Not sure what is wrong, help please

[Buttertoes]

Hi all, this is my first post here. I need some advice.

I am 42 and started diving with my husband in 2011. I have my advanced open water and have almost 40 dives. A year ago I switched from a wetsuit to a dry and whether it's related to that or not things have been getting worse for me since

in a nutshell, diving has gone from fun and interesting- to making me physically ill over the past year. It seems to be progressively worsening and after my last dive last week, I wonder if I should sell my gear...

We had a manta night dive booked. We went in for the first sunset dive. It was relaxed and ranged from 20-75 foot and we were down maybe 40 minutes. I had a moment when I felt air starved but it passed and finished my dive with 1100 pounds remaining ( others finished with @700 so I think that suggests I am not anxious or hyperventilating). I surfaced not feeling great. On deck it got worse. I laid down on the bow and felt my cheeks and lips 'rippling'. My hands started to clasp like lobster claws and my mouth went dry. Felt sick to my stomach. I started breathing hard/rapid and then blacked out. I came to with the captain giving me oxygen and calling divers alert. After about 45 minutes my hands relaxed again, though I was still sick (and fed the fish 3x). I felt better once I got home and seemed 100% next day. Needless to say I didn't do the night dive and didn't see the mantas.

In retrospect I think I see a pattern. I' was sick to my stomach with a splitting headache after diving Cozumel last year. I have been fighting sensations of being confined and impeded by my cumbersome dry suit and have surfaced feeling queezy a number of times. It seems like the issue is getting worse and worse- though I might be looking for a pattern in unrelated things.

I am fit, athletic and a water dog. I surf, snorkel, swim and grew up on boats. I've waited a lifetime to learn to scuba and now I am disappointed it might not be for me... I'd have sworn my trouble was my gear but after Cozumel and the manta dive (wearing light wetsuits) I was not feeling well either...

Any suggestions on troubleshooting this? I will add I fought off a respiratory infection 2 weeks ago and though I still have mild congestion it didn't affect the 6 km crater hike up and down 400' we just did... And I was completely fine last year at Cozumel.

Thanks for reading this- I hope someone has some suggestions for me

 

[mathauck0814]

Sounds oddly like it could be Co2 related (though that's a stab in the dark), perhaps some more details? Are you using your own equipment in both cases (the same equipment in both cases) or were you using rental equipment obtained from the dive operator (different/new to you in both cases)?

 

[spectrum]

"Splitting headache" is a red flag for Co2 retention. Could you breathing shallow instead of deeply and slow? Low air usage is nice but it has to come about the right way.

Also as asked has your gear, other that the drysuit usage been a constant across your experieince?

Pete

 

[TSandM]

The lobster-claw hands sound like hyperventilation. If you blow your CO2 down far enough, your hands will cramp.

But that doesn't go along very well with the gas consumption on the dive, unless, once you got OUT of the water, you started to pant from anxiety.

It is also possible that you have some kind of medical problem totally unrelated to diving. Low serum calcium can produce cramping as well, and so can very low serum sodium. Are you pushing water in a serious way before you dive?

 

[TONY CHANEY]

Good points already added but I'll add a couple. First, go back to the wet suit and see if the problem is still there. If not you might have your neck seal to tight and thus cutting off blood supply to your brain. Never rule out a medical problem. I am guessing that when you said," ...others finished with @700 psi...," the others were men. If so you might want to know that most men use more gas than women. You could still be hyperventilating in that you are only 400 psi apart from the others.
OBTW, what gas was you using and did you have it analized for CO and did any of the other divers have trouble post dive?

 

[tanksforthememories]

I agree with Tony. Sounds like possible carotid sinus constriction.

 

[Jack Hammer]

Are you constantly and consistently brathing? Do you skip breath? CO2 retention sounds likely, how it is occurring needs to be determined in order to prevent it. Ive seen some people in drysuits keep them far too tight and breath shallow and irregularly trying to control bouyancy.

Sent via flying butt monkie using Tapatalk 2

 

[Redshift]

You said the captain called DAN... What was their view on what happened?
I know people who felt really bad when they changed to dry suit. As others said, check the neck seal.

 

[Buttertoes]

Thanks so much- you guys responded so quickly!
its always hard to say enough without saying too much- let me try and clarify some things

- things seemed to get bad around the time I started using my drysuit but the last (and worst) dive was in a rented wetsuit (so was Cozumel)

- I rent tanks, regs and BCDs (own a drysuit, mask and fins)

- I make a point of taking a deep breath, holding it for a moment, and breathing out slowly while I dive

- I think I am a relaxed diver. I have decent buoyancy control

- I did cut the neck seal on the drysuit looser and thought it helped some- but I've had bad dives in a 3ml shorty and a 4ml farmer john too.

- the other divers were men and women on the last dive. They seemed surprised how much air I had left if that means anything...

- when I could talk I spoke with the dr via DAN. He said it sounded like hyperventilation but there was no explanation for it... (He wanted to link it to anxiety but the only problem I was aware of was terrible nausea) Why the nausea, why the rippling face muscles? Both started before I began breathing hard (which led to my hands clenching up and blacking out). Why the nausea in Cozumel and why the queezy feelings after other dives? The constricted feelings I can blame on the drysuit. The rest I am not sure...

- there were a couple of sea sick snorkelers on board but no other divers complained of trouble. I've been around boats my whole life- I know what seasick is and this felt worse (and began when I surfaced in the water)

---------- Post added March 30th, 2014 at 04:56 AM ----------

Oh we were just using air. I did not have it analysed for CO

 

[DandyDon]

Lots of variable. I'm surprised you don't own your own reg. I'm curious about the full lung breath hold you mentioned, which may be nothing if it's a few seconds. Anxiety from a cumbersome dry suit is possible; do you chill easily in the water? Too bad charters don't supply CO tank testers as you never know for certain without testing, and the risk can be a one tank only thing - need more divers asking for such. As experienced as you are in & on the water, I'm sure this can be fixed in time, so avoid stressing over it which would make the solution more difficult to find.