Scuba diving and diabetes??

good to learn about glucogel tubes and hear about others who still dive with type 1!

claridge - i surf in devon on weekends when i can and try to make one or two surf trips abroad each year. I went to portugal this summer, surfed a few hours each day and found it really good for keeping bg readings stable.

Hello,
I went scuba diving in Burmuda last summer- amazing!! I told them i was diabetic and they were absoloutely fine with it. I just filled in a form mentioning that i was diabetic and that was that. I think as long as you test your sugars before any excersize and they look fine, you should be ok.

I have been PADI Open Water Scuba certified since 1986. I contracted Diabetes Type 1 in 1973 and have been on insulin shots and, since 1999 the insulin pump. I have logged over 300 dives, both deep and shallow, wreck and wall all without substantial consequence. I manage the risk as oulined in this site:

http://scuba-doc.com/endmet.html

There are a couple of things to note.

1. Be willing to test your blood sugars as directed in the link above. Also make sure your HA1C is between 6% and 9%.

2. Seasickness, if you get this, you will be unable to treat low blood sugars pre and post-dive. Make sure you are willing to ABORT the dive, no matter how much money it may have cost you.

3. Make sure your BUDDY does not have diabetes.

4. Get your doctor to work with a good scuba doctor when getting your release forms signed, my current doctor is a pain in the you know because he is paranoid about lawsuits.

IMHO
Snaggo

Really good info Snaggo. I've been diving with Type 1 diabetes since 1986 too and follow the same management practices.

We've just returned from our first visit to St Lucia (fantastic all inclusive 2-for-1 deal) where, for the first time ever, I had great difficulty in getting accepted for diving in spite of my divemaster status and consultant's letter. Grrrr!!!! Their ass-guarding problem was that the letter didn't say the actual words "medical clearance", an issue I'll be raising with PADI.

I had of course signed the usual liability waiver and had full diving insurance cover. Nevertheless, the dive manager insisted on trying to contact the UK doctor by phone (5-hour time difference) to ask for a rewrite in his words instead of hers. I'm sure that went down really well! She said "no" of course. Luckily for me, by the time he managed to get that negative response we'd already done 5 dives safely and he backed down.

The Divers Altert Network (DAN) also has a great website with lots of info on medical matters. We've taken out annual memberships this year for the first time, which includes excellent international diving insurance cover and expertise. The European link is - https://www.daneurope.org/eng/english_.htm.

So, time to start dreaming where to go next..........

Jaxx

Hi

I've been Type 1 Diabetic since 2003 and recently went to start my Divemaster course as I am a marine biologist my dream job is diving and research. My medical examiner told me that it was extremely difficult to pass the HSE medical since I've already been diagnosed with diabetes. Since you have obviously managed this, I wondered if you could tell what sort of HBA1C they would be looking for (I've never got mine below 9 yet, even with an insulin pump)....this is my dream and my career I'll lose if I am unable to do this, so any advice you can give me would be really appreciated!

Thanks

Hello all,

The divers alert network published guidelines a few years back for diabetics and diving (link below).
http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/articles/DAN_and_UHMS_Publish_Guidelines_for_Recreational_Diving_with_Diabetes_

The British sub aqua club also had guidelines after you were reviewed by their medical officer (I think it was Dr. Chris Edge).

As for hypo's, lucozade have gel packs which fit into a BCD pocket and can be administered underwater if necessary (might take some practice though!)

One of the biggest contraindications is any secondary symptoms of diabetes. Neuropathy can slow the release of nitrogen, making it necessary to increase the time between dives. The change in pressure and physical strain of a dive can affect diabetics with retinopathy.

Anyone that still wants to dive after making themselves aware of the risks should ideally have a dive buddy that knows what to do should any complications occur.

If anyone is interested in setting up a diving group or has any questions then please get in contact!

Happy diving
Brian C.