headaches

[manni-yunk]

I scuba dive and spearfish frequently. I get CO2 headaches - or at least I used to. I consciously take long deep exhalations with every breath. When people are purposely thinking about their air consumption - or - stalking fish - they often time hold their breath or skip breath which causes CO2 retention.


Since I changed my breathing pattern - it has not been a problem. I used to get headaches so bad I had to lay down for a few hours. Hasn't happened in a few years and now my breathing is set and correct. Funny thing is now my consumption is less than it was when I was breathing wrong.

 

[BadaBing]

Thanks guys. I spoke with my friend this evening (actually attended a DAN meeting together) and he's also thinking CO2 buildup is the culprit. Probably explains why he's the best spearo among us... silent killer. Guess for now I just need to emphatically remind him before every dive to breathe deeply.

Tom, thanks, another good reason to get you out with us. Hope your TX trip went well.

 

[lv2dive]

You brought up Imitrex... Since your friend is a doctor I am sure he knows this but others reading this thread may not... It is not a good idea to dive immediately after taking Imitrex. As a fellow migraine sufferer, I used to get migraines (caused by the same reason I suspect) and would take Imitrex after a dive - the migraine would resolve in time for the second dive and I'd get right back in after the SI. I'm sure one of the medical pros could speak to the specific concerns but that was NOT a good idea and I count myself lucky that I did not do myself any permanent damage.

 

[Bopper]

I used to get headaches (coupled w. extreme fatigue) after 2 to 3 dives. Actually created a THREAD about it a while back. As you can see from my update (last post), it seems that my regulator was not open wide enough. Important thing to note here is that you cannot tell the difference between sufficient breathing ease and insufficient breathing ease just by breathing the regulator. I ended up cranking the regulator "open" as much as possible just before free flow at the surface, then cranking it back slightly. If he can't adjust his reg to a more "open" position, your buddy might try diving w. another person's reg to see if he continues to show the same symptoms.

 

[BRT]

One wild unlikely idea is to check his blood pressure while he has the headache. I got them for years when diving. Thought it was cold or CO2 or sinus problems. It was an adrenal tumor and the pressure on my kidneys from the BCD/weights set it off. The result was sky high blood pressure causing headaches. Not going to be the problem here, very rare, but simple enough to check blood pressure.

 

[kensuf]

Another arm chair quarterback vote for hypercapnia (CO2 buildup). I'm willing to bet he's skip breathing quite a bit, and suffering the consequences.

 

[BadaBing]

More good info. In talking to him, he doesn't take the immitrex after diving (turns out he does get migraines at other times and does take it then). He takes propanol (or something like that) that supposedly constricts the blood vessels to relieve the migraine. I'll mention opening up the regulator.