positive that my symptoms weren't DCS related, but there's the paranoia there so I was wondering how you might tell the difference. I'm 18 and in good physical condition as I'm leaving for Marine Corps boot camp in just a few weeks, I've been working out plenty. We took one dive to 100' but didn't dwell more than about ten seconds as one of the group's regulator freeflowed as soon as we broke about 95', so the next 10-15 minutes were spent at 15' just exploring the shoreline. Most of the dives maxed out around 25', with a couple closer to 10' for the majority of their duration, anywhere from 45-65 minutes. I was one of about two divers in the group who didn't have a computer, so I spent most of my surface intervals going over dive tables and checking my gauges for max depth. Everything was *well* within NDL's, I always paid specific attention to my ascent rate and everything...So if it is DCS related then my body simply does not want me diving.

Thanks for all the answers so far, I never would've thought about the hot shower, but it makes perfect sense. I'm thinking it may have just been the cold water and extra exposure protection. This series of dives is the first time I've been diving locally and the water was around 50*, so a drastic change from the few dives I took after my OW cert in Maui.

 

[DandyDon]

Hmmmm, based on all that, it doesn't sound like Dcs or muscle strain, but more like cold affecting your joints? But I'm 59, in mediocre shape, and did 8 dives earlier this month in 47 to 54 degree water, lots of lead and steel tanks in salt water, climbing back onto a boat, etc - with no pain. Even if you went from the water directly to a hot shower or hot tub, I can't see enough N2 loading to matter that much.

I'm at a loss. If you have an active pain imagination or low thresholed, they'll fix that fast at MCRD.

 

[Rick Inman]

I guess, in general, there are some niggles that are DCS. But like others have said, you really have to look at the profile.

When I took my hit, I'd done several minor things wrong. I had symptoms that, in retrospect, seem obvious, and yet the denial response kicked in and I only called DAN out of pressure from my wife.

You probably are being paranoid. But a little paranoia might just be the thing that keeps you diving conservative enough profiles to stay out of the chamber.

 

[Scubastud16]

i've only had problems with my right knee, but it was my first time diving (during my OW training), and i've had severe problems with my right knee due to sports injuries (lacrosse is a brutal game..i love it!). i agree with everyone else though...it doesnt seem like you'd have a problem from those dive profiles..thats really shallow.

 

[CuriousRambler]

Well the pain was in my right shoulder, which has been injured a number of times in the past, dislocated once snowboarding, jammed several other times good enough to immobilize my arm for a few days. It hurts sometimes just for the sake of hurting haha, with no real cause, just recurring pain. Like I said, I'm basically positive it couldn't be DCS, but the pain in my joints after diving (diving heavy I might add, 34lbs on a belt..I need my own BC .) kind of got me to thinking, how could you tell the difference between regular joint pain and DCS.

Only a couple dives were off a boat, and we handed all our gear up before climbing out, so there's no issue there.

 

[DandyDon]

Ok, that explains a lot. That shoulder, cold water, rented gear. ok, thanks.