Being Fat, Diving with PADI and Medicals

[rossbale28]

Hi,

I am currently classed as morbidly obese, (6ft Tall, 21st ish) but have been diving without issues for the past 2 years. Self Certified fitness with PADI, and generally no health issues or problems.

I am aware that being overweight, and now having high BP (it was 160/100 in July) after my mum died, but haven't had it checked since - will get wifey (district nurse) to check it tonight and will post back on "normal" life results.

Due to the above I've stopped myself diving voluntarily as I didn't think at that time it was worth the risk.

I have lost 6 lbs in last two weeks and wanted to know what I can do to improve my fitness whilst trying to lose a bit of weight before next season. I'm not taking any drugs for anything either.

My LDS says that with high BP, getting it down would be a first step before diving, being generally overweight shouldn't be that much of an issue, as with training such as Peak Performance Buouyancy, improving my confidence etc will mean I'm more relaxed in the water and therefore exert myself less whilst diving, which would mean I'm not so knackered at times when coming out.

Can you please comment on the following questions:

1. Suggestions for general fitness measures (gentle to start with) for diving.
2. Should I get a general all-over medical, and would this be suitable for diving?
3. Do I need a dive specific medical, if so, who, how much and when (after losing more weight/now etc) before I go back to diving?
4. If my BP is still at or over the levels above, should I get a doc involved or try to continue losing weight on my own - would there be any advantages to medical help at this stage??
5. Are the LDS comments a sales speech or sound advice?
6. Would I create further problems diving once BP has lowered a bit and have lost, say a stone of weight?
7. Anything I've missed or haven't thought of??

Sorry for all the questions, but I don't want to risk my health or waste sh*t loads of money on PADI Advanced Open Water training if I would be better off losing more weight and getting fitter first, thereby getting more out of it.

Thanks,

Ross.

[Woz]

You and me both. 5ft 11, 19 st. Grrr. A whole lotta love to grab hold of. My BP is ok though, a little higher than normal but that's cos of all the lard that the blood has to be forced through. Anyway.

1. Suggestions for general fitness measures (gentle to start with) for diving.
I did some running some time ago. I say running, it was more like shuffling. Anyway. Did wonders for fitness very fast. Took it v.slow at first but after a bit could run a couple of miles very easily without collapsing. Not done it recently though as, to be frank, I really can't be arsed.

2. Should I get a general all-over medical, and would this be suitable for diving?
Get a diving medical if you are worried. Someone in Nottingham does them (Maggie Clamp).

3. Do I need a dive specific medical, if so, who, how much and when (after losing more weight/now etc) before I go back to diving?
Dunno. ask the doctor. You need a dive-specific one though as they will go through some stuff wth you that is not normally covered. Get it done by someone who knows there arse from tehir elbow about diving, though. IIRC about £50.

4. If my BP is still at or over the levels above, should I get a doc involved or try to continue losing weight on my own - would there be any advantages to medical help at this stage??
They will prescribe BP lowering drugs and a gentle excercise regime along with a calorie controlled diet.

5. Are the LDS comments a sales speech or sound advice?
It's the walk to and from the water at Stoney that is the killer, not the diving itself. And seeing some of the lard buckets that dive Stoney, I feel positively emaciated standing next to them.

6. Would I create further problems diving once BP has lowered a bit and have lost, say a stone of weight?
Er, no. Might want to add some safety stops in, though, and dive nitrox. As Juz says, "I can spend an hour in the gym 3 times a week or just do an extra 20 mins of deco".

7. Anything I've missed or haven't thought of??
Bioprene is an excellent insulator.

[Mal Bridgeman]

Ross,

I think there is always a question over the advice given from a source with a commercial interest in the outcome. Very few are as altruistic as they appear.

If it were me, I would get myself along to an HSE approved Diving Doctor and ask for a medical to determine if you are fit to dive.


Rgrds
Mal

[chrisch]

Being overweight is generally considered an increased risk for decompression illness. The other health issues like blood pressure and so on are more related (as best I understand it) to heart issues and the increased risk of heart attack.

I don't think the AOW would be a massive "waste of money", but I would suggest you read up some more about the DCI issues and consider the implications if you wish to dive deeper or longer. You might want to look at nitrox too for the same reasons.

Being fit and healthy and the correct weight is a good thing and you would be well advised to pursue that for its own sake. If your desire to dive helps with that then all the better. I wish you every success in that goal.

Chris

[JasonP]

Originally Posted by chrisch

Being overweight is generally considered an increased risk for decompression illness.

Might be generally considered, but:

"There is no strong body of evidence to suggest that overweight individuals have a greater risk of DCI or that they suffer more dive-related injuries that divers who are within 10 percent of their ideal body weight."

from DAN Divers Alert Network : Healthy, But Overweight
which has some other info on diving overweight.

Jason

[ratcliffe]

All I can say is that when I dived when I was fatter (18-19 stone), there were two theories, of which neither were proved at the time. That you either absorbed more, or the same amount of nitrogen.
To be safer in my diving, I always took the PADI tables for the dive I was going to do, and took 10% off the No Deco limit.
Whether this was at all useful I do not know, but I was fine diving like this. I stopped diving when I put even more weight on at the time, not because of worrying about myself, but because I knew I could not help my buddy properly should they need it. Medically I could still physically dive, albeit self certified, as yourself.
Now that I am 13 stone and a bit, its no longer an issue, and the fact that I would be able to start diving again was a big incentive in my reasons for wanting to shed weight.
You'll know yourself whether you wish to do that, or if you feel you need to.

If you want to chat about it with someone who has "been there", feel free to drop me a PM.

All the best..

[John N]

I think the recommendation of the HSE medical is a sound one.

If it is relatively safe though, you might well find that diving actually helps to improve your health.

Assuming the medical is OK I would dive conservatively i.e. keep well within no-deco limits, use nitrox and do decent safety stops.

Good luck with it.

[tom]

Originally Posted by John N

I think the recommendation of the HSE medical is a sound one.

Why HSE medical if he's not a professional? I'd have thought a simple sports diving / fitness to dive medical would be OK (which an HSE approved doc from that list will be able to do, of course). (EDIT: I may have misunderstood what you meant John, it looks as though you're talking about a diving at work medical)

Ross - well done for recognising the problem and acting on it, though it's obviously not a good situation to be in.

In terms of the blood pressure, if you still have elevated levels now I would talk to your GP about it. They are likely to do as Woz suggests, but might also suggest tests to check for other possible causes of high BP. With respect to diving and hypertension, I found the information here: e-med Private Medical Services - Scuba Diving Medical Advice - Longer Articles | Various (from a proper diving doctor) very useful.

It also sounds like your LDS are giving decent advice, though I too would try to get the physical health/fitness side of things improved before doing further training.

Good luck.

[Mal Bridgeman]

Originally Posted by tom

Why HSE medical if he's not a professional? I'd have thought a simple sports diving / fitness to dive medical would be OK (which an HSE approved doc from that list will be able to do, of course).

Tom - I think John was referring back to my recommendation that he gets a "Fit to Dive" type medical from a doctor who actually understands diving.

Originally Posted by tom

(from a proper diving doctor)

You met Dr. Jules too then

[Jules77]

Like the others you don't need an HSE medical unless you want to work professionally. As you live in Kent, you might want to give John King a call - he is the guy I go to for my dive medicals and I think that he is likely to give you a sensible answer and if you need a medical he is based in Harley St. PM me if you would like the number.