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matej

PneumothoraX!... Should l say NO to skydiving?

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Hey,

lm jumping for 2 years and make successful 210 jumps when suddenly (also for my birthday) get spontaneous pneumothorax :(
A collapsed lungs requiered a chest tube for a few days and docs said that its the best to forget and live normaly life on, but no jumping for a few months. Before l manage to forget it, it happened again, 5 weeks later (after New Year), it collapsed again on the same - left side of lung. They decided for surgery only left side although CT scan show a blebs on the both side of lungs. Its called pulmonary emphysema - little blebs on lungs. l went home after 11 days in hospital and of course, my doc completly forbid me to skydive ever and all extreme sports, but l cant agree with him.
So the big question for me should l really say no due to the possibilities that can spontaneous happened again? Its almost impossible. Ive just start to freefly with my friend, try a wingsuit ... and skydiving is the best thing in my life right now ;)
l really need more opinion, experience of skydivers, expert, more knowledge in connection skydiving and pneumothorax.
And another big question - should l jump only hop and pops? :S Our full altitude is 4500 meters and there is a change of pressure. Is it a big chance to cause it again?
lm know lm asking too much but l will be thankful for any suggestion that will help me to come to conclusion about skydiving.

Thank you!!!

Blue sky!

P.s: Matej is my boyfriend who always sign in on this forum :)

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This is a case where a search on the word pneumothorax will let you see that others have asked the same question, as well as the people who have answered. You want to search in all forums, though, not just this one.

Wendy W.
There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

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@wmw999: l read this discussion on pneumothorax question before asking this.

What l really want to find out is connection between pnth. and skydiving. All doc in hospital are completely convinced that change in pressure help to cause or even cause a pnth and that is my fault what happening to me because Im skydiver. And that is really stupid.
lm asking for those who have it if you are still skydiving from full altitude?
l believe l will make a hop and pops jumps some days, but lm not sure for full altitude [:/]

Thank you again!

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My best friend had a spontaneous pneumothorax last year, was in the hospital for 16 days and had the surgery (his was on the left side also). He's not a skydiver but I was with him when the surgeon was telling him what precautions to take, and he was told to avoid pressure-changing activities like skydiving and scuba for six months after the surgery. If you got the surgery it is VERY unlikely that you'll have it again on the same side (I assume you had the same procedure he did where they cause an inflammatory response that essentially glues your lung to the inside of your chest cavity). His surgeon did not think that skydiving would increase the chance of it happening again as long as he waited six months.
If you've had spontaneous pneumothorax on one side, apparently your risk of having it on the other side is pretty high, but again this particular surgeon didn't think skydiving would increase that risk (I asked because I had been hoping to get my friend to do a tandem at some point). I suppose opinions vary but this is what we were told by the surgeon here in New Zealand.
Good luck!

"Perhaps she saw before her a lifetime of walking on the ruined earth and chose instead a single moment in the air." -Carolyn Parkhurst

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A one time pneumo is one thing. If youve got numerous identified blebs, the odds of this happening again are significantly higher. SKydiving is bad ass, but so is breathing and not having chest tubes. The safe way to be would be not skydiving, but if you want to try it, try it, just be prepared to live with the consequences.

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I had a pneumothorax years ago but it was due to trauma. The doctor advised to avoid certain activities for a few months. Other than that....good to go including SCUBA and Skydiving. I would ask your primary care physician (assuming this is a different doctor than the one who gave you this advise) what his or her opinion is. I would not "shop" for a doctor until you found one who told you what you want to hear but it wouldn't hurt to get another opinion or two from people who know specific details about your health history. It would suck if the answer was "not safe to jump" but life and health are too important to F around with....even if it is wingsuiting! LOL

Good luck.

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See if you can find a military or aviation doctor who knows pulmonology. Doctors in hospital are not that familiar with what skydivers do and go through, so their reaction is likely to be "no." A military or aviation doctor knows more about the conditions, and can give you an honest opinion about your condition.

Then take his or her advice, because it will be based on fact and knowledge, and not fear.

