failed regulator story

[katnel]

I was wondering if anyone else might relate? I was on my honeymoon in bonaire with my husband when my reg failed at about 60 below. we were on our first night dive out behind our resort. first my mask filled with water and just as i was about to fix that, my regulator stopeed working. not only could i not breathe, but i could not see, AND i had vertigo--didn't know if i was up,down, or sideways. i had to paw around for my husband, never quite felt him but gave the out of breath sign over and over. didn't even THINK about my alt air source! he came to my side (i guess he saw my flashlight beam drop and began buddy breathing with me. that was really hard as i was panicking and out of breath. he ended up bolting for the surface with me, our lungs expanded, and we just sat there floating and emitting long, low burps (it's only funny NOW!) as we recovered emotionally and physically from that horrific ordeal. Just wanted to share. One of the scariest experiences of my life! i got right up and went diving again the next day and beyond! what i learned from that experience is that you never know how you'll react to a situation until it happens but you can't be too safe and role-play and also think through/plan how you will handle various unlikely but possible emergencies. i hope that if there ever is a next time i'll be a lot cooler under the pressure, that i'll remember my alt air source, and that i will not fight my hubby for the air! i can't believe i did that--he reports that i pawed frantically and grabbed the mouthpiece right out of his mouth! BUT i couldn't see! very, very sobering experience. it really helps to share. not once did i ever think i was dying though. i just kept fighting.

 

[SparticleBrane]

What specifically do you mean that your reg failed? Did it fill with water, or did it not supply air? The chances of a regulator just stopping the air flow if there is still air in the tank is quite small, as they are designed to free-flow in the event of a problem.

IF your lungs had truly "expanded", you'd probably be dead right now. As long as you didn't hold your breath on the way up, you probably didn't suffer any lung-overexpansion injuries. As to DCS, apparently you didn't get hit--consider yourself lucky.

 

[captndale]

In the stressful situation you may have been "over breathing" the regulator. Especially with low-priced, low-performance regulators that commonly are used in rental situations, regulators may fail to provide the high flow demanded of them by a diver in a near-panic situation. When this happens, it feels to the diver like the regulator is supplying no air at all because the inhalation resistance goes very high.

 

[scubadobadoo]

First of all, I am very glad you made it and hope you continue to dive and especially to learn more through continued diver education classes. May I ask how many dives you had done at the point this happened? How long had it been since you were diving before this? I also suggest you fill in your profile as that will give everyone an idea of where you are coming from in terms of experience and make you seem more like a real person, lol.

That said, it will seem like I am being harsh but please don't take my comments that way. The thing that comes to mind now is that you shouldn't have gone diving the next morning and maybe even for the rest of your vacation without first being checked by a Doctor. You did anyway and you clearly both survived so I'll leave it at that. You were both very lucky! VERY LUCKY!! Did I mention how lucky you both were? I highly suggest you take an aow and rescue course and continue learning. After taking these classes you will see how lucky you both were.

Next, it seems like (since you never mentioned problems with the reg after these dives) that you freaked out and you literally failed and not your regulator. EVERYTHING you said points to a classic panic attack. New divers and mask clearing issues frequently combine to form the dreaded panic attack. Once it starts, all reason is lost for most new divers. You also mentioned vertigo? This can be triggered by not being able to see at night because the water is in your mask and then you start to breathe heavily and then you are toast. See what I mean? You were also on your first night dive without a DM and alone with your husband? I think you did too much too soon and it caught up to you. Perhaps you left out some of the story but I suggest you examine what exactly triggered the attack. Perhaps you were breathing heavily even before the reg "failed?" Are you sure the regulator really failed?

Of course I can only answer or offer thoughts based on what you have given so far and therefore anything I type is speculation. However, what you have given us thus far all points to panic attack due to doing too much too soon. 60 fsw for a new diver at night on the first night dive isn't a conservative situation. Filling in that profile of yours will help here. For all I know you could be a scuba instructor but judging from your last 6 posts, you aren't. You mentioned that you have only had a temp OW card for two years now? Welcome to the board and good for you for discussing this!