You stopped and things got better...CO2. As was mentioned CO2 combined with a little narcosis makes for a bad day. The exertion part of your dive would indicate C02 build up. Anything that cleared up by ascending...narcosis. The start of the panic cycle is usually (IMO) CO2 buildup as indicated by the rapid breathing that used up 700 psi.
"Dark Narc"
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You stopped and things got better...CO2. As was mentioned CO2 combined with a little narcosis makes for a bad day. The exertion part of your dive would indicate C02 build up. Anything that cleared up by ascending...narcosis. The start of the panic cycle is usually (IMO) CO2 buildup as indicated by the rapid breathing that used up 700 psi.
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When you get to more serious adventure diving, there are some incredible dives to enjoy with huge currents....the big currents often bring exponentially more biomass to a wreck or reef ( congregating fish, etc).
For many sites like this, there is really no way to accurately get to a point on a reef or a wreck, if you can not go down with extreme speed. But again, this is potentially beyond normal recreational diving....however, there are plenty of good recreational divers who will want to enjoy dives which border on this more advanced level.....so the descending fast skill is good for them.
Regards,
DanV
p.s.
Once on a deep wreck in the high current environment, typically you can get almost completely out of any current once on the wreck itself...
Garth
Contributor
Temperature, light, and visibility are the three things that bring my attention to a peak. Narcosis heightened by each one. Staying calm is important. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
question: How long were you at depth dealing with your mask that caused you to burn through 700 PSI on your tank? That seems like a lot of gas. Did you have a regulator failure?
If my calculations are correct you would've used 24cu ft. at 4 atm approx. (3.7)
question: How long were you at depth dealing with your mask that caused you to burn through 700 PSI on your tank? That seems like a lot of gas. Did you have a regulator failure?
If my calculations are correct you would've used 24cu ft. at 4 atm approx. (3.7)
Garth
Contributor
Well thinking about it now that would be 6 minutes at 1 cuft/min SAC which isn't bad under stress. Anyway, it makes sense but I'm still curious how much time that was if you have it on you dive computer.
Good call to turn the dive.
Good call to turn the dive.
gryder
Registered
I had a similar experience with my first 'deep' (well, deep for me!) dive. It was a Truk Lagoon wreck, I hit 40m and got suddenly got dizzy and disoriented. The water was warm, crystal clear and I figured (wrongly) that it would settle. I kept checking my air, comparing it with my buddies to ensure I wasn't using more than usual (which interestingly I wasn't), but soon the dizziness turned to a stomping headache, nausea and the feeling I was going to blackout. I thumbed the dive and my awesome dive buddy got me safely up the line with all stops intact...
It didn't occur to me until reading this thread that I had CO2 buildup. On reflection, I was excited but nervous about the dive and during the descent my heart was absolutely hammering. This would have affected my breathing and up goes the CO2. I've learnt something - thanks for sharing!
PS This is my first post - if this turns up on the forum 17 times I apologise
It didn't occur to me until reading this thread that I had CO2 buildup. On reflection, I was excited but nervous about the dive and during the descent my heart was absolutely hammering. This would have affected my breathing and up goes the CO2. I've learnt something - thanks for sharing!
PS This is my first post - if this turns up on the forum 17 times I apologise
cfenton
Contributor
Not to be redundant but my initial thought when reading the original post was CO2 as well. Narcosis...near panic...increased SAC...all point to CO2 to me. I've had two serious CO2 hits in my life, once in deepwater and once in shallow water (but both times dealing with significant current). You often read about nitrogen narcosis & DCS, but a CO2 hit is far scarier then either IMO. Take it slow underwater and make sure your regs are breathing properly.
CamG
Contributor
Greetings Gotbail glad you are ok and you handled the situation as you did.
It is good to also know that you are interested in learning things to help prevent this from occuring again.
I have been there and it can be very challenging to get a hold of yourself and regain control.
C02 is a crazy catalyst that really kicks me in the head as well. It is no secret as others have mentioned how it makes narcosis far worse.
I have found that one needs to take your time, STOP, THINK, THEN ACT!
When planning your dive, gearing up, especially on the boat, buddy check, bubble check, and most importantly on the descent! If something feels wrong then STOP and figure it out or turn the dive.
It sounds hooky but it will slow you down and give you time to make good decisions before or after you are underwater and alter your dive plan accordingly. Ultimately if issues cannot be resolved the dive should be aborted.
I like the advice that has become a mantra for my diving, " SLOW IS SMOOTH AND SMOOTH IS FAST!" I have found this simple mantra to have helped trim many issues that were arising on my dives.
Advanced dive planning has improved the execution and enjoyment of my diving.
Always beware the rushed feeling it can lead to issues that will complicate your dives.
CamG Keep diving....Keep training....Keep learning!
It is good to also know that you are interested in learning things to help prevent this from occuring again.
I have been there and it can be very challenging to get a hold of yourself and regain control.
C02 is a crazy catalyst that really kicks me in the head as well. It is no secret as others have mentioned how it makes narcosis far worse.
I have found that one needs to take your time, STOP, THINK, THEN ACT!
When planning your dive, gearing up, especially on the boat, buddy check, bubble check, and most importantly on the descent! If something feels wrong then STOP and figure it out or turn the dive.
It sounds hooky but it will slow you down and give you time to make good decisions before or after you are underwater and alter your dive plan accordingly. Ultimately if issues cannot be resolved the dive should be aborted.
I like the advice that has become a mantra for my diving, " SLOW IS SMOOTH AND SMOOTH IS FAST!" I have found this simple mantra to have helped trim many issues that were arising on my dives.
Advanced dive planning has improved the execution and enjoyment of my diving.
Always beware the rushed feeling it can lead to issues that will complicate your dives.
CamG Keep diving....Keep training....Keep learning!
I had a similar ish experience at 38m on a very silty bottom in Ireland. No current though. I found that I had tunnel vision along my torch beam. I could 'see' outside the beam but not take it in. I turned off my torch to see what difference it made but found it very claustrophobic. Took a minute, gathered my wits, signalled up to my buddy and as we went up my head cleared around the 35m mark so not far from where we were. When I surfaced I felt fine and didn't have any headache or other problems. It had been quite a long swim on the surface before the dive but I had a few minutes rest before descending. Descent was gentl, not a race to the bottom and very little work underwater. I used a 'normal' amount of air on the dive.
He is an inert gas. It's used to limit narcosis, at least within a certain range of ambient pressure.
N2 is not an inert gas, its just physiologically inert when breathed.
N2O is narcotic at 1atm, it's not inert. In fact they use it as an oxidiser for rocket propellant.
Ne is an inert gas. It's sometimes used to limit narcosis beyond the range of He.
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