Experienced something strange ~95'. Was I narced?

[TT_Vert]

I've read up on nitrogen narcosis and I know the systems and the resolutions to the problem. All of the experienced divers on the boat think I was narced but my symptoms don't match any aside from the depth I was at an the fact it went away as I ascended.

First my diving background
I've only got 14 dives and all have been within the last 12 months. I'm a relatively calm diver who takes deep breaths and I feel I can control my buoyancy (I generally use inhaling/exhaling to control depth). In fact this dive I didn't have to touch the bcm inflator at all both dives. I never get nervous, paranoid or anxious while diving.

What appeared to have occured is a panic attack but that may have just been my mind telling me that I had a problem that I had to resolve or drown. I was about 25 minutes into my dive and had reached a depth of 95'. I started to notice that each breath I took was shallow and I wasn't taking in enough oxygen each breath and started to get very light headed (or so it appeared). I took about 2 more breaths at that depth and realized I needed to start moving up if, for if nothing else, I could get to the surface safely if I could not rectify the situation. I got my instructors attention as well as my buddy and signaled I had a problem and we were going up. I had taken about 7 or 8 breaths by the time I got our guides attention but I had also gone up about 15' by that point. During that 15' ascend I was getting very light headed and all of my breaths were still shallow. At about 75' or so my instructor got to me and thought I was out of air (I never signaled that so I don't know what he was thinking) but right around that point I was able to breathe perfectly again. All breaths were typical length with no problems at all. I racked my brain trying to figure out what was going on. I had no other symptoms, no gradual dizziness, feelings of intoxication, etc. All the sudden by breaths started to get shallower and shallower and it felt as if I wasn't getting enough air. One of the guys thought maybe the regulator was a bit tight and was the culprit. I just don't know. A few observations I did make during the dive.

For this problematic dive:
Pressure at tank was 3000' pre dive, no fluctuation in gauge during inhale.
below 1000 psi the gauge would drop 500-600 psi during inhalation.
at 700 psi the gauge would drop to 0.
The gauge was sticking a lot. I didn't notice this until I did my safety stop and my partner stopped way below me. Her gauge read 25 when mine still read 15. This would have indicated I was deeper than I actually was so perhaps I was only at 85 or so feet when all of this occured. I would bang on the gauge and it would move to the correct depth. Water was in the gauge also.

We swapped out the regulator for the 2nd dive and all was perfect.

A few other tidbits.
I had a slight cough and runny nose dive day
I am not in as good of shape as I normally am. However I did not feel as I was over exerting at any point.
My body was never cold.

I know it is hard for anyone to diagnose this but any input would be helpful. I feel I handled the situation the best I could by not panicking and slowly ascending but I'd like to have a better Idea as to what the problem may have been.

Thanks for any input you could provide..

Dave

 

[cloudflint]

The fact that you say you where breathing very shallowly and started getting light headed/dizzy would make me think carbon dioxide poisoning if your not breathing properly and it builds up though I don't know enough about carbon dioxide poisoning to be sure. If you had a cold it could maybe have been something with your ears throwing off your balance and making you light headed as well?

 

[DaleC]

If the problem was mechanical I would question whether you had only cracked the tank valve open instead of opening it all the way. This can allow enough air on the surface but not enough flow at depth. It is possible when you follow the old "open the valve and turn it back a quarter turn" method. Using this method, if a tank is open and you aren't aware, you can turn it all the way off and open it a quarter of a turn. Looking at your SPG and breathing the reg may not indicate a problem but it might show up as you descend (harder to take a breath).

If there were no mechanical problems perhaps you experienced a bit of a dark narc, which can have the feeling of anxiety or impending doom (when I feel this I become overly concerned with my regulators performance). Or, you may have had an episode of vertigo. Sometimes my eyes track particulate funny or I become too task oriented and this triggers a sense of lightheadedness and/or unbalance (I think the brain revolts at having to process too much visual information). This can sometimes then trigger a sense of anxiety because your brain stops processing visual references for proprieception and you become disoriented (like the sensation of falling).
The way I overcome the latter is to stop moving and focus on an object in front of me until the feeling passes. For the former I try to put my focus on something else and the feeling usually subsides.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

you had the tank valve open partially, almost for sure.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Did you ever think to switch second stages? This would have revealed an isolated problem with your primary reg.
Did the thought of sharing air with your buddy cross your mind? If so, what made you decide against it?

