(March 13, 2015 at 6:53 pm)AFTT47 Wrote: Congrats, Cthulhu.
I was major into diving but I ended up doing it for a living (PADI Master Instructor) and lost interest eventually. I have afib now (an irregular heartbeat). I could theoretically dive safely again because it isn't bad but I live in Phoenix now so not likely. I've done over 2500 dives so I've had my fill.
I chose to not go the professional route although I certainly could have. It simply wasn't compatible with my lifestyle at the time.
(March 13, 2015 at 6:53 pm)AFTT47 Wrote: You didn't mention if your embolism makes you more likely to have another but keep this in mind: The closer to the surface you are, the greater the pressure changes. Going from 99' to 66' reduces pressure from 4 atmospheres to 3 - a 25% reduction. Going from 33' to the surface though reduces pressure from 2 atmospheres to 1 - a 50% change. Physicians not familiar with diving often mistakenly advise divers susceptible to embolism (like asthmatics) to be conservative and dive shallow. It's bad advice. The shallower you are, the more likely you are to embolize - from holding your breath or from various physiological issues.
Different kind of embolism entirely than what you're talking about. Mine was blood clots and was completely unrelated to scuba, not gas bubbles. I'm no more likely to have a gas embolism than anyone else, and the chances of a repeat event are greatly diminished as I have a permanent IVC (inferior vena cava) filter installed.
I'm fully aware of the phenomenon you describe and have always done safety stops religiously and done slow ascents. Every dive, no matter how shallow. My reasons for staying shallow at the moment have little to do with DCS, but rather that I know that I can do an emergency swimming ascent from that depth, and I'm much less sure of my ability to do so below 60 feet. Basically, I'm initially treating myself as a newly minted open water diver should do while I redevelop my skills. I feel it would be reckless to jump right back to where I left off, diving wrecks with overhead restrictions and such.
(March 13, 2015 at 6:53 pm)AFTT47 Wrote: You can get the best diving-related medical advice from DAN (Divers Alert Network). They are a non-profit organization and have dive physicians on staff.
Yep, I was a member of DAN, but let my membership expire when I thought I would not dive again. I'm going to join up again, it's a good outfit.
