Scuba diving

Hi, everyone!  I hope you're all enjoying your summer.

My progress through all my appointments and everything is a bit stalled right now (the psychiatrist at TWH that I thought had passed me apparently did not, and now I'm waiting on him to get in touch with my GP to make sure I have the support I need post-surgery), but with a little bit of luck, I'll have my surgeon appointment soon.

My mom just texted me to ask a question—will my surgery affect my ability to scuba dive?  She wants to go on a vacation in January, and hopefully I'll have been able to get under the knife before that.  The only complication I can think of would be that scuba tanks and gear can be pretty heavy.  Other than that, I can't imagine having a problem with scuba itself.  

I'll definitely ask at my surgeon's appointment, but I thought I'd see if you guys have any input on it too.

It will depend on when you have your surgery. If you have it one month before the surgeon will say no. If you were to have it next week than you would be OK. 

Thanks!

As was said, it will depend on when you have surgery and how you are feeling in January.  Depending on how long after surgery you dive, you will need to watch out for a few things.  Your wetsuit/shoes may not fit.  Your regular weight belt may need to be adjusted. It'll be little things that you won't think about needing to change.

I dove in '98/'99, after that I gained a lot of weight.  Now I'm a lot smaller than I was then, so my suit is way too big.  Wouldn't do it's job any more.  Tried selling it a few years ago, but no bites.  Need to try to sell it again, get it out of my garage.

Cathy

Edited to add:

I was curious so looked up diving after surgery and found a couple threads you might be interested in:

http://www.diversalertnetwork.org/medical/faq/Bariatric_Surgery_and_Diving
http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/203053-scuba-diving-and-swimming-after-surgery/

The surgeon and follow up appointments will give you the best information for your situation (these are from other experiences).

Thanks!  This info is great.