You described an issue with your SPG sticking...but then you also described that your depth gauge was off. Those are two separate issues. Did they both occur simultaneously or did I misunderstand your post?

Was water inside your SPG during pre-dive checks?

If you were diving in salt water, that SPG is likely kaput. Get a new one (assuming you own it).
I would recommend not using the sticky depth gauge. Analog depth gauges are relatively cheap to replace. Alternatively, you may want to consider purchasing your own dive computer which will track both depth and time in one device. Quite handy.

At depth, you clearly had a problem with your air delivery system. Since you swapped the reg setup (and presumably tank) for dive #2 and the issue disappeared, it could have been an issue with the tank valve, first stage, or second stage. The behavior of the SPG indicator is most commonly associated with a partially open tank valve (as dumpsterDiver pointed out), but it may also be consistent with some sort of partial blockage with the airflow coming out of the tank and entering into the HP side of first stage. In addition to a partially open tank valve, there are several other possibilities: sludge partially blocking diptube, foreign matter blocking tank valve, foreign matter clogging up the first stage, etc. If you own this equipment, I would have it checked out by a pro.

The symptoms you described at depth could be attributed to CO2 retention. That not surprising given a problem with the air delivery system.

 

[TT_Vert]

The fact that you say you where breathing very shallowly and started getting light headed/dizzy would make me think carbon dioxide poisoning if your not breathing properly and it builds up though I don't know enough about carbon dioxide poisoning to be sure. If you had a cold it could maybe have been something with your ears throwing off your balance and making you light headed as well?

I thought about the cold causing it but It didn't occur to that point in that dive, after that point when I was above 80' and the second dive. Just for that bit at 95'.

you had the tank valve open partially, almost for sure.

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??

Did you ever think to switch second stages? This would have revealed an isolated problem with your primary reg.
Did the thought of sharing air with your buddy cross your mind? If so, what made you decide against it?

You described an issue with your SPG sticking...but then you also described that your depth gauge was off. Those are two separate issues. Did they both occur simultaneously or did I misunderstand your post?

Was water inside your SPG during pre-dive checks?

If you were diving in salt water, that SPG is likely kaput. Get a new one (assuming you own it).
I would recommend not using the sticky depth gauge. Analog depth gauges are relatively cheap to replace. Alternatively, you may want to consider purchasing your own dive computer which will track both depth and time in one device. Quite handy.

At depth, you clearly had a problem with your air delivery system. Since you swapped the reg setup (and presumably tank) for dive #2 and the issue disappeared, it could have been an issue with the tank valve, first stage, or second stage. The behavior of the SPG indicator is most commonly associated with a partially open tank valve (as dumpsterDiver pointed out), but it may also be consistent with some sort of partial blockage with the airflow coming out of the tank and entering into the HP side of first stage. In addition to a partially open tank valve, there are several other possibilities: sludge partially blocking diptube, foreign matter blocking tank valve, foreign matter clogging up the first stage, etc. If you own this equipment, I would have it checked out by a pro.

The symptoms you described at depth could be attributed to CO2 retention. That not surprising given a problem with the air delivery system.

Let me clarify. I continued my first dive despite the problem. I signaled to go up but the problem went away and the guide had me stay down. I felt 100% and just continued w/ no other problems (at 60' or above mind you). So the feeling of lack of air was only below 95' or so and as I went up to about 80' wat which point it stopped permanently. After that is when I noticed the gauge was fluctuating while inhaling. To be honest I cannot recall If I noticed that the first dive or the second dive. This was rental equipment but I figured if it was mechanical it'd continue to fail to deliver sufficient oxygen throughout the dive.


I don't think I noticed water in the SPG prior to the dive but to be honest I cannot say for sure. It was indeed saltwater though. After this I may get a computer. I just don't know how difficult it'd be and how much of a problem the places I dive at would have with me wanting to rent their bcd, reg, etc and screw my gauge in. I'd like a wireless system but again, I have to screw in the sending unit unless I have my own reg.

As far as the erronous readings on the gauge. I did not notice the pressure gauge fluctuate until under 1000 psi. As far as depth, I did not know it was innacurate until I was doing my safety stop and I was way higher than my dive buddy was. I went down to her depth and checked her gauge which was reading differently than mine. However, I did notice at the beginning of my first dive that my guage was still zero'd while i was down about 20'. Tapping it a few times had it reading again. Accurately? Unknown..

