Sudafed / Pseudoephedrine & Diving (on air)

[MoonWrasse]

Try searching here.

 

[KrisB]

I did. No better luck. But perhaps I missed something... have you seen any relevant threads?

 

[Charlie99]

The reason I do not like this drug for diving is that it causes some vasoconstriction (can raise your BP) and also causes tachycardia in many people. (sympathomimetic)
With so many diving deaths resulting from heart attacks, it seems like a bad idea to me. Personally, I had several very bad reactions to it where my heart raced while diving, before I figured it out. I am pretty casual about having a beer with lunch...maybe diving later that day, etc., but this medication seems dangerous to me for it's cardiovascular effects. The seizure threshold effects, I think are suspect.

These are the reasons I'm nervous about using Sudafed while diving, above and beyond the nervous, twitchy feeling I get when using it. To this non-medically train casual observer, the effects of Sudafed seem to be cumulative with the effects of adrenaline.

When done right, diving can be one of the least stressful, lowest exercise level sports around, but you never know when you will have something come up where you have to do a lot of hard swimming.
Just like any other medicine, I recommend trying out the sudafed on a non-dive day, and doing some strenuous exercise to see what effects it has.

 

[DandyDon]

Pseudoephedrine HCl is chemically similar to Speed and can have a similar affect on some. This varies a lot. It's a daily maintenance OTC med for me: 2 to 4 - 60 mg pills with an antihistamine, so I have no problems. I take one just before bed, while some people can't sleep at all after one.

If you're going to use a decongestant or antihistamine, try it on land a few times and see what your own reaction may be..??

 

[Ber Rabbit]

I've taken it before diving on some occasions and noticed no ill effects, I use the 12 hour version if I can't find the 24 hour version. I notice on land that the 12 hour med wears off after about 8 hours in my system so I keep that in mind when determining what time to take it if I'm going to need it. I did find that I cannot mix Meclizine (Bonine, Non-Drowsy Dramamine) with Sudafed and dive. The combination makes me extremely restless and paranoid almost to the point of terror on a dive as shallow as 50 feet. I don't notice these feelings on land when I combine the two though.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[occrider]

I take it with every dive because I have to. I have chronic sinusitis and I get horribly painful sinus squeeze as shallow as 6ft. I don't dive nitrox yet, but I imagine I will in the near future. I'll probably plan my dives a bit more conservatively to take into account the sudafed. I also use affrin in order to ward off the possibility of a reverse block in case one wears off. C'est la vie if I want to dive.

 

[MoonWrasse]

Pseudoephedrine HCl is chemically similar to Speed and can have a similar affect on some. This varies a lot. It's a daily maintenance OTC med for me: 2 to 4 - 60 mg pills with an antihistamine, so I have no problems. I take one just before bed, while some people can't sleep at all after one.

If you're going to use a decongestant or antihistamine, try it on land a few times and see what your own reaction may be..??

By your photo I would've never guessed you were a speed freak

 

[KrisB]

Oddly enough, I've found that Sudafed gives me a stronger reaction than Caffeine sometimes... to the point of not being able to sleep.

The trouble is, I often can't sleep with the severe congestion that comes with a cold, so my only solution is to take the pill just as I'm going to bed, then hopefully fall asleep before it kicks in completely!

I have, from time to time, also experienced the "racing heart" condition. Overall, Sudafed hasn't been good for my diving -- my ears have typically cleared easier when I'm *not* using it.

The main reason I wanted to ask this question is there seems to be a great deal of disagreement as to the safety side. I witnessed a DM recommending it (as a "fellow diver" not a "professional"), then providing it to the diver between dives. The diver had a reverse block afterwards.

 

[ScubaRandy]

I don't take Sudafed when I dive because of the mentioned side effects, but yet, living here in the allergy capital of the US (Nashville, TN), pollen sometimes gets so bad that you do need to take something.... Alfalfa tablets from local health food stores....

Yes I know it sounds bad, but I'm here to tell you, having dove when the pollen is raging, take a couple of alfalfa in the morning before diving, it lasts me all day and into the evening... No side effects (other than being VERY thirsty), no BP raised, and best of all it's easier to get than the Sudafed and cheaper.... 500 tablets cost about $14.00 here...

Randy Cain

 

[O2BBubbleFree]

Like Da Don, I take Sudafed as a 'maintenance' drug. Otherwise I am constantly 'fighting' my eustacion tubes.

I personally use the four-hour version because the 12- and 24- hour versions don't work for me. Not sure why.

What I've gleaned from the DAN site is that it's basically OK within reason:

If you are taking it to clear out the effects of a cold, it's better to wait out the cold. If you take it as an allergy maintenance medicine, it may be OK.

If you are thinking of using it on dives make sure you know how it affects you on land. As mentioned, it makes some people excitable, which may contribute to panic u/w. Not good.

DAN also recommends the 12- or 24-hour version.

But that's just the way I understood their site. Best try to understand it for yourself.