Issue 3 At the Chamber from the Archives of the London Diver Magazine

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Non-Celebrity Diver

Thursday 20 November 2008

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	ISSUE 3 ARCHIVE - AT THE CHAMBER BENEDICTE PHILIPPON I had the bends and it took me four months and almost forty dives to discover it! Last September I went for a week's liveabord in Egypt with friends. What a pleasure it was to escape the gruelling UK weather and dive in clear warm water just wearing t-Shirts and shorts. I had almost forgotten what it felt like! Unfortunately, holidays always come to an end and after five days of diving I was back to work in London with more than sun-burn to complain about.
After a few days back in the UK I continued to feel very tired and started experiencing strong land sickness. I did not believe it was DCI as I had been very careful to keep well hydrated in Egypt and I did not recall suffering from any dive related issue on the trip. However, after a couple of days of still feeling unwell and one morning actually losing my balance in the street, I decide to go and see a GP. After taking a few tests, including a blood test, the GP concluded that the only problem may be an ear infection and as such, I was given some drops for my ears. Following the doctor's recommendation, I took daily doses of the ear drops. However, seven days since my arrival back into the UK I continued to feel unwell and I began to have the lurking suspicion that something else must be wrong with me. I suffered through a few more days still feeling very tired and dizzy. To add to my unpleasant feelings, I had just started a new job and my fuzzy head was affecting my thought processes and concentration. While I am normally full of enthusiasm and joie de vivre, I found it exceedingly difficult to focus on my new responsibilities and tasks. I just didn't seem to have any energy. However, given that I didn't have any of the traditional DCI symptoms, that I am aware of, such as shoulder or joint pain, skin rash and headache, I didn't make any association of my maladies with my past diving experiences. I convinced myself that it was just the new job and the stress that comes with that change. As the time crept by and my discomfort persisted, I started to recount the onset of my illness and it led me back to my fateful Egyptian holiday. I remember having seen some divers testing one of their friends for DCI on a boat. They were testing to see if he could identify the difference between being touched with a smooth or pointy object. As a precautionary measure, I decided to test myself and I touched the tip of my fingers with the smooth part of another finger and then with the nail. To my absolute shock I can't feel the difference! For the first time the possibility that my problems could really be diving related struck me. Without wasting anymore time, I called the London Diving Chamber emergency line for advice. To my great relief, the doctor on the phone reassures me that since I have not dived for over a week there is little chance that I have DCI. He does however strongly advise that I come for a check up.
During the weekend I printed off my dive profiles and I replayed my past dives in my mind like an old fashioned film reel. I recalled having had an issue with my dry suit four months earlier on a dive in Stoney Cove. It was actually only my second days diving with a dry suit and during the different dives that day, I clearly remembered struggling with my buoyancy. In fact, on several occasions I had the sensation that my feet were slipping out of my boots. Unfortunately, at one point when I was at 20m, I added too much air into my suit and my feet were pushed out of my boots. The next thing I knew was that I was hanging head down and was suddenly being pulled quickly to the surface. Somehow, I eventually managed to turn myself around and empty my suit to stabilise my buoyancy. However, by that time it was too late as I was already 1m from the surface. Ironically, diving with a dry suit and shooting up to the surface feet first has always been my worst fear, so needless to say when I got out of the water I was quite shaken up. The instructors with me that day enquired if I was OK, if I had any pain in my joints or shoulders or whether I experienced any symptoms of a headache. I actually felt more shocked and exhausted than anything else. Unfortunately, I was actually working as a dive master that day and as such, was asked to go back in the water for one of the OW dives. Although, I really did not feel at all up to the task, the instructors would not take "no" for an answer. Feeling upset and anxious, I repressed my better instinct and I went back down. I tried to convince myself that if I felt good enough to go for a dive that might mean that I was not bent. Of course, in hindsight this seems irrational but at the time I was just trying to stay as positive as possible. Indeed, there are a myriad of stories of divers having buoyancy issues, shooting to the surface and surviving without suffering any DCI issues. Despite my positivity, I could not completely eliminate my fears and I wondered for a couple of days whether I should go and see a dive doctor. Once again, I denied my gut feelings and followed the advice of my friends who argued that I did not have any of the standard symptoms of DCI so I should be OK and just give it time. With that encouragement, I went on diving all summer and including the trip to Egypt, I did almost forty dives between my accident and my first entrance into the chamber. Flashing forward to my fateful first meeting with Dr Oli at the chamber. It was decided that I should do a few tests, including testing my reflexes and balance. Unfortunately, I failed some of even the most basic tests and it was decided that I should do an initial treatment in the chamber. Although, at this point, neither Dr Oli nor I were quite sure why and how I could have DCI symptoms, given that it was now almost four months after the initial dive incident.
