Scuba Diving

[Annaliese]

Has anyone tried scuba diving? How did you go? I have hyper POTS and very much like floating around in water due to the anti-gravity effect. Just wondering if scuba diving is a no no or not due to the compressed air situation.....

[Becia]

Lol, a bunch of my friends were just talking to me about this! They are very big scuba divers, and we're trying to figure out a way I might be able to try this. Dave seems to think that once I'm in the water, it won't matter how I'm positioned (feet down, sideways, etc) because the water and my body will correspond somehow and my body won't be able to tell that I'm "standing" really. I'm terrified to try it, but he's going to ask their dive guides in the next big outing their thoughts. I do have a paralyzed friend who does assisted scuba. He has a dive master that basically holds up by the tank to keep him in the position needed to move forward. It's a beautiful thing. I love fish, and every dive trip they do photos and pictures, I get more and more jealous. I worry about my body going into some crazy overdrive, and then passing out. Maybe when I'm better regulated.

[corina]

I actually did a clinic last year at our rehab center and LOVED it! We had an instructor each to help us. We put on the gear while in the water which was a good thing as I def wouldn't have been able to walk around carrying heavy materials on my back! It took just a little time to get used to the breathing and using the flippers but all in all it was a great experience. I think that in a safe environment and with an instructor who has to supervise just you it would be worth the try! (not sure if it's important but I'm low flow POTS)

[Libby]

I did it a few times a long time before I was diagnosed (but I was having some milder symptoms). It was great. No problem whatsoever and I would do it again in a heartbeat if I had the chance, even in my current condition (mild side of moderate POTS).

The pressure of the water acts like compression clothing, you don't really get gravity causing the problems it does on land. Or I didn't at least.

[Annaliese]

Thanks everyone for commenting. I'm glad u had success. Scuba diving is such an amazing experience. How did u guys get past the dive medical questionnaire though?

[cmreber]

I have hyper POTS and when I went on a cruise a couple years ago, I wanted to do an introductory dive. I was worried about it, but my husband and my friends knew to watch out for me and make sure everything went alright, so I decided to try it. But, it turned out that it was completely fine, and in fact, I actually felt GOOD down there! Maybe because of all the pressure? I'm not sure, but I had zero problems. I did have an issue with the medical questionnaire (because I filled it out truthfully), but you just have to get a doctor's signature saying you can do it. (I didn't know that, but, fortunately, my friends on the cruise with me were orthopedic surgeons, so they were able to write me a note!)

I know it can be different for everyone though, and you might talk with your doctor beforehand, just to be safe (plus get the doctors note), but good luck!

I had so much fun doing it and would like to now get dive certified!!!!

[yogini]

People post a lot of "rules" about what you can and can't do with POTS. In general, I think you need to evaluate activities based on your own particular condition, with advice from your doctor. I can handle many things that aren't recommended, like riding roller coasters and drinking alcohol.

It is always scarier to try a new activity when on vacation - I worry about getting medical attention, inconveniencing the people I'm traveling and making it back home. I love the water and grew up swimming. Water sports seem fun to me. I've had good luck snorkeling for the most part, although I was on vacation last month and i lasted about 20 mins because the current was too strong. Then I was stuck on a boat for the rest of the day until I could make it back to the hotel.Not ideal

I do think that in theory the increased pressure in scuba would make POTS symptoms better. I do not pass out, but I would be worried about passing out or having an episode and not being able to come up when I need to. I tied scuba once pre-POTS and got water in my mask and it was horrible trying to come up for air from 50m below. Now I have POTS. so probably won't be going scuba diving again anytime soon.

[TBJ]

I know this is an old topic; however, I just joined this group and wanted to share some information.  I have had POTS since the age of 16 (though not diagnosed until 2000) and am currently 48 years old.  I am also a Public Safety DiveMaster.  If has been my experience that scuba diving is one of the best treatments for my POTS symptoms.  If I'm having a flare up and can't get it under control, one or two dives to 90 feet clears it right up.  After you reach your first atmosphere, which is at 33 feet of sea water, approximately 700 ml of your blood volumes shunts to your core.  The peripheral vasculature is constricted thereby circumventing the vascular tone issues POTS patients have. It seems to reset my body if I'm in a bad flare up.  All the retained fluids in my ankles and abdomen shunt back to my core and my kidneys get rid of it.  I wonder if hyperbaric medicine could be a plausible and more realistic treatment modality for severe POTS flare ups. I wonder if the manual pressure of the water would be comparable to the pressure of a hyperbaric chamber.  Any thoughts?