Diving in sobriety effects

[james2]

Hello,
I am an advanced drysuit diver with 6 years ~400 dives. been to 100-130 foot depths many times. I quit drinking 8 months ago. In the last 8 months I had not done any dives deeper than 20 or 30 feet, mostly working on boats and docks. Yesterday I went to 65 feet to recover a mooring. I became extremely light headed and could barely tie the mooring line to the tag line.
I had never experienced narcosis that severely. Does anyone know if Regular consumption of alcohol prevent narcosis? seriously. I am now wondering how I am going to be diving at depth.
Thank you,
Jim

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

Hello,
I am an advanced drysuit diver with 6 years ~400 dives. been to 100-130 foot depths many times. I quit drinking 8 months ago. In the last 8 months I had not done any dives deeper than 20 or 30 feet, mostly working on boats and docks. Yesterday I went to 65 feet to recover a mooring. I became extremely light headed and could barely tie the mooring line to the tag line.
I had never experienced narcosis that severely. Does anyone know if Regular consumption of alcohol prevent narcosis? seriously. I am now wondering how I am going to be diving at depth.
Thank you,
Jim

Jim,
Congratulations on your sobriety. Re narcosis: I don't think that's what caused your lightheadedness but I could be wrong. 65 feet is pretty shallow to be that narced. What type of gear were you diving, and what was the air source? Were you working hard during the dive?
If you drank heavily for a long time, you could have some kind of metabolic derangement that would need to be checked out by a physician. Your nutritional status might also have been compromised. Alcohol consumption has not been shown to prevent nitrogen narcosis - I think you're better off staying dry, so to speak, and seeing a doctor for a complete physical including lab draws. Also, I recommend checking your air source.

 

[james2]

Hi, Thanks for responding, and sorry it took so long for me to come back.
I was diving in a dry suit with normal air. I was working hard but I stopped and relaxed after first noticing being lightheaded. I did not feel I was overbreathing. I am biking a lot and feel I have a more efficient oxygen consumption than in the past. The air source has been good. I have a tank from the same fill. Other than O2 mix, what tests can be made?

If I had been diving with a buddy I probably would have just stopped what I was doing and waited. Since I was on my own with no tender I got a little spooked and felt I had just better get back to the surface.
Another factor is I have lost thirty pounds and I descend a little quicker.
I was just curious if there was any experience out there of any changes in diving experience by anyone that has quit drinking, but it seems that this may have been an isolated incident that may not be directly related to the dive. I would not start drinking again to compensate if that had been a connection. A couple commercial divers said that they believe drinkers handle narcosis better than non-drinkers. Not that it caused or prevented it, just better able to handle feeling 'looped'.
Lab test is a good idea, I have not had the lft since I quit. It would be interesting to see what my liver thinks.
thanks.

 

[Potapko]

I quit drinking 20 years ago, but back then I wasn't a diver. My opinion is however, that I am much more sensitive to narcosis than my buddies that do consume alcohol.
I chalk it up to having a clear head most of the time and therefore being more aware of minor changes in acuity. ymmv.

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

Hi, Thanks for responding, and sorry it took so long for me to come back.
I was diving in a dry suit with normal air. I was working hard but I stopped and relaxed after first noticing being lightheaded. I did not feel I was overbreathing. I am biking a lot and feel I have a more efficient oxygen consumption than in the past. The air source has been good. I have a tank from the same fill. Other than O2 mix, what tests can be made?

If I had been diving with a buddy I probably would have just stopped what I was doing and waited. Since I was on my own with no tender I got a little spooked and felt I had just better get back to the surface.
Another factor is I have lost thirty pounds and I descend a little quicker.
I was just curious if there was any experience out there of any changes in diving experience by anyone that has quit drinking, but it seems that this may have been an isolated incident that may not be directly related to the dive. I would not start drinking again to compensate if that had been a connection. A couple commercial divers said that they believe drinkers handle narcosis better than non-drinkers. Not that it caused or prevented it, just better able to handle feeling 'looped'.
Lab test is a good idea, I have not had the lft since I quit. It would be interesting to see what my liver thinks.
thanks.

Hi Jim,
You can experience CO2 buildup without feeling like you're overbreathing your rig. As far as other tests you can do for your air, you might find someone with a carbon monoxide monitor. If you have another tank from the same source that was filled at the same time and you've used it at a similar depth without difficulty, it's probably not your air. If you have reason to suspect that it might be your air, though, it would be prudent to contact the shop where you had the tanks filled and let them know about it.

When was the last time you had a complete physical? If it's been a while, it might not be a bad idea to get one.

 

[tyesai]

I didn't start diving until I quit drinking, it was my one year reward to myself, so I can't say what it would do to your diving. I can say once the fog lifted I started to notice minor changes in the way I felt, sometimes to a point of being hyper-sensitive. I wouldn't use that as excuse not to get checked out by a Doc though if you feel something really was wrong. Congratulations on your weight loss!