After an in-depth explanation of all the treatment procedures by Ben the Manager, I am off with another bent diver for a 5 h 40 min long treatment which involved breathing 100% Oxygen (most of the time). This was quite a strange sensation but the tenders were very friendly and made the experience overall pleasant. To my relief, after the treatment I felt better. It was as if I was coming out of a fog. I was so happy to feel like myself again after such a long time! After all the guesses and speculations, I had in fact the bends! I just could not believe it. Dr Oli asked me to come back for a follow up treatment the day after. In fact, I eventually ended up receiving 4 follow up treatments, one each day. With each session, I gradually felt better. In French, 'ma chambre' means my room and in fact, with my frequent trips, the chamber was beginning to feel like ma chambre! I knew all the rituals, the valves that had to be turned open or shut down and when. After a week of gradually becoming more and more stabilized, the doctor finally thought that I did not need any more treatments. It was concluded that I had a mild bend for the last four months which had worsened with a week of intensive diving. I can't quite apprehend how being a reasonably experienced diver I missed the fact that I had the bends. Thinking back, I remembered that the seasickness pills I usually take, started having less and less of an effect during the summer. Also, I was sick each time I sat in the back of a car, something extraordinary for me. I had struggled to focus at work, again something remote from my usual self. In fact, although the symptoms were not straightforward, there were a lot of subtle signals telling me that I had the bends. However, I just managed to disregarded them for as long as possible and when I finally did, it was too late. During the first weekend after the treatment, I felt fine and very energised by all the oxygen I had inhaled. However, after a few days I suffered a re-lapse and started feeling ill again. Following a friend's advice, I returned to the London Diving Chamber for yet again, some more treatment. This time, I took no chances and actually decided to take a week off work and given the situation, the doctors actually advised me to take a more intensive approach, with two treatments a day. One evening, still intrigued by the fact that I had missed all the signs of the bends, I searched on the internet and eventually found a list of symptoms which were totally new to me. These included lower back pain and fatigue. This is when I had that eureka moment, I did not have a delayed DCI or a mild DCI. I had actually felt back pain immediately in the water after my fast ascent; I just thought then that that was linked to my battle with my dry suit. I was totally shaken by the news and just cannot believe how lucky I have been. Imagine, I dived almost forty times after that incident, with the majority of these dives around 30-35m! My situation could have been a lot worse!
While trying to play back the film of the summer in my head, I remembered that five or six weeks after the initial incident I spent a couple of days with a terrible back pain barely hopping from one piece of furniture to another, was this also linked to DCI? At times the pain was so sharp that my legs gave way and I fell to the floor. As I do suffer from regular back pain – but never as bad as that – I just got on with it and went to see an osteopath who eased the pain, not actually addressing the cause. A couple of days later I was supposed to go diving. I was really keen on getting out of London and decided that being in the water would do me some good, so I did not cancel and just asked my buddy if he would kindly help me with my gear. From then on, slowly my back pain eased and I almost forgot it. When I mentioned this to the doctors at the chamber the next morning, they both told me how lucky I had been. My back pain was most probably caused by bubbles and my dive (17m only on the first day) probably moved the bubbles away. I have definitely been very lucky and would certainly not recommend to anyone to dive with DCI! I consider myself lucky that I have not had a more radical issue underwater considering that I dived four months with the bends. I can only recommend any diver to always ensure they make all the necessary safety or decompression stops while diving. I have always done so and this has probably protected me from a worse case scenario. After the treatment though, I was unable to do any sport and it took me a couple of months to be able to go back to the gym and to start recovering from this unpleasant adventure. Four months on, I haven't got the all clear from the dive doctor and I have been asked to wait a few more months because of damaged nerves. To the question will I be able to dive again? He couldn't give me a positive answer yet. I see myself as very lucky anyway and the only advice I can give to any diver out there is: If you shoot up from 20 metres or even from less it's likely to create an issue, so go and see a dive doctor. You may not be aware of all symptoms and anyway DCI is not fully understood yet. Dive safely within your limits and experience but also respect all the safety stops. This has probably saved me from a worse case scenario. An accident can happen to any diver and don't be ashamed of going to see a dive doctor. Don't try to be over positive/optimistic, do listen to any signal your body is telling you even several weeks after any dive and get checked. The London Diving Chamber is NHS funded and you do not need any specific dive insurance. This hasn't put me off diving and I can't wait to hit the water again. I already have plans to go to Swanage with friends in April. I will keep my fingers crossed until then for the "all clear" from Dr Oli.
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