every time i go more 20 m i feel panic and I'm professional diver !

[sam008]

hello friend's i have a big problem now and i need to get your opinions..
I'm a professional diver with more than +1000 dives, i went more than 40 and 50 meters many times... also i work as dive guide .
last few dives if i went more than 18 _ 20 meters i feel like I'm going to panic and heavy breathing and heart beating so fast ( some times i feel like i will run directly up )
and it fix when i go up for 12 _ 15 meters
...
it happend in separate times and in different dates ..
and i never had this befor I'm smoker and non alcoholic and i take no medicines.. i tried to stop smoke for cuple of days and went to dive again and same thing happened..
what do you think guys ?!

 

[Richard Dayan]

I think the problem is bad air in the tank, the deeper you go the higher the percent of pollution in your air. Try to get tanks from a different source and see if your problem goes away and let us know if it worked or the same.

 

[sam008]

I think the problem is bad air in the tank, the deeper you go the higher the percent of pollution in your air. Try to get tanks from a different source and see if your problem goes away and let us know if it worked or the same.

thank you for your reply, i already thinkes about that and i tried and change the tanks as i work as a freelancer so i go from different places also no one else ever complained from air ...
and it happened if i used air or nitrox the same feeling

 

[Richard Dayan]

If you tried different tanks and same problem, the next thing I would try is to use a different regulator. Try to use your octopus instead of your regulator, maybe it will work.

 

[Fishdip]

thank you for your reply, i already thinkes about that and i tried and change the tanks as i work as a freelancer so i go from different places also no one else ever complained from air ...
and it happened if i used air or nitrox the same feeling

At any point have you had a "oh crap" moment. So from my personal experience getting narked can give you the issues stated.

 

[Waterwulf]

It sounds like you might be having a heart "issue". Not a heart attack, just an issue. See a Doctor.

 

[lowwall]

I think we can safely discount witchcraft.

Let's look at more likely causes:

1) Bad air - you say you've checked this.

2) Regulator issue - it could be restricted airflow or (my guess) something that doesn't allow the first stage to compensate for the depth like a broken or weak spring. Can you borrow a known working reg for a dive to see if it makes any difference? If it's a reg issue it's most likely the first stage in which case switching to your octo won't help.

3) Medical issue - let's see what the doctors have to say, but I'd check on the regulator first.

4) Psychological issue - unless there was some sort of emotional trauma that could have triggered such a reaction, I'd hold off on this possibility until you've explored the others.

 

[Richard Dayan]

I still think it could be bad air, sometimes multiple dive shops all get their tanks filled at the same place. This was the case in Sosua Dominican Republic, and I also had issues using this air going very deep 45 meters. No one else complained as most people only used it at 15 meters for 40 minutes, mostly just dumb tourists not real divers and they only dive like 2 times their whole vacation. I changed countries and had no problems anymore.

 

[Richard Dayan]

It still a good idea to check all possible problems, like heart or other faulty equipment.

 

[Superlyte27]

I think it’s either a crappy regulator where perhaps the IP is low and not putting out enough gas, but more likely, I think you’re getting Narc’d which is why, when you ascend, the feeling goes away.

First, try a new regulator. At the very least check IP for ~140psi

Then, if that doesn’t fix it, add a bit of helium to your mix (get an instructor to dive with you if you’re not certed for helium)

One of those things is going to be the culprit.