My visit to the chamber!!!!

[DIVE BUDDHA]

I've just got back from the hyperbarick chamber in hull after spending 24 hours with the R.E.M.H.S team.

All i can say is that after going to stoney on saturday morning, as i usualy do, quite early, and meating up with my buddy like usual we had pre planned 3 dives to consist of nothing deeper than 20 metres or along the shelf which is 22 i think!!!!

Starting on a 30% mix and then to be topped off, all appeared well till i got home and found something strange had shown up on my download suunto manager that didnt show on my computer screen dureing the actual dive??

According to the profile, i had gone into deco and missed, not only an ascent ceiling but also put the computer into error mode ?? which would have made the vyper only work in gauge mode, but as far as i can see on dive 3 but i didnt show any error mode on the screen dureing the day so all seemed well.
After getting up sunday morning feeling very unwell i.e like nausea and dizziness and aching joints i decided to go on the internet to see how my buddy was who was useing a different computer to mine (aladin air nitrox) and see if he had any problems regarding how he felt?

After speaking to his wife and finding out that Glynn had been rushed to hospital with a type 1 bend and spent a night doing a table six dive in the chamber at the wirral on merrseyside, at this point i decided to contact my hospital and seek advice!

They told me to come into barnsley a+e department and was seen promptly as my smptoms were getting worse by the hour!

I was then transfered by ambulance to the hyperbarick facility within the bupa hospital in hull where the emergency team where waiting as i got through the door.

After spending a few minutes being ascessed by a specialist within the team and the areas of numbness it was decided to be a probable class 2 spinal bend and a nite in the chamber was soon to follow so it was a table 6 to start with which consisted of a dive to 18 metres and then pure o2 into the hood for 15 minute sessions and so on until we got to 10 metres and was doing 1 hour o2 in hood sessions with 15 minute air breaks.

The full session lasted just over 5 hours, although I did feel better after the initial treatment i got some sleep in a bed that they had sorted for me but was back for a 2 hour session in the morning, but was only to 10 metres with 2 x 45 minutes sessions with air breaks and then the ascent time to surface at this point i had realised how lucky i had just been and delaying attaining any medical advice could have become life threatening as at the point of getting into the chamber at the start i could neither walk or talk very well as it was a struggle to lift mi head up!

I just cannot understand what went wrong. The profiles didnt seem any different from what i normaly do and 2 different computers bending the same day and same dive with different algorithms and my computer showing me different info and stats to the ones i downloaded?

Me and my buddy must be the unluckiest divers i know!

Anyway im at home now and still sore but mending. No more diving for 4-6 weeks and a medical with mrs clamp in nottingham for me b 4 i touch the water again.

Best wishes and safe diving,
Leigh

[Helen F H]

Glad you are ok mate. I have no explanation for your pooters, so im not even going to speculate.

[Lou]

Glad you are ok and caught it in time. Fingers crossed you make a full recovery as swiftly as possible.

I am sorry that I didn't quite understand your tale though? Did your buddy's 'puter show missed stops too? What was the sequence of events, and what dives did you do - did you do another dive after the one that was "suspect" on your download?

It would be good to see the profiles if you can show those. It does seem such an odd case that more info would be very helpful.

Anyway, look after yourself and best wishes to your buddy too.

Lou

[Diving Daisy]

Bloody hell Leigh, glad your ok mate!

[Pierre Farrugia]

First glad you are ok. If I have understood well, were you diving nitrox on all 3 dives? Have the mixes been analysed each time? Were they analysed by same oxygen analyser? Could the O2 analyser gave you wrong readings and so the computers have calculated deco on the input mix? Have you checked your mix after every top off ? What mix you input in your computers?

Eg. you have 30% min when in reality you had 24% mix! That's the only thing I can think of as 2 computers bending 2 divers on same dives seem unlikely altough as in your rare case be!

Sorry if I am asking too many questions but this will help to have a better pic.

[DIVE BUDDHA]

just to answer lou,s question first ?we was both divng on different computers me on a suunto vyper and glyn on a aladin nitrox i think it is now dureing the dive i never let my no-deco limmit drop below 7 minutes usualy thats y i couldnt understand y my computer upon downloading the profile showing ascent ceilings and error messages which i knew i had,nt seen on clearing my 3 minutes mandotory safety stop ??and to answer pierres qeustion i was on 30% for the first dive and then just air top offs which give me 25% on dive 2 and air 21% dive 3 and yes i did change the computers settings for the trox mix before entering the water as ive been asked this qeustion before today by the specialist hope this answers ur questions guys

[JohnK]

Hey Yippee - glad you came thru this !! Do you use any personal settings on the Vyper ?? Reason I ask is that the first setting reduces allowable bottom time by 11 mins for a 35m dive (I dived once with a buddy who had his set at "P0" and mine at "P1"

In colder water I have mine set more conservative just in case.

Bad luck mate and get a full A1 from the boss

[DIVE BUDDHA]

yep cheers kirky thanx for that !!! as for the personal settings maybe from now on i will have to use the more concervative 1 or 2 settings ?? but what i cant understand glyn had 12 minutes no deco showing on his computer when we hit the stop at 3 metres which i couldnt understand??but im definatly gunna check out my computer as its seems to be doing strange things

[wreckweasel]

So just to check.. Both computers showed missed deco after the event?

[Diving Daisy]

Leigh, seriously glad your ok mate ... but have to ask .... were you wearing your 'lucky' snorkel?