stevesurf
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my name is steve ,i am new to the scuba world but having a great time.i wanted to ask i have had an issue with dizzyness.not sure if its due to maybe breathing to muchor what.maybe someone has had this prob and can help.
dizzyness
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long time ago there was a crewmember on one of the NE boats out of NY here.He had the same issue.Dizzy spell happened at depth and not only during ascents,which can be more likely..
I could'nt figure it out until I asked him what is he doing that no one else is doing.Turns out he was doing steroids as he got into weight lifting and such...cut out the steroids and the dizzy spells at depth stopped.I am not a DR but seems I made a lucky guess.
I could'nt figure it out until I asked him what is he doing that no one else is doing.Turns out he was doing steroids as he got into weight lifting and such...cut out the steroids and the dizzy spells at depth stopped.I am not a DR but seems I made a lucky guess.
PARADISE HUNTER
Contributor
That's something to take serious. I'm sure a number of things can cause it.
I'm no doctor either, but SB has a great medical forum. I did a search on "dizzy" there and these are the threads that came up:
ScubaBoard - Search Results
Good luck, I hope you can solve the problem.
PH
I'm no doctor either, but SB has a great medical forum. I did a search on "dizzy" there and these are the threads that came up:
ScubaBoard - Search Results
Good luck, I hope you can solve the problem.
PH
Does it happen every time, and when?
Did you have a good visual reference to focus on. Lot's of people would get sick with dizziness/vertigo if ascending or descending without something to use as orientation, either a line or something visible (boat/bottom/line/other divers)
Did you have a good visual reference to focus on. Lot's of people would get sick with dizziness/vertigo if ascending or descending without something to use as orientation, either a line or something visible (boat/bottom/line/other divers)
Steve, more information would really be helpful. To begin with, when you say "dizzy", are you referring to a feeling that the world (or you) was spinning or tumbling, or to a feeling as though you are going to pass out? Spinning and tumbling sensations are primarily due to issue with the ears, and can be caused by them equalizing asymmetrically. It can also occur if the diver is deprived of adequate visual reference. This type of dizziness is called "vertigo".
Lightheadedness, or feeling you are going to faint, is typically not caused by ear problems. There, we get into breathing patterns, tightness of gear, and medical issues.
If you can give us a detailed and clear description of a couple of the dives you did, what you were using for exposure protection, where in the dive the symptoms occurred, and what exactly the sensation was, we can give you a few better ideas and perhaps advise you better on whether you need to seek medication evaluation, and if so, from whom.
Lightheadedness, or feeling you are going to faint, is typically not caused by ear problems. There, we get into breathing patterns, tightness of gear, and medical issues.
If you can give us a detailed and clear description of a couple of the dives you did, what you were using for exposure protection, where in the dive the symptoms occurred, and what exactly the sensation was, we can give you a few better ideas and perhaps advise you better on whether you need to seek medication evaluation, and if so, from whom.
Steve, having a vertigo spell for a minute at a time like you say you had seems very very serious. I used to have vertigo sensations. I kept a log of them, to try and see when, why etc. I probably had a total of 5-6 in my first 50-70 dives. Not since then. The biggest change I made was to descend slowly and equalize gently. (I used to blow the heck out while equalizing.) They always occured in the first 8-15 minutes of the dive. Depth did not seem to matter. Each time it happened, it happened just once on that dive. No other problems like headache, fatigue etc. Rest of the dive went normally each time. Visual orientation was not the issue; the two times I can remember clearly I had really good visual reference. Twice I remember it happened when I went rather quickly from a horizontal position to a vertical position. In my case, they only lasted 15-20 seconds - guaranteed nowhere near the 60 seconds you say. I don't think I closed my eyes though - wanted to try and stay in control, plus concentrate on a spot to get my bearings,and also consciously try to regain control of my mind and stay still since my mind told me I was spinning like a top, which I knew i was not doing. Could the quality of air in the cylinder be a factor? I don't have a problem with heights etc - do you? Like you, I too have never had problems equalizing. No change in gear, 3 mm wetsuit, fits well, not tight, no hood. No health problems, no blood pressure problems. But I do have tinnitus in my left ear.
One other unusual problem I used to have was seasickness - but never before diving in, regardless of the conditions. But every so often, (but not always) after climbing back into the boat, if it was choppy, I'd get sick. I doubt there is any connection, since they did not occur on the same dives, but that seems to have gone away too, probably just coincidence. Do you notice this yourself by any chance? Seasick pills never helped, by the way. And the pills did not affect the dizzyness, dizzyness happened on occasions with pills and without.
Take care, Steve, repeated 60 second vertigo episodes sounds serious. In my case, it seems like a more gentle approach to descending, equalizing and moving helped.
One other unusual problem I used to have was seasickness - but never before diving in, regardless of the conditions. But every so often, (but not always) after climbing back into the boat, if it was choppy, I'd get sick. I doubt there is any connection, since they did not occur on the same dives, but that seems to have gone away too, probably just coincidence. Do you notice this yourself by any chance? Seasick pills never helped, by the way. And the pills did not affect the dizzyness, dizzyness happened on occasions with pills and without.
Take care, Steve, repeated 60 second vertigo episodes sounds serious. In my case, it seems like a more gentle approach to descending, equalizing and moving helped.
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