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On Wed, 25 May 1994, Philip Weissman wrote: > What are the proper procedures, or perhaps some > guidelines to follow, for a diver who suspects > that he has DCI during decompression? I do > realize that situations can vary tremendously > so the appropriate action is probably just > as varied. > > Philip Weissman> -- I think John Crea excellently described the myriad of factors which must be considered in such a situation, and I must agree with him and your last sentence that there is no general response to the problem you described. My recommendations would be: 1) Learn everything you can about in-water recompression (IWR) therapy (let me know if you'd like me to point you in the right directions here) 2) Keep a large supply of oxygen handy in the boat, ideally configured with a full-face mask, so that if the situation comes up, at least you'll be able to eliminate some of the variables. My tendency, having had a fair amount of first-hand experience with IWR, would be to deal with it immediately by descending about 30 feet below the depth at which symptoms occurred and waiting a moment to see if symptoms disappear - then ascend according to a much more conservative decompression profile. The more oxygen the better (providing precautions are taken to minimize the risks & consequences of a CNS O2-toxicity convulsion). I think Dennis is right about the need for IMMEDIATE (i.e., less than 5 minutes) recompression. You must accept the risk, however, of turning a sore shoulder into permanent paralysis. Beyond that, there really are no standard responses to such a situation. I have been directly involved with two cases where a person started feeling DCI symptoms while still on the decompression line: The first case was in 1985, and I was the victim. At my 10-foot stop, my left shoulder began to ache (after about 20 minutes at 125 feet). I only had about 500psi in my tank. I dropped down to a depth of about 20 feet, and the pain disappeared. I finished my tank at 20' (about 15 minutes), then came back to the boat. After 10 minutes in the boat, the pain came back (more mild this time). I took a second tank down to 20 feet and waited 10 more minutes. After surfacing the symptoms did not return. The second case involved a friend of mine with whom I was diving at the time. We had come up after a 190' dive. He was following his computer's ceiling very closely (I was staying about 10 feet below my ceiling). By the time he had moved up to a depth of 6 feet, he suddenly felt one side of his body begin to go numb and weak, and the symptoms were getting worse fast. He immediately descended back to 70 feet (the bottom of our decompression line) and the symptoms disappeared after about a minute. He spent the next 2-1/2 hours in the water slowly working his way back to the surface, most of the time at 10-20 feet (I supplied him with fresh tanks). This time he stayed about 10 feet below his computer's ceiling, and surfaced after the computer had cleared (all of this was done on air - we didn't have any oxygen at that time). The symptoms did not return. Bear in mind, a sample size of two does not make for a very good trend, so this will likely NOT work in all cases. The only generalities I can make are 1) follow very conservative decompression profiles so you don't get bent in the first place; and 2) keep PLENTY of oxygen around. I know this probably doesn't help you much, but there are no better answers available. Aloha, Rich
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