#63738 - 06/05/07 06:39 AM
Dive physiology help..
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sst
Member
Registered: 12/07/05
Posts: 483
Loc: Texas
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Anyone know a good source to contact regarding dive medicine and physiology? Other than DAN, that is? We just returned from 10 days in the Caribbean and on the first dive (after just 5 minutes at 40 feet) my wife started experiencing a "heaviness" to her and couldn't catch her breath. Her arms began to go numb and stayed somewhat tingly for a couple of hours after the dive - even tho we never went below 40 feet and after her symptoms appeared I kept her at 15 ft safety stop level for quite a while..
Apparently she had these symptoms on dives last year in FP, but thought she may be just having panic attacks due to the sharks etc.. in Rangiroa - plus the diving there is difficult with the waves and the zodiac etc.. The diving where we just came from is relatively easy and no sharks (we saw one, but after her symptoms already started)..
Anyways, I unfortunately "beached" her after that dive for safety reasons and didn't let her dive the rest of the trip, since she'd shown these symptoms last year as well - not wanting to take any unneccessary risks considering her issues could be either circulatory or respiratory or both.. I do have a background in this with my own accident years ago (in fact this trip the same leg began to tingle 3 days after we got home and I sucked down several aspirin and a gallon of water ad walked around and staved it off - I think I'm throwing clots, which run in my family, from dehydration) but like to talk with someone knowledgeable in dive medicine - there is nobody in our town with any dive medicine experience..
So, if you have any recommendations of who to contact, please let me know.. thanks so much.. Looking forward to our ten year anniversary in FP next year - hopefully we can dive together again if we get these issues resolved...
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#63760 - 06/05/07 12:00 PM
Re: Dive physiology help..
[Re: sst]
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Scubagal
Junior Member
Registered: 11/06/06
Posts: 36
Loc: Nebraska
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Not sure this will help, but here's a link to a website I've seen referred to on other forums: http://scuba-doc.com. Good luck, hope you can get this resolved before your next trip to FP.
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#63762 - 06/05/07 12:23 PM
Re: Dive physiology help..
[Re: Scubagal]
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sst
Member
Registered: 12/07/05
Posts: 483
Loc: Texas
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Thanks Scubagal - I found that link after posting the first message and appears to be a great source of info with doctors as members and administrators of the message boards.. Thanks again and hopefully we can get it resolved..
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#63787 - 06/05/07 07:42 PM
Re: Dive physiology help..
[Re: sst]
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Carol S
Member
Registered: 02/03/04
Posts: 458
Loc: La Cañada, CA USA
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When we were at Raimiti on Fakarava last September, we took two trips to the South Pass and snorkeled there. We had made an appointment to dive, but as we rode the tide in we were completely awed by the corals, the fish, the colors, the sharks, etc. etc. We also looked down below us in the pass and saw the divers riding the same current in...but without the gorgeous colors that we were experiencing. We decided that we really didn't need to dive and probably wouldn't see anything more beautiful than what we were experiencing, so we walked back out along the shore and took another drift in! Sometimes there ARE things down deeper that you can't really see by snorkeling..the schooner on the reef on Raiatea, some of the deep corals and sponges in the American Virgin Islands, wreck dives, etc. But in Tahiti, if there is good diving, there's usually good snorkeling nearby, and without the worries that you are experiencing. Seems to me, that's become a really risky sport for you both!
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#63794 - 06/06/07 06:20 AM
Re: Dive physiology help..
[Re: Carol S]
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sst
Member
Registered: 12/07/05
Posts: 483
Loc: Texas
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Carol - yes it is risky now, but worth it for me at least.. I've been diving for around 16 years and have loved every minute of it - well, except for my accident, which could have been fixed had the doctor known anything about dive medicine.. We have found great snorkeling in areas we dive, but its just the pure act of diving and becoming one with the undersea world that intrigues me - plus there is just so much more to see at depth. To me its very addicting - to have to now limit myself to one dive a day due to someone's incompetance is really annoying, but better than not participating at all.. My wife feels the same way, so we will try ot resolve her issues as bet we can without taking any unnecessary risks. Thank you for the comments - they are well taken and will be our option is diving becomes out of the question for us....
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#63799 - 06/06/07 08:26 AM
Re: Dive physiology help..
[Re: sst]
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Carol S
Member
Registered: 02/03/04
Posts: 458
Loc: La Cañada, CA USA
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We, too, have been diving for about 15 years--took an intro dive at Kia Ora on Rangiroa and got hooked. Came home and got certified at the local Y--had to take our certification dive in the middle of February and it was COLD. However, the dive boat had a jacuzzi on board--we crammed in there like sardines.
I agree, I love being down low and quietly listening to my own bubbles--I expect Cousteau to come swimming by any minute! But I would give it up in a minute if I had to. I'm not too sure about diving this year--we will be on Moorea, Bora Bora and Manihi-- because I have had back and shoulder surgery this year--wish me luck!
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#63806 - 06/06/07 12:17 PM
Re: Dive physiology help..
[Re: Carol S]
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sst
Member
Registered: 12/07/05
Posts: 483
Loc: Texas
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Carol - yeah you might check into your surgeries and diving just to make sure there wouldn't be any complications.. I, myself, have fought hard to continue diving, having an ultrasound on my affected leg, lung and chest x-rays, dropped to 1 dive per day, take aspirin and cram down Gatorade by the quart on dive days as well as taking extra long safety stops.. in the long run I think my issue was a blood clot cause by dehydration (and genetics as they run in my family) and so far I'v ebeen able to continue diving, albeit in moderation for safety's sake - if I have another full blown issue it'll be over for me, so I'm trying to keep diving as long as I can..
Good luck and look into the surgeries on the site Scubagal posted - it is an AWESOME resource for diving related health issues..
Take care,
Steve
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#63994 - 06/13/07 01:42 PM
Re: Dive physiology help..
[Re: sst]
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sst
Member
Registered: 12/07/05
Posts: 483
Loc: Texas
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Well, don't anyone bother to try and join the scuba-doc.com forums.. they ask for a login, password, and valid email, which I supplied a week ago. I just got an email today saying my request was rejected! So I just sent an email asking how they could reject me based only on the criteria of my login/password combo and email address.. That's pretty ridiculous.. I guess they didn't like my name or something - which was sst..
Now I have nowhere to go to get answers for our dive related issues for next year's BB trip - yet they answer other people's questions who arn't even members..
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#63995 - 06/13/07 03:46 PM
Re: Dive physiology help..
[Re: sst]
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Old Wife
Expert Advisor
Registered: 02/21/03
Posts: 2302
Loc: Burlington, Ontario, Canada
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Did you try joining with a hotmail-type email address? Try joining using your "real" one (from your isp). A lot of forums get burned with spam and turn down any email address that isn't "real".
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#63997 - 06/13/07 05:49 PM
Re: Dive physiology help..
[Re: Old Wife]
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sst
Member
Registered: 12/07/05
Posts: 483
Loc: Texas
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Old wife - yes I used my real isp address.. I don't even have a hotmail or yahoo account.. I sent an email requesting an explanation, but haven't heard back yet.. I had to look it up on the site because the rejection email had no return address..
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