Getting narced.

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All of my winter dives are constrained to inland fresh water sites and I am getting narced more often than not at the minute. Until last weekend it always hit at about 30-35 metres - suddenly everything went eerily silent and all I could hear were my bubbles as if they were fighting their way through treacle. The conditions were cold, dark and poor viz with no landmarks to orientate myself. The feelings were a sudden realisation that I shouldn't be there. Ascend a few metres and it all disappears. Last Sunday I dived in a quarry with a max depth of 25 metres - the water temp was 5c and the viz was TERRIBLE. Same feelings at 19m this time. I knew what was happening and therefore could cope ok but it does make for an uncomfortable dive for a time.

I'm off to Gran Canaria in 10 weeks (hooray!) so I'll do a deep dive there (30-40m) and compare the results. I am well aware that narcosis is always there, its just your preception of it that makes it manifest itself.

Regards
 
in his second post. Re-read that post carefully, there is a lot of wisdom in it. (His first and last were also correct, but I really liked that second one...)

It's almost like the old adage about peeing in your wetsuit... There are two types of divers... those that admit narcosis, and those really, really dangerous ones who don't have a clue.

Uncle Pug, I would like to try trimix/heliox once at depth. Maybe when you get tired of the cold and head down here for a vaca...
 
Originally posted by NetDoc
Maybe when you get tired of the cold and head down here for a vaca...

I don't mind the cold so much Pete....
But this has been a lousy summer....
It even tried to snow today!!!
 
One quick thought for the evening, before my brain locks up..
I absolutely do not :loopy: "get anything":loopy: out of the Dental application of Nitros Oxide.
As I have stated before, I am not inclined to get get 'REAL' narced either:loopy: (yes I know I do get narced to some degree, I'm not quite into egyptian rivers)

How about it :doctor: , any correlation?

I'm a big boy = tear into it (really I'm kind of :mousy: )

Dave
 
Narcossis is similar to drinking one or two beers. We can handle it. The real test is to do a skill on the surface then at 30 feet and later at depth (100 feet or so). Tests after tests have shown that ALL divers have a degree of impairment.

So if you feel you are not getting the narcossis you feel you are entitled to, you are simply in denial. Tech divers use END (equivalent narcossis depth) at which they believe they can function well enough when planning a deep dive. They do their gas mixes (tri-mix) so that at deeper depths they will have approximately the same task solving skills as at a shallower depth. Tri mix removes some of the nitrogen and adds helium (and for some really deep dives, neon or hydrogen)

Nitrox will not show any improvement if you are affected by narcossis. Oxygen is as much a narcotic as nitrogen.
 
Thats what I'm afraid of.... (Well not to much)

Drinking does me the same way. I can have two or three and get very little effect... Butttttttttt. add a couple of more, and I go downhill - REAL fast... I do know my limits there also.

So I believe I will keep that correlation in the front of my mind while deep diving...

Dave
 
ok, perhaps the orginal post should have said 'I hold my nitrogen well at 90-100 ft'. I have not noticed any effected judgement at depth, I and anyone I was diving with was also fortunate enough to have had any real problems at depth. The only 'test' I've done to see how nitrogen affects at depth was my deep dive for Adv OW, sign you name five times at the surface then again at the bottom. Both of us actually did it faster at depth... but I think the time was a result of the difference between a small boat pitching on a very windy day and the sand bottom. As would be expected moving to cold water I have many many questions. I'm doing a dry suit class right now, and got a lot of them answered but 'the one question you forget about' was increased noticabilty of getting narced. Thanks guys. OW dives next Sunday!!! yea!
 
Jess,
Allow me further explaination of the effects of narcosis and why you might not have noticed them...

The narcotic effect narrows your range of attention...
Not so much a tunneling of vision as a tunneling of perception...

While you can still focus on an objective (to a certain PP of Nitrogen) and within that focus be able to perform reasonably well...

What you are unaware of is....
That you are unaware of what is going on around you...
And that is why you don't notice it....
Insidious is the word that comes to mind...

As the depth increases the narcotic effect narrows your focus even more until you finally get to the point that extreme concentration is required to even perform that one simple task right in front of your nose....

But way before this....

The danger is that you will not been able to handle problems that might arise...

This is exacerbated by the fact that you will not be aware that problems are developing and thus will not be able to head them off...

For the <60 rec. dive this may not be a big deal... but when you start going deeper the stakes start getting higher real fast...

Situational Awareness is the diver's most important skill....
And it is the one skill that is most compromised by narcosis...

The fact that you cannot tell that you are effected is an indication of just how effected you are....

No one is *good* at nitrogen narcosis!!!

:wink:
 
Ever find yourself very focused and able to concentrate on a specific task very well at depth.Such as bouyancy control,turning on a light ,cheching guages etc........?I remember doing some deeper dives on air during my tri-mix class(relax, almost everyone did it then)I was amazed at my ability to perform a list of tasks the my instructor had told me orally prior to the dive.He(on mix)was amazed at my ability to completely miss steps and whole exercises.I rather enjoy an END down to about 100'(bad knees and back feel lots better) past that I'm aware of my perceptional narrowing as a bad thing.I still dive on air to 130+ to spearfish,but if any additional task -loading is added...it's mix time.
 
Dear readers:

It is clear to most people that nitrogen narcosis does occur at depth and that it is variable. This is a common effect with anesthetic substances - - or any drug for that matter. Control and variability is one reason why an anesthesiologist is always present during the entire duration of a surgical procedure.

Brinking beverage alcohol is similar. The response may not be the same each time.:coke:

As many responders indicated, what we believe to be our reaction and what it actually is are two entirely different things. Many individuals, for example, drive while intoxicated and believe that they are in full control of their faculties. The truth is different and often with horrific results. :boom:

Dr Deco :doctor:
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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