The margin between "healthy" saturation levels (95-98%) and respiratory failure (usually 85-90%) is narrow."
Wrong. 80% and below is when impairment and organ failure occurs.
If the DM's had stood back and let me "wear myself out", I would be dead right now. I was not fighting or flailing, I was very still, limp actually, in the water.
No. The video CLEARLY shows that you were thrashing hard. That camera was waving around very, very fast.
I am not sure why so many are determined to call this a panic attack, it wasn't. It was an acute medical emergency that I had never experienced before.
No...it wasn't. This is increasingly becoming your line; as you seek to deny what happened and find a medical excuse. You are not qualified to diagnose yourself. You displayed EVERY indication of a panicked diver, however.
Lots of DM's smoke, I do not think they should be left to die in the ocean, as they would if they were left to "wear themselves out".
Who said anything about leaving anyone to die??? But, if you take Rescue training, you'll know that one of the courses of action for a panicked diver at the surface IS to let themselves wear themself out, THEN rescue them.
The ONLY other thing anyone could have done was smacking the right mask on in the right position with enough O2 to get a distressed diver back to the shore. When things go well for so long, it is an easy thing to over look. And SUCH an easy way to save a life.
No. Oxygen is a placebo in a panic attack like this. Attacking the dive crew for a quick fumble and then you sucking down their O2 is not helpful.
Except have adequate O2 on board and someone who knew how to hook it up. BUT, they did get it hooked up and had enough to almost get me back to shore. Thank you.
They had adequate O2! They did hook it up right! You're just over-complaining and sucked up all the O2.
The other possibility is that the crew remembered that O2 will do nothing for you in a panic attack and turned it off and restowed it. You know, in case they had a real emergency that needed it.
I am surprised a bit at how some folks here do not really advocate for diving buddies. We did not have dive buddies on this trip, we just followed the DM.
And there's your first point of failure on this dive. You violated your training by not having a buddy, and you were not trained and equipped for solo diving. 'Following the DM' is NOT a valid dive plan.
My bottom line on this incident, I would encourage DM's etc., to check their ER O2 set up, and make sure the DM's know how to use it. A non-diver on the boat said it took the DM several tries to hook up the mask, then they had to switch that mask out for another one, and they were unsure what position the mask should be in on my face. A quick refresher on occasion can really make a difference.
That non-diver didn't know what he was seeing; he was too busy worrying about his wife- YOU. The DMs did everything right. A quick mistake does not mean they failed or had trouble.
You're reduced yourself to self diagnosis of EIB and blaming the DMs. Not quite the 'self-responsibility' that the thread is titled with.
TC are you a doctor? In the OP's original post she states her O2 was 85. I'm going to assume that was a O2 Saturation of 85% which is a significantly impaired level. I have NEVER seen such an O2 level in a hyperventilating patient (panic). If this O2 level was at 85 she was in a world of medical hurt - which leads to psychological issues. and yes I am a medical provider
And you're clearly not a Doctor. I consulted with one; my sister. She said that 85% is really low, but that the person could still function. It is NOT a 'significantly impaired level.', nor was she in a 'world of medical hurt'.
Remember, the clinic did NOTHING to treat her except let her hoover up some of their O2, and calm down. Oxygen is nothing more than a placebo in Panic cases. She self-diagnosed herself with EIB, probably after reading the internet that night.
But just remember that as far as I know we are not talking about a blood gas, here, so unless you have information that the rest of us don't have, I wouldn't make a diagnosis based on this one number from a pulse oximiter, without any clinical context or real data.
Exactly. I learned this same lesson from a SF medic in Afghanistan. Don't automatically trust a pulse-ox. They're usually good and reliable; but a variety of things can throw them off. Cold will make them read lower (vasioconstriction), and alcohol or heat will read higher (vasiodilation).
My sister told me that a panic can also trigger vasioconstriction. Panic was clearly present here.
It is hard to be sure from the video but you were not 2'-3' seas, looked like 1' or less to me. The current on the wreck did not look too bad either. The DM with your seemed to be in control and doing the right thing. After seeing this I am much more certain that this was just a panic attack.
Agreed. As well; there was no 12 minutes until she was 'rescued'. I quit the video after about 5 minutes. She was on the boat then for at least a minute. She weren't that far from the boat, and the current wasn't that strong.
Thea; You panicked. It happens. Find the cause, get some additional training, quit smoking, get checked out and dive again.
