scubadot Posted September 8, 2007 Report Share Posted September 8, 2007 Hi Everybody, I know I have asked this question months ago....but, here it is again. Have any of your had any problems with scuba diving after the lapband surgery? How long did you wait before going diving? I work as a scuba instructor in the Cayman Islands and have taken 8 weeks off to have the surgery with Dr. Ortiz. My surgery was two weeks ago and I am feeling fine. I return to work on Oct 20. I have just received an email from my boss in the Caymans about an article that says Adjustable banded gastrony patients must wait a year or longer before diving again. Now he is asking me for a note saying that I am okay to return to work. Not like I don't have a trillon other things on my mind right now... to have to worry about my job. Any divers out there? Help! Dottie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubadot Posted September 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2007 Hi Everybody,I know I have asked this question months ago....but, here it is again. Have any of your had any problems with scuba diving after the lapband surgery? How long did you wait before going diving? I work as a scuba instructor in the Cayman Islands and have taken 8 weeks off to have the surgery with Dr. Ortiz. My surgery was two weeks ago and I am feeling fine. I return to work on Oct 20. I have just received an email from my boss in the Caymans about an article that says Adjustable banded gastrony patients must wait a year or longer before diving again. Now he is asking me for a note saying that I am okay to return to work. Not like I don't have a trillon other things on my mind right now... to have to worry about my job. Any divers out there? Help! Dottie Okay, I called and talked to PADI about their article about diving after bariatric surgery... they said follow the advice of your physician. I called DAN (Diver's Alert Network) and asked them about wating a year or longer before diving... and they said that the article is written mainly about gastric bypass surgery and about patients that have other underlying health problems. And that you should talk to your physician before diving. So I think I am good to go.... I am waiting to hear from Dr. Ortiz or Dr. Martinez about getting a note that says I am okay to scuba dive. My boss seems to be okay with a doctor's note and I hope not to have anymore problems about going back to work. Wish me luck! Dottie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoriBecky Posted September 11, 2007 Report Share Posted September 11, 2007 You should have your note by now Dot... let me know if you need anything else btw... for any other divers out there.... 3 weeks then you can get back to it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris_TX Posted September 15, 2007 Report Share Posted September 15, 2007 Dottie, I was banded about 1 1/2 yrs ago and am an avid diver. I live in Cancun and dive regularly, with no problems, whatsoever. Nearly 20 years of diving...I made sure there wouldn't be any problems before I had the surgery. So, get back to it! Kris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerryg Posted September 30, 2007 Report Share Posted September 30, 2007 Ditto to what Kris says. I was banded 4.5 years ago and have about 200 dives since then with no problems. I did clear it with my doctor, initially. Soon I will be in the Canary Islands, then the Galapagos islands. Loosing the weight ( 150 lbs ) has certainly made diving more enjoyable. I no longer have a weight belt that would sink the titanic. Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCGrove Posted October 14, 2007 Report Share Posted October 14, 2007 Hi Everybody,I know I have asked this question months ago....but, here it is again. Have any of your had any problems with scuba diving after the lapband surgery? How long did you wait before going diving? I work as a scuba instructor in the Cayman Islands and have taken 8 weeks off to have the surgery with Dr. Ortiz. My surgery was two weeks ago and I am feeling fine. I return to work on Oct 20. I have just received an email from my boss in the Caymans about an article that says Adjustable banded gastrony patients must wait a year or longer before diving again. Now he is asking me for a note saying that I am okay to return to work. Not like I don't have a trillon other things on my mind right now... to have to worry about my job. Any divers out there? Help! Dottie I was just reading this thread and I have one thing to add. Make sure you eat a couple hours before going under or have a liquid meal, something that is not going to stick around. When I went diving for the first time I had a quick little lunch and dove about 45 minutes later. I didn't have a huge problem but I did feel sick to my stomach. The next dive I went on I had one of those yogurt drinks and a protien shake and had no problems. This is my experiance. It was more a point of comfort than anything else. JC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noname Posted October 14, 2007 Report Share Posted October 14, 2007 I was wondering that too! I have also heard somewhere that you have to wait a year. If I had to guess I would say that your stomach is more compressable than the saline filled band... I was worried that the pressure would affect the stomach and the band differently causing slippage, i think the longer you wait, the more tissue around the band, the less likely that will happen... I would contact Inamed or the manufacturer of your band and ask them- and keep in touch and let me know what they say!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kris_TX Posted October 20, 2007 Report Share Posted October 20, 2007 I was wondering that too!I have also heard somewhere that you have to wait a year. If I had to guess I would say that your stomach is more compressable than the saline filled band... I was worried that the pressure would affect the stomach and the band differently causing slippage, i think the longer you wait, the more tissue around the band, the less likely that will happen... I would contact Inamed or the manufacturer of your band and ask them- and keep in touch and let me know what they say!!! I started diving again 5 months after my surgery, with no problems whatsoever. I think use common sense...if you are healed and available to exercise, the band isn't going to hold you back from heading down an atmosphere or two! (my opinion only...although I did get all this cleared with doctor before diving)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveF Posted January 20, 2010 Report Share Posted January 20, 2010 I realise this is an old threat however I have some questions. I had my surgery on the 10th Dec and had a Doctors appointment today and he is telling my I should not dive below 12 meters or 40 ft. Is this true. I am going to TRUK and Guam this year and they are a hell of a lot deeper than that. So advice from other divers who have dived to deeper depths would be appreciated. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trav Posted January 20, 2010 Report Share Posted January 20, 2010 It should be like any surgery wait period. 6-10 weeks, more than likely (consult physician)... Pressures involved in diving wouldn't cause any ill effects, once you're properly healed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveF Posted January 20, 2010 Report Share Posted January 20, 2010 It should be like any surgery wait period. 6-10 weeks, more than likely (consult physician)... Pressures involved in diving wouldn't cause any ill effects, once you're properly healed. Thanks Trav, he is telling me that there maybe some air in the band and that it may cause a problem. I am of the opinion that altitude would be more of a problem than Scuba. Had the Op on 10th Dec so I should be ok to dive now and I am not going overseas until September so all should be good by then I would think. Cheers Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trav Posted January 20, 2010 Report Share Posted January 20, 2010 Thanks Trav, he is telling me that there maybe some air in the band and that it may cause a problem. I am of the opinion that altitude would be more of a problem than Scuba. Had the Op on 10th Dec so I should be ok to dive now and I am not going overseas until September so all should be good by then I would think. Cheers Steve Even if there *is* air in the band, remember that when you're diving, you're putting pressure on it, this will compress it, not expand it. The bigger risk is flying, and most of us fly when we go home. Usually there's not any air in a band (aside from *maybe* a tiny bubble if any). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flaggirl Posted January 21, 2010 Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 This is a question for Dr. Ortiz or associates. Call OCC directly for the best advice. I live at 7,100 feet and don't have problems going to sea level. Would that be a similar situation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveF Posted January 21, 2010 Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 This is a question for Dr. Ortiz or associates. Call OCC directly for the best advice. I live at 7,100 feet and don't have problems going to sea level. Would that be a similar situation? I don't think it would be the same, the pressure from 7100 feet in less than the first 100 feet under water. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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