Wendy W.
There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

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Odd ... I just posted some of this in another thread in S & T before I saw this ... LOL! Been there done that ... 3 times. I had a "spontaneous" collapse, took off about a year then resumed jumping, had a 2nd collapse and following that was investigating surgeons to get an abrasive pleurodesis done when it went a 3rd time. Best guess of my initial doctor and the specialist who eventually was in charge of me was that mine was not caused by skydiving (I was out surfing when the first one occurred). After the first, the doctor who worked on me told me no more skydiving or scuba ... ever. I pursued other opinions and finally found a guy who teaches flight surgeons who gave me good info, and informed me about the abrasive pleurodesis procedure. Not sure what the surgery was mentioned in the earlier post in this thread, but based on what I was told about mine, if that is what it was, the person shouldn't have to worry much about further collapses unless the procedure wasn't effective. Since I had mine done I've logged about 85 jumps without problems. I was still told that scuba should probably be avoided because of the severe pressure, but he did say I could try it and see. I have done some snorkeling since, but no scuba. Once down to about 20 feet, the way the pressure made that side of my chest feel made me not want to go deeper very badly ... LOL! It wasn't a pain, just a really odd feeling, and I didn't want to risk causing further problems. 3 times going thru the chest tubes and such is bad enough, and if I rip it loose now, the only other option is to crack me open and sew it back into place. The good thing about the abrasive pleurodesis is the recovery time. He told me that even pilots are back in the air about 60 days afterward (that is how long I was told to wait when mine was done). For me, it boiled down to finding a doctor familiar with flying and associated risks, because they have a much better grasp on the effects skydiving could have. I agree with the concept that each person is different though ... and the decision ultimately rests with you as to what risks you are willing to take after such a procedure.
As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

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Thanks for sharing with me your experience, specially thanks to Beachbum. How many jumps did you make till now, Beachbum?

anyway l found the doc who is responsible for medical conditions of pilot and he is also pulmonary. lt should past 6 months after surgery to see my "perfect healty" :)

Till now l dont have any problems and also any jumps :( but l do a lot of sports ... of course, l have a plenty of free time...

so l will keep you inform when l will start or wont start ;)

blue sky,
mojca

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okay ... pulled out my logbook to get #'s so I don't lie ... LOL!! My first jump following the abrasive pleurodesis was in may of '06, and since the surgery I've now done 114 jumps. That # is a bit low because I've also got a problem with one ear getting fluid buildup, and am usually limited to 1 or 2 jumps per outing. My total is now at 169 ... hoping to hit 200 this year. Slow progress at that rate, but at least I still get to jump ... :) ... !!!

Best of luck to you with your's ... and yes, please let us know if/when you get back in the air, and how your recovery is progressing.
As long as you are happy with yourself ... who cares what the rest of the world thinks?

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Hi all,

Were you able to jump again?

I've got a spontaneous pneumothorax about 4 months ago and doctors say that I have a 50% chance of recurrence in the first year. Not sure if I can jump now or wait for six month or even a year. I did the Lung Function Test and the results were normal.

Difficult decision to make...

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..... since the surgery I've now done 114 jumps. That # is a bit low because I've also got a problem with one ear getting fluid buildup, and am usually limited to 1 or 2 jumps per outing. .....
.......................................................................

Have you discussed ear drain tubes (stents) with your doctor?

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Unfortunately, a skydiving forum is not the best place to get medical advice...

Problem is, doctors are not the best people to give you skydiving advice...

My father has has 2 pneumothoraxes in this life... My brother had one when he was at university and I did when I was 16. When I had mine, little was known about causes, but they did know it was more frequent among young, slender, athletic people and that some people seemed genetically predisposed to it. I was told there was little evidence to correlate smoking and a pneumothorax (my dad a heavy smoker - my brother and I non-smokers and very healthy). I wasn't given any tips to prevent it from happening again - I was just told to try to get to the hospital more quickly if it did.

My dad told me that on both occasions, he was not doing anything physical/strenuous to trigger it... My brother was playing volley-ball when he had his (although not pushing any harder than usual) and I was peddling along on a bicycle (also not something I consider strenuous).

My brother and I are both very sporty and have never (yet) had a second one. He is 37 and I turn 36 in a month...

If possible, perhaps seek several opinions from the medical community. You may not find anyone who actually understands skydiving, however, so take their opinions (because they are opinions unless backed up by actual scientific research) with an appropriate dose of salt.

Take any advice on here with a double dose of salt!!!
"There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse."
- Chris Hadfield
« Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. »
- my boss

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hjumper33

A one time pneumo is one thing. If youve got numerous identified blebs, the odds of this happening again are significantly higher. SKydiving is bad ass, but so is breathing and not having chest tubes. The safe way to be would be not skydiving, but if you want to try it, try it, just be prepared to live with the consequences.



Yep, that right there.

Spontaneous pneumos are a bit of a mystery, and calculating odds of another are impossible, other than "high," which means, "more likely than a random person."

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Nataly

Unfortunately, a skydiving forum is not the best place to get medical advice...

Problem is, doctors are not the best people to give you skydiving advice...



How about skydiving (ER) doctors like hjumper33?
Skydiving Fatalities - Cease not to learn 'til thou cease to live

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