Diving and Diabetes

[sross6019]

My husband was just diagnoised with type 2 diabetes. We are cruising in Jan 2010 (had to change from the countdown clock). He is worried that this will prevent him from diving. Does any one know if this is true or have any advise for him?

[sddiver]

Diabetes is not by itself a barrier to diving. Poorly controlled diabetes is a barrier to diving. He will need to be evaluated by his doctor or a doctor familiar to diving and medically cleared to dive. Dive ops will want to see a letter from an M.D. clearing him to dive. There are many resources out there. He should start with DAN. http://www.diversalertnetwork.com look under their divers medicine tab. Join DAN and you can call or email questions.

The major concern is low blood sugar and loss of consciousness while diving. With some time and experience to learn the ropes of being diabetic he should be fine.

 

Good luck

Rich

[sross6019]

Rich, thanks for your reply. He is a member of DAN, so I will tell him to look at their info. I know he will be ok, just have to get use to changes if needed.

[Dive Master]

I also was recently diagnosed with mild Diabetes. My Doctor is a diver and he cleard me to keep diving even with Diabetes and high blood pressure.He did caution me about my deep,solo dives but he knows that I do know and accept the risk.I do belive it is time for me to dial the depth back a little bit and this gives me a good reason to stop doing "dumb" stuff.

 

DAN has two excellent articles in their current Alert Diver magazine on diabetes and hypertension.

 

I take it your Husband is an experienced diver.He does need to make sure he is cleared by a good Doctor.One word of caution and I know this sounds strange---but tell him not to check Diabetes on any dive operators sign in sheet---they probably will not let him dive due to the risk of litigation(Doctors release or not).As long as his Doctor approves and your Husband feels good he should enjoy himself.As my Doctor tells me " You are going to die doing something--might as well being doing something you love."

[BIG_Steve]

I'm not a diver. But I am a type II diabetic. My biggest concern for him would be his going hypo on a dive. He needs to be very proactive and learn everything he can about diabetes. He needs to learn the warning signs of when a Hypo incident could be looming. If he is only mild right now, and can control via diet and exercise, hypo wouldn't even be a concern. But if he needs to take medicine, that's different. If there is ANY chance at all of him going hypo during a dive, it would be immensely foolish of him to not mention his condition on the sign up sheet.

[scubaran]

I'm not a diver. But I am a type II diabetic. My biggest concern for him would be his going hypo on a dive. He needs to be very proactive and learn everything he can about diabetes. He needs to learn the warning signs of when a Hypo incident could be looming. If he is only mild right now, and can control via diet and exercise, hypo wouldn't even be a concern. But if he needs to take medicine, that's different. If there is ANY chance at all of him going hypo during a dive, it would be immensely foolish of him to not mention his condition on the sign up sheet.

 

Hi,

 

I'm type II and have been diving successfully for over a decade. Some things to remember, go to DAN, they have excellent articles on diabetes and diving. Also it depends on how he controls it (I'm diet and excercise). There's a few recommendations I can give. According to DAN's study he should check his blood glucose level out as close to diving as possible. They also recommend a level of 150 or higher. Due to stress and strain of diving this level has shown divers have much less chance of going hypo while under the water (I've never had a hypo passout experience yet above or below the water). Also they recommend taking along high-energy bars for between dives to elevate sugars for the second dive. Also hydrating is very important. I'll also add to begin an excercise program at least two months before diving. Increasing muscle mass while loosing overall mass, getting his body used to strenuous exercise and being able to see how his blood levels are before/after exercise can go a long way to understanding how diving will affect him. I do a regular aerobic kickboxing class and add treadmill and bicycle workouts before my dive trips and really see the difference they make in my fitness and general enjoyment of diving (and I'm in my 50s).

 

Hope this helps,

Randall

P.S. just as a disclaimer, I'm not a doctor and he should have a long talk about diving and fitness with his doctor before attempting any activities (I regularly talk to my doctor on these topics).

[vabeachlady]

My DH is mild diabetic, takes pills. We were just in Cozumel and the dive shop there had to clear him. They said they will not take the risk for diabetics on insulin, but if you are on pills and have not had issues, they will let you dive. Guess it depends on the operator, site and extent of the diabetes. I would definitely get a letter from the doc.

 

Eileen