To be honest everything happened so quickly. My first thought was to check my gauges then get up a bit to ensure I could get up. I looked for buddy and started to bang my tank to get her attention but it took too long so I started to go up. When I was around 80' I got my guides attention then hers shortly after. I didn't think to use my alternate primariliy because I thought the problem was with me, not the equipment as I had been down there for a few mins w/o any issues. Probably a bad thought process but in that span when you feel you are suffocating and blacking out you can only do so many things at one time. It seemed almost like a death wish to grab my alternate while I was having a problem with my primary and nearly feeling like I was not going to make it to the surface. At that point It turned more into survival mode. My goals were as follows:

1. Get my buddy and guides attention to know where I am and that there is a problem.
2. Ascend enough to had a shot at getting to the surface in a near blackout situation
3. Try to stay concious.

I suppose had I had confidence it was a primary problem I'd have attempted to switch to my AAS. Again, I was on the border of panicing. Never had that happen before and wasn't exactly sure what was going on. It's alot different simulating OOA in a pool than it is at 95' when you're starting to get very light headed.

One last tidbit I forgot. On occasion when I would inhale, at the end of the breath I was getting sea water in the regulator. it didn't happen every time but it only happened at the tail end of a breathe. Maybe that's a smoking gun??
I can tell you one thing that went though my mind.. "I'm not diving anymore" But there I was an hour and a half later jumping right in again..
Dave

 

[TSandM]

Interesting story.

I can tell you that one of my narcosis episodes was just like what you describe -- at about 95 feet, I became convinced that my regulator was not delivering enough air. I felt incredibly short of breath and anxious . . . but by that time, I'd had enough experience with narcosis to know what it was, so I just told myself not to be silly, and kept going. The feeling went away as we went shallower.

It sounds as though yours might have been compounded by increased work of breathing at depth because of either a tank valve that wasn't fully open, or a regulator that wasn't functioning properly. Increased work of breathing means increased CO2, and rising CO2 produces clouded thinking, shortness of breath, and anxiety.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I.......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??

Possibly..Probably depending how bad you suck. . most likely the valve was not open all the way.

 

[toddthecat]

Possibly..Probably depending how bad you suck. . most likely the valve was not open all the way.

One of my last deep diver specialty classes I had a student who had only cracked the tank open. Absolutely no indication until about 60 feet. He signaled to me confusion and pointed at his gauge. I saw the fluctuation and immediately checked his tank. For how many turns it took to fully open he must have only had it open by a half turn. Opened it all the way, problem resolved. No indicators prior to that depth of any issues.

 

[DevonDiver]

It sounds like a chain of factors...

1) Breathing resistance led to shallow, rapid breathing.
2) CO2 build-up further increased breathing rate.
3) Increased CO2 caused light-headed sensation.
4) Breathing rate, light-headedness and feeling of 'air starvation' causes psychological response of distress.
5) Increased CO2 retention, plus distressed mental state, revealed underlying nitrogen narcosis (previous non-symptomatic) at that depth.
6) Nitrogen narcosis further amplifies the distressed mental state and further reduces breathing efficiency.

You can see that it is a nasty 'spiral', where each factor leads to a new issue...and further amplifies the factors already present.

Another point:

A fluctuating SPG needle indicates that insufficient air is being delivered through the regulator. This may not cause issues at the surface, but it certainly will as you descend and reach bottom depth and the air demand increases due to gas density. If a diver ever sees their SPG needle fluctuating (bobbing up and down) when they breath from the regulator (assuming tank is fully open), it is critical that they immediately abort the dive.

As I said, the fluctuating needle is caused by insufficient air flow through the regulator. Basically, the diver is sucking air from the reg/hoses (needle dips) and then the regulator is 'filling back up again' (needle rises). The air is not flowing directly through the regulator, in sufficient volume, on demand.

The primary cause of this in a partially closed cylinder valve. However, that is not the only cause. Regulators can malfunction in this way (insufficent IP). Check function of the regulator pre-dive to ensure that the needle doesn't fluctuate.

Avoidance of this problem is best addressed in the pre-dive buddy check. I see too many sloppy buddy checks that allow this problem to continue un-noticed (until submerged). What I teach my students is to simultaneously take 4 long, deep breaths, in unison, from the regulator whilst watching the SPG needle. This places a higher demand on the regulator and is likely to expose the problem if it exists.