Day whatever, Dahab> but no DCS!
Well, much to report. Spent three days in Bristol then set out again for Devizes... however, my knee then decided that no, it was not going to make it and started playing up worse than ever. This meant a rethink about what to do next. No way could I carry on cycling, just wasn't going to happen. Sticking around the South West for two or three weeks was an option but not one I relished. Came back to the old maxim, when in doubt go diving!
Got a train back to Manchester, helped Helen sort the house out for a few days then got a cheapie flight to Sharm. Originally I booked for a week but then the thought struck why just a week? So I extended it to two weeks and here I am. Arrived a couple of days ago, on a flight mostly without incident, aside from someones bottle of vodka breaking in the overhead compartment during touchdown. This provided a refreshing shower for the people five rows ahead, although not, alas, including the person whose vodka it was. Still could have been worse, the other bottle up there was Malibu!
Got to Poseidin dive center yesterday and when I arrived Hanny {sp?} took one look at me, said hello and went and got me my Advanced PADI card I'd left there two years previously. Which was nice... seriously, fantastic memory! One look, a hello and you left my card. This was the guy who services the kit, didn't know I was coming, just one look.
Went diving yesterday, couple of nice easy dives. First to 20m at Mashraba so they could check me out, then down to the Islands for the afternoon, always a fave of mine, for a 17m dive. Couple of hours after the dive I started to get a nasty tingling in my left hand... similar to but weaker than the incident last August. Queue spending a coule of hours of increasing worry before I gave in and went to the dive center. A quick call to the hyperbaric doctor got me put on O2 for an hour then taken to the chamber. I was not in a happy place mentally during that hour, I figured that was probably it for my diving career. I spent part of the time totting up how much I could get for all my kit on ebay and wondering if sking would be a safer hobby. Or possibly crocodile wrestling.
Got to the chamber by which time the symptons were beginning to remit and was given a thourgh neurological exam by Dr Adel. Lots of touching with pins and brushes, hot bottles and cold, resistance tests and so on. We got to the end of the exam and the diagnosis... {drum roll please} no DCS. Er... what? No DCS and he thought the last incident had been misdiagnosed. In his opinion it was probably a problem with the nerves, possibly in my shoulders. WTF? Shit. Remember these guys in Dahab deal with diving injuries every day.
I would have to be refered to a neurologist in the UK to track down the problem but dive wise I should be OK. I would, of course, not be able to dive for at least 24 hours and I would need three shots of vitamin B complex for my nerves. In the buttocks natuarally. Please feel free to make your own prick in the arse in Egpyt jokes at this point. I know I did.
Had the second injection a couple of hours ago, and I'm off diving for another 24 hours, down to high blood pressure, which I can appreicate as my chest still feels stressed.
The folks from the dive center took me back and we had a chat. I felt like a bit of a twat but better safe than sorry. Turns out one of them has had exactly the same problem... gave some good advice on it as well!
Life continues to be eventful...
Got a train back to Manchester, helped Helen sort the house out for a few days then got a cheapie flight to Sharm. Originally I booked for a week but then the thought struck why just a week? So I extended it to two weeks and here I am. Arrived a couple of days ago, on a flight mostly without incident, aside from someones bottle of vodka breaking in the overhead compartment during touchdown. This provided a refreshing shower for the people five rows ahead, although not, alas, including the person whose vodka it was. Still could have been worse, the other bottle up there was Malibu!
Got to Poseidin dive center yesterday and when I arrived Hanny {sp?} took one look at me, said hello and went and got me my Advanced PADI card I'd left there two years previously. Which was nice... seriously, fantastic memory! One look, a hello and you left my card. This was the guy who services the kit, didn't know I was coming, just one look.
Went diving yesterday, couple of nice easy dives. First to 20m at Mashraba so they could check me out, then down to the Islands for the afternoon, always a fave of mine, for a 17m dive. Couple of hours after the dive I started to get a nasty tingling in my left hand... similar to but weaker than the incident last August. Queue spending a coule of hours of increasing worry before I gave in and went to the dive center. A quick call to the hyperbaric doctor got me put on O2 for an hour then taken to the chamber. I was not in a happy place mentally during that hour, I figured that was probably it for my diving career. I spent part of the time totting up how much I could get for all my kit on ebay and wondering if sking would be a safer hobby. Or possibly crocodile wrestling.
Got to the chamber by which time the symptons were beginning to remit and was given a thourgh neurological exam by Dr Adel. Lots of touching with pins and brushes, hot bottles and cold, resistance tests and so on. We got to the end of the exam and the diagnosis... {drum roll please} no DCS. Er... what? No DCS and he thought the last incident had been misdiagnosed. In his opinion it was probably a problem with the nerves, possibly in my shoulders. WTF? Shit. Remember these guys in Dahab deal with diving injuries every day.
I would have to be refered to a neurologist in the UK to track down the problem but dive wise I should be OK. I would, of course, not be able to dive for at least 24 hours and I would need three shots of vitamin B complex for my nerves. In the buttocks natuarally. Please feel free to make your own prick in the arse in Egpyt jokes at this point. I know I did.
Had the second injection a couple of hours ago, and I'm off diving for another 24 hours, down to high blood pressure, which I can appreicate as my chest still feels stressed.
The folks from the dive center took me back and we had a chat. I felt like a bit of a twat but better safe than sorry. Turns out one of them has had exactly the same problem... gave some good advice on it as well!
Life continues to be eventful...
posted by Bill at 12:00 pm
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