worried about medical clearance for certification

[spectrum]

I'm having another cholesterol draw tomorrow a.m., so will find out at my appt. how well the Lovastatin has been working. I've been taking it for 3 months now so it has probably worked whatever "magic" it's going to work by now, is that correct?

That amout of time did it for me, good luck!

I don't plan on being a super-diver or anything like that. I'd just like to get the certification so that I can do recreational diving a few times a year.

I hope you can make it a bigger part of your life. You sound genuinely enthused about it and as I have read and I'm sure you have too the 3 best ways to become a better (stress free) diver are: Dive, Dive and Dive.

Good luck, we're all pulling for ya!

Pete

 

[knotical]

I suggest you read over the Medical Statement shown here.
http://www.wrstc.com/downloads/Medical_Statement.pdf
It is provided by the Recreational Scuba Training Council, and is used by several of the scuba training agencies, including PADI (the largest). It might be the form your dive instructor will ask you to take to take to your physician. It shows relative risks and severe risks for scuba diving. It should give you an idea of what to expect and the likelihood of whether you will “pass”. Good luck.

 

[reefsong]

PLEASE do not dive until you get your medical conditions treated and under control. And although I would be the first one to advise you to stop smoking, when weighed against the rest of what you have shared, it is not your most immediate and pressing priority.

Taking Xanax 4 times a day for the last 22 years with or without a declaration that you can't function without it says to me that you are addicted to benzodiazepines (Valium, Xanax, Ativan, Klonopin etc.). And although there are benzo's with longer half-lives than Xanax, they are ALL extremely addicting, especially Xanax. Your first priority ought to be to sit down with a physician and psychiatrist you can trust and figure out a way to wean you off Xanax in a very supervised and safe way, while starting you on one or more other medications for your panic disorder. There are also many other mood disorders that can have overlapping symptoms in many ways, so that treating can become quite complicated as a result. When that happens, "standard" anti-anxiety medications may not work when the true disorder may actually be something else. Keeping you sedated for 22 years on Xanax is not being responsive to your medical needs, and I would argue is irresponsible. I'd love to hear first hand from the physician who's been willing to treat you like this for so many years to understand his/her thinking. Or perhaps it's just been you "doctor shopping" all these years and your physician(s) have no idea what you are doing.

Even though you do not feel drowsy and do not get a high, you ARE addicted, no less than the alcoholic who is drinking solely for maintenance, not to get drunk, but to stave off his tremors so that he can just function "normally". Please understand this! You are risking your own life and the lives of others who might have to rescue you (including your own son!) if you were to have a seizure U/W.

Please get some responsible treatment ASAP so that you can safely get on with the pleasures of life, including the joy of scuba diving with a loved one!

 

[pilot fish]

I had/have(?) the generalized type where there is no particular stimulus or stressor that triggers the panic. When I was having the attacks they would just hit me out of the blue - boom! - for no reason at all. But after the Xanax rx they stopped entirely. I take Xanax 4 times a day, so diving while on the meds is a "must". It's hard to explain, but after taking the meds for this long, if I don't take them THAT is when I'm not in any condition to dive rather than the other way around. IOW, I'm "normal" when I take them and function well in any situation, but if I don't take them I'm definitely not fit to do much of anything, let alone dive. Taking the meds does not "drug" me anymore. During the first year? Yes, they made me drowsy and performance was down. After 22yrs? No. ~Without~ them I'm "drugged" and performance is down. Hope that makes sense.

That is why I asked *when* you took Xanax, I assumed it was one does, because it would interfere with having a clear head diving and effect motor skills. Now that you are stating it's 4 times a day, that makes it different. While I am not a medical pereson I think it is clear that this bit of information needs a closer look. What millogram is each pill?

22 years of taking a med to mask a problem, that is probably not even there anymore, is not the way to treat someone. What you are experiencing, probably, when you stop or miss a dose, is withdrawal from the med, not a reaccurrance of panic disorder, I would think. You need to wean off this med before you can dive, would be my advice.

Good luck with this. You can do it but you must take the first step, with your doctor, - get off that medication

 

[jerryn]

IMHO find another activity.

You have all of the classic predispositions for a nasty accident which could involve those you are diving with in addition to yourself. Diving has been known to give rise to stressors that are new and different, underwater is no place for a panic attack (read death, embolism, dcs, paralysis). Nor is it a place for a heart attack which invariably leads to death. Smoking and medications(sometimes) interfer with offgassing and will simply make things worse in the event of a problem. There are many other great activities such as snorkeling or even free diving which are safer for you and the friends and family you are with. Sorry, this is not an activity for everyone, in spite of what some for profit certification agencies might claim.

I have not found Kaiser to be knowledgable about hyperbaric trauma and medicine. I have found them to be quite willing to do a complete heart workup in search of cardiovascular disease. I believe they have a stop smoking clinic as well. If you want an opinion from someone who is not an amatuer (me), you should contact DAN, ask them your questions and get a reference to a diving physician. My guess is that they will tell you to stick to skiing. You will have to pay yourself, but having a heart attack at 30' is a kind of paying yourself as well.

