Let me know so we can talk about any issues related to banding...

Thanks,

GiGi:kiss2:

Do you have to be certified, take classes, can you rent equipment etc?

There is class work, pool work, and if you want open Water certification you'll have to complete a variety of activities in open water. That's pADI anyway, I'd imagine NAUI, WASI, etc. have the same basic criteria, but can only speak to PADI for sure.

In the pool you'll have to do skill tests like a swim test... don't remeber the distance but several in our class struggled.. and you have to float for x number of minutes... no problem for the fatties. Then you have to do dive skills... breathing underwater from a free-flowing regulator without having it in your mouth, mask removal/clear, hovering, etc. You do the same things in open water, and then some, like your CESA (controlled emergency swimming ascent), emergency breathing, etc. There's nothing like being on 50 degree water and having to flood your mask with water *brrr*.

I don't remember exactly what I had to do to pass my advanced cert, but it was things specific to the categories of advanced diving. I remember I had to dive Nitrox, night dives, nacigation dives, recovery dives, deep dives... basically, all the fun stuff.

Hello All!

Great thread- thanks for all the posts! My doctor told me that there was no problem diving with the band. If I thought for a minute there would be a problem, I would have choosen bypass instead. Diving is just that important to me! We leave for a trip next Thursday, so I'll find out soon if there's a problem. I am sure that I'll have to make an adjustment to the amount of weight I use. Before the first dive I'll guess at the amount of weight I need, then have to do a buoyancy check. My BCD has an adjustable strap, so it should still work for awhile. My wetsuit should still fit until this winter. Thank goodness for stretch! If you keep a dive log, record your current weight and the amount of weights you were using at that time. It will give you a starting point for the next dive trip. My DH is my buddy, so we'll make a new signal in case of some band related problem. I'll post when I get home and let everyone know how things went. :ip: