Not enough air

[randy54]

I am NOT a doc, so this is just my thoughts: As others have said, it could be too tight of a wetsuit or jacket BC, this is why I changed to a drysuit and BP and wings. It could be quick shallow breathing, rather than slow deep breaths. Again it could be your not in good physical condition. One other thing it could be, if you think you are in fairly good condition, but have the same problem, maybe started recently, when doing other normal activities on the surface, like walking up stairs is hard now, could be a sign of clogged artries restricting the blood flow. A very active friend suddenly found his breathing became labored when doing sporting activities he'd done for years, and ended up needing a stint put in.

 

[tfsails]

Lots of good advice here, which I won't try to duplicate. One thing, however, comes to mind: underwater, breathing deeper than you normally would on the surface assures that you won't be overly affected by the "dead air" in your mouth, pharynx, trachia, and bronchial tubes. If you don't breathe fairly deeply when diving, this air, which is low on O2 and high in CO2, can affect you more than on the surface. Everybody has this "dead air" space; it can't be helped. The cure for this is nice deep breaths.

I'd suspect that your primary reason for this feeling is anxiety with the concomitant need to breathe more rapidly than normal. I think most divers (certainly I have...) have been there and done that at least once in their careers. You just gotta slow down and take some nice easy breaths.

Good luck!

 

[Puffer Fish]

I hope that diver4life will stop by and provide some additional information...hard to know what direction to go with an answer.

 

[diver4life]

First off i would like to thank everyone who replied to my thread.
Here is some info that many of you have questions about.
My setup consists of a bp/w and apeks atx 200/50 reg. I haven't used a wetsuit in years, only a t shirt so nothing restrictive. At first I thought the tight bc was part of the problem but it continued even after getting a bp/w. Trying to describe not enough air- like taking a deep breath but not getting enough and hard to get that air. Just not enough air flowing out of the reg. I don't know if you can picture that or not.
I'm pretty calm in the water with pretty good buoyancy skills. Not flailing my arms around etc. I am out of shape cardiovascularly wise but probally (hopefully) not more than average.I was going to try and have my tech guy change my flow settings as someone mentioned. Other than that i don't know. I do know that being underwater and like always fighting to get the right amount of air is very uncomfortable. I love diving but definately hate that low air feeling.
I hope this info gives you a better picture that can help with my situation.
Thanks,
Doug

 

[miketrance84]

I don't know off hand if your regulator is high performance or not but if it isn't, you might want to look into one. I know my Atomic Z2 delivers more than enough air.
If it is a high performance perhaps it has been serviced incorrectly.

Has anyone else tried your regulator and experianced the same problems. Perhaps let someone else whos opinion you trust dive it and see if they encounter the same issues.

I'm not exactly sure how out of shape cardiovascularly you are but that may be in part or all of the problem. Do you find yourself out of breath climbing a few flights of stairs? Can you run for a few min or do you feel tired and winded afterwords?

 

[diver4life]

I don't know off hand if your regulator is high performance or not but if it isn't, you might want to look into one. I know my Atomic Z2 delivers more than enough air.
If it is a high performance perhaps it has been serviced incorrectly.

Has anyone else tried your regulator and experianced the same problems. Perhaps let someone else whos opinion you trust dive it and see if they encounter the same issues.

I'm not exactly sure how out of shape cardiovascularly you are but that may be in part or all of the problem. Do you find yourself out of breath climbing a few flights of stairs? Can you run for a few min or do you feel tired and winded afterwords?

I would be a little winded after about 3 or 4 flights of stairs but not out of breath. And that is at a normal pace. My wife has tried my reg and says it's fine but then again she is only 115lbs i am 190lbs.
Regards,
Doug
Doug

 

[scubadobadoo]

I just can't get enough air out of it and then i get a little and sometimes a lot anxious.
Doug

I do know that being underwater and like always fighting to get the right amount of air is very uncomfortable. I love diving but definately hate that low air feeling.
Doug

Mild panic/anxiety leading to C02 retention is likely your problem as was stated. I bet for some reason you have built this issue up in your head and now you HAVE TO re-program yourself. The fact that you have come here to discuss the issue will likely jump start a positive outcome.

I recommend pool time or very shallow water practice until you can change the way you breathe and the way you feel about diving and the anxiety that IS OCCURRING within yourself. Relax, breathe deep and slow, and enjoy yourself. If you don't, you may likely find yourself entering a full blown panic if something goes wrong. Just the smallest perception of a problem can lead an already stressed out diver to a bolt to the surface. And let's face it, if you are worried about getting enough air (for any reason) while diving, then you are already close to a full blown panic. For example, say somebody smacks your mask and it comes off while you are already feeling like you can't get enough air at 90 feet.... could be a major problem. It's only seconds before the narrowing of perception takes place and you are bolting like a mad man for no real reason other than you "felt" like you couldn't breathe. Diving is the last thing you wanna do if you feel you can't breathe.

I am a diver who has felt like you and I have bolted earlier in my diving some 6 years ago. It changed the way I dive and while bolting for the surface could have killed me, I am glad it happened because that incident has probably saved me ten fold.

Look inside yourself Danielson. Wax on, wax off.

Of course you could have a medical condition but I certainly don't know and certainly hope not. :depressed: Nonetheless, the same applies.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

ATX 200/50 is a darn nice breathing reg ... unless it's incredibly detuned, somehow I doubt that's the problem.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[fisheater]

Why not have a doctor give you a pulmonary function test?

Could be the early signs of a medical issue.

 

[ZenDiver.3D]

the XTX-200 is a top of the line reg. It also has two different control knobs on the second stage. They adjust flow rate. Have you played iwth teh adjustments there? I have that reg and it will allow a very low flow to tons. That is one option in addition to all teh good ideas above.