Diving with someone who has seizures?

[fogish]

I have a history of Epileptic seizures. I have been on medication for a long time and I can legally drive, I have not had an epileptic seizure in years. Would this influence anyone's decision to dive with me?

By horrible circumstance I have begun having non-epileptic seizures which cannot be treated by medication, they are caused by stress and trauma. I will not enter the water while I am in this situation, but what is a reasonable time to be seizure free before any of you would allow a person to be in the water with you, if you would allow them in the water with you? Would you want a total of 3 people present instead of a 2 person buddy system?

Everyone's point of view would be greatly appreciated on this, as well as thoughts on other medical conditions that would limit your willingness to enter the water with someone.

[shoutatthesky]

In my totally uneducated opinion I would say that you should not let this condition stop you diving. What you must do is take full responsibilty for your condition and accept that it may be the cause of injury or death. As you have been given the go ahead to drive I would say this is unlikely to occur. That said it does leave you with the responsibily to inforn your dive buddies fully of your condition. On the stress induced seizures I think if you have isolated the cause then this will give you the answer as to when it is safe to dive.
Maybe a specialist dive doctor would be the best person to consult on this issue?

[trux]

I agree that you should not let you stop, but on the other hand there is a serious responsibility put both on you and on your buddies when diving with them. You then risk not only your life but also that of your buddies. An unexpected stress or trauma situation can certainly happen also during diving, so knowing that you can react on it with a seizure is certainly something the buddies must know, and they also need to know how it looks like, how long it takes, how to treat it. They must be sure they are able to handle it, or even better (if possible) to recognize the symptoms before it happens, or the situations when it happens, so that they can either try avoiding it, or to bring all of you to safety before it gets really bad.

Having some additional safety equipment in place would be probably also recommendable - the freediving vest, or the freediving buoyancy belt from Zealog would be probably quite good help for such case, but at least a float, buoy or some other support may be needed. And of course, if there are any medicaments or tools needed for treating the seizure, it is necessary having them with, and it is necessary that the buddies can apply them immediately.

I think it would be a good idea to drill the rescue with a simulated incident - simulating the seizure both under water and on surface. Only then you can tell whether one or more buddies are able to handle it, or whether you need some additional measure to assure the security. Consulting the doctor or getting an advice from someone who is used to treat seizures in extreme situations would be also a good idea.

[Erik]

I wouldn't dive with you, sorry, because the risks are too high. You say that stress brings on these recent seizures: diving can be extremely stressful.
Erik

[fogish]

Well so far my plan was to dive with a min. of 3 people in the group and only doing so when I have been seizure free for 1 year. It is a relief to know there are some who will still dive with someone who has problems like this, even if there are much stricter safety rules. My situation is actually getting me to think about what medical conditions I would not mind my diving partner to have. Something I had not really considered before.

I have been diving before, and the stress of diving frequently is something I will have to experiment with to know if it will cause seizures. I am going to see a specialist about this type of seizure soon, all I know right now is major life changes, chronic pain, post traumatic stress disorder, things like that can cause it. It has the same causes as angina does, it just expresses itself with seizures instead of chest pain and shortness of breath. Obviously with a history of seizures there is always the chance you may have them again in the future.

[Erik]

I hope all works out well of course!
Erik

[Fondueset]

I'd suggest a thorough workup with the idea of how hypoxia and other diving related stresses - such as rapid blood pressure change - might impact you neurologically.
Once you had that sort of info I would dive with you - but I would want to somewhat taylor the dive to mitigate risk. You should have one close buddy watching you allways when you are down. Probably not go deep or push.
I currently dive with someone who has narcolepsy and a few other things. My son is also autistic - so I have a generally high tolerance for neurological malfunctions

[deckhand mike]

Your life is in your own hands but why spend it on shore. I would dive with a partner with seizures. Matter of fact you probaly would force others around you to be a safer diver. One stays up and one goes down should be practiced anyway. Just don't overweight yourself! Have fun and look for buddies that are safety minded.

[fogish]

My neurologist told me today that medically if I can drive I can dive. In Oregon I can legally drive after 3 months of no seizures (it has been over 1 week and counting!!). He said that he did not know of any connections between apnea with an increase in seizures. My doctor did express a personal reservation about me doing anything that would risk my life though. I figure driving a car with a past history of seizures is about as risky as diving with a past history of seizures.

I think I will have to come up with a stricter set of diving rules for myself than the average freediver (2 buddies not just one), but feel that I will be as safe as the next freediver.

[Parapsycho]

I would try and find more than two buddies. There should always be someone watching whoever is diving. With 3 people, if someone else is diving and you have a siezure, the person watching would have to decide if they are going to spot the diver, or assist you. With 4 or more, you could have someone take over spotting while you get assistance.

I really hope you find the number of buddies you need to go diving.

[shoutatthesky]

By that logic you need - someone to buddy the diver and someone to watch that buddy and someone to watch that buddy and someone to watch that buddy and someone to watch that buddy and someone to watch that buddy and someone to watch that buddy and someone to watch that buddy - ad infinitum.

[Parapsycho]

Hey! The more, the merrier.

[axrhstos]

Well, if that guy was seizure-free for a certain amount of time I would definately dive. I wish you the best in overcoming that problem mate.