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Dive Sprite · 2nd May 2008, 07:20

Dear all,
Thank you so much for the excellent advice - and also for the positive support. That's really what this message board is all about and I appreciate it.
I've had an ultrasound only so far and the hole was very obvious (it looked huge on the monitor) even without straining or valsalva.

The doctor wants to do more tests including treadmill, 24hour ecg and a TOE scan to visualise the hole more thoroughly. I already had an MRI of the brain to look for lesions - (the reasons for going to see the doc in the first place were related to loss of short term memory, increased clumsiness, numbness in the legs as well as difficulty exercising hard).

My next appointment is not until September as a follow up - though I am uncertain if this is the date for an operation (I am in the NHS system, so getting answers is not at all easy since the doctors are so incredibly busy).

I am just very grateful that they found it this time as a previous scan with a TOE following a skin bend in 2003 found no PFO at all. I have been doing some pretty aggressive diving since then - so its a wonder that I wasn't more bent, more often.

One of the doctors helping with the ultrasound made an excellent point - that all divers should have the test for PFO before they start diving (or before they start decompression diving). She indicated that the tests themselves using ultrasound and a good bubble contrast medium were a lot easier than just a coupe of years ago.

Perhaps I should write this all up in another section of Rebreather World. I will give that a go.
Meantime, thanks again for all the support. I do like the idea of dropping into the pool on pure O2 each week, but I'm under strict orders to not go into the water at all (even the pool) on compressed air. I assume its the same for O2. I also don't like the idea of chlorine and my unit mixing - just a personal thing :-)

I will do a lot of reading, remain active in my diving club, and I might also do more teaching. Those were very helpful suggestions, thank you PaulTG2.
I'l stay in touch to let you know what the procedure is and how my experience develops.

For now the unit will go into its case, disinfected, dried, batteries out and cells removed. It will sit in my living room away from any heat sources and it will come out once every two months for a clean off, assembly and testing before going away again.

All the best, D.

2nd May 2008, 07:20	#12 (permalink)
Dive Sprite New Member Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Vision Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Reading UK Posts: 26	Re: Putting my unit away for 9 months Dear all, Thank you so much for the excellent advice - and also for the positive support. That's really what this message board is all about and I appreciate it. I've had an ultrasound only so far and the hole was very obvious (it looked huge on the monitor) even without straining or valsalva. The doctor wants to do more tests including treadmill, 24hour ecg and a TOE scan to visualise the hole more thoroughly. I already had an MRI of the brain to look for lesions - (the reasons for going to see the doc in the first place were related to loss of short term memory, increased clumsiness, numbness in the legs as well as difficulty exercising hard). My next appointment is not until September as a follow up - though I am uncertain if this is the date for an operation (I am in the NHS system, so getting answers is not at all easy since the doctors are so incredibly busy). I am just very grateful that they found it this time as a previous scan with a TOE following a skin bend in 2003 found no PFO at all. I have been doing some pretty aggressive diving since then - so its a wonder that I wasn't more bent, more often. One of the doctors helping with the ultrasound made an excellent point - that all divers should have the test for PFO before they start diving (or before they start decompression diving). She indicated that the tests themselves using ultrasound and a good bubble contrast medium were a lot easier than just a coupe of years ago. Perhaps I should write this all up in another section of Rebreather World. I will give that a go. Meantime, thanks again for all the support. I do like the idea of dropping into the pool on pure O2 each week, but I'm under strict orders to not go into the water at all (even the pool) on compressed air. I assume its the same for O2. I also don't like the idea of chlorine and my unit mixing - just a personal thing :-) I will do a lot of reading, remain active in my diving club, and I might also do more teaching. Those were very helpful suggestions, thank you PaulTG2. I'l stay in touch to let you know what the procedure is and how my experience develops. For now the unit will go into its case, disinfected, dried, batteries out and cells removed. It will sit in my living room away from any heat sources and it will come out once every two months for a clean off, assembly and testing before going away again. All the best, D.
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