Experienced something strange ~95'. Was I narced?

[japan-diver]

I thought this as well however at the surface I always check for pressure fluctuation while inhaling. At 3000psi at the surface I had zero gauge deviation. Can a partially opened valve fluctuate at depth but not at the surface??

Yes a partially open valve could behave just like you describe. As the pressure became less in the tank the hoses were not refilling quickly enough and the bounce on the spg started. The problem could be tank valve or first stage of the reg but most likely you did not have the valve opened all the way. Next time you see the gauge bouncing reach back and try to open the valve on the tank you may fix your problem right there.
The panic feeling was probably not helped by the increased resistance to breathing with resulted in a CO2 buildup and this causes a air starved or panic reaction. You did do a good job in recognizing that there was problem and starting a controlled ascent.

 

[RonFrank]

See post #28 as he has identified the problem, and it is NOT equipment.

 

[TT_Vert]

I've recently gotten NITROX certified so I'm curious to see if anything changes w/ Nitrox.

Dave

 

[RonFrank]

Nitrox is just a higher O2 level in the air one is breathing. It is not like breathing Helium which makes one sound like Donald Duck and reduces nitrogen effects. Sorry, this will not solve your issue, but I think diving may. Remember slow deep breaths, and Stop, Think, Act.

 

[TT_Vert]

Nitrox is just a higher O2 level in the air one is breathing. It is not like breathing Helium which makes one sound like Donald Duck and reduces nitrogen effects. Sorry, this will not solve your issue, but I think diving may. Remember slow deep breaths, and Stop, Think, Act.

I was definitely taking deep breaths. That was the first thing I did was tell myself to calm down and breathe. I'll be diving in 2 weeks and again in feb. so we will see how everything goes.

Dave

 

[Blue Sparkle]

Thanks for reporting back - I always enjoy reading an update after some time has passed.

One tip that I was given that helped me (on my first few dives I would tend to feel I "wasn't getting enough air" even in shallow water), was to make sure to breathe OUT. You mention taking deep breaths, and maybe you are also exhaling deeply, but I found it extremely helpful to focus on exhaling completely.

I think my problem was that I WAS inhaling plenty, because of being worried about "I'm underwater, am I getting enough air here?!" but I wasn't exhaling an equal amount. So the repeated inhaling was actually making things worse, in a way.

You may have completely solved this by now, but since it was a tip that helped me I thought I would mention it.

Thanks again for the follow-up,
Blue Sparkle

 

[TT_Vert]

I'm 100% sure I was exhaling fully. It felt to me that I was exhaggerating my breathing length and perhaps breathing too deeply and perhaps causing the problem to get worse. I remember a few times where I felt like I was exhaling forever although I was intentionally exhaling slowly. I'm going to be diving on the 15th of this month back in the bahamas so I can report back after that to advise on my progress. I'm trying new gear then too so we'll see how this plays out.

Dave