Jerry

Jerry

 

[LuvDaOcean]

Wow...the last thing I expected on a scuba medical board was to get flamed for disclosing & asking for opinions about my medical conditions in regards to diving. eek!

Yes, reefsong, I wish you could speak to my prescribing psychiatrist as well. You'd learn a few things that you don't know about panic disorder and the medications used to control them. Also, your suggestion that I've been "doctor shopping" for all of these years was an awful accusation to make against somebody you don't even know. Ouch!

Thank you, pilotfish, for prefacing your post with the fact that you're not a "medical person". It made all the difference.

Jerry...oh, nevermind.

reefraff and knotical...thank you both very much for your straightforward replies. Much appreciated.

Pete, you're a nice person. And open-minded, as well. Thanks for helping to keep my hopes up even if this doesn't work out for me.

Toni

 

[pilot fish]

Wow...the last thing I expected on a scuba medical board was to get flamed for disclosing & asking for opinions about my medical conditions in regards to diving. eek!

Yes, reefsong, I wish you could speak to my prescribing psychiatrist as well. You'd learn a few things that you don't know about panic disorder and the medications used to control them. Also, your suggestion that I've been "doctor shopping" for all of these years was an awful accusation to make against somebody you don't even know. Ouch!

Thank you, pilotfish, for prefacing your post with the fact that you're not a "medical person". It made all the difference.

Jerry...oh, nevermind.

reefraff and knotical...thank you both very much for your straightforward replies. Much appreciated.

Pete, you're a nice person. And open-minded, as well. Thanks for helping to keep my hopes up even if this doesn't work out for me.

Toni

Please, Toni, no one is flaming you. I would not like that if they were . I think you are brave and wise to post this info here to seek help. If anyone flames you they will be told to bug off!

That said, let me advice you that you might not even need the xanax 4 times a day.[see your doc] I will also tell you that it might get in the way of diving, that amount of meds anyway. I occasionaly have to take a 5mg ambien pill to help me sleep the night before a dive but I would never take one just before diving. Most people take some form of medication but nothing that will interfere with thinking or motor skills on a dive.

This dream is a worthy one ,we just want you to be safe.

 

[MoonWrasse]

Wow...the last thing I expected on a scuba medical board was to get flamed for disclosing & asking for opinions about my medical conditions in regards to diving. eek!

Yes, reefsong, I wish you could speak to my prescribing psychiatrist as well. You'd learn a few things that you don't know about panic disorder and the medications used to control them. Also, your suggestion that I've been "doctor shopping" for all of these years was an awful accusation to make against somebody you don't even know. Ouch!

Thank you, pilotfish, for prefacing your post with the fact that you're not a "medical person". It made all the difference.

Jerry...oh, nevermind.

reefraff and knotical...thank you both very much for your straightforward replies. Much appreciated.

Pete, you're a nice person. And open-minded, as well. Thanks for helping to keep my hopes up even if this doesn't work out for me.

Toni

People are just being honest. It's a sign of respect to be honest and blunt with you. Would you rather we just smiled and nodded our heads?

IMO, Jerry is right on the nose. Please don't be so dismissive, but don't be discouraged.

 

[pilot fish]

People are just being honest. It's a sign of respect to be honest and blunt with you. Would you rather we just smiled and nodded our heads?

IMO, Jerry is right on the nose. Please don't be so dismissive, but don't be discouraged.

Moon is right, Toni, we all want you to be safe. That is the most important thing. Honesty is the only way to get the real deal, even though some of us have been muzzled for it.

Be safe. You can do it, but you must give up a few things to do it properly, smoking and all that medication need to go, but speak to your doc.

 

[reefsong]

Dear LuvDaOcean,

My response to you was not intended to 'dis you in any way, but these forums are supposed to be anonymous and I (as well as others) assume that you would prefer an honest response to your post, instead of a rubber stamp to affirm what you're already doing. (I am also not the one who was using your first name publicly, since I would have no way of knowing who you are.)

You were very detailed and honest in your post in a way that would cause anyone on the Board to assume you would also want a detailed and HONEST answer.

That said, I do have a reasonable grasp of the topic as I not only have two members of my family and several friends who are "in the program" (AA/NA), but I am also a physician who has treated panic disorder patients acutely in my practice. It can be a complicated and multi-factorial disorder, and I defer chronic treatment to the shrinks who know what they're doing. Your description of your history suggests that your disorder may not be as controlled as you might think.

You also suggested that you weren't that happy with the medical care you have received. It is critical that you find someone that you like and trust to treat you. I heard you describe some pretty scary stuff along with what sounds to me like a strong dose of denial, a hallmark of untreated addiction.

I wish you well and I wish you good health and hope that you find some answers.