Fear of Narcosis!

[flightmedic_sd]

I recently finished up basic open water and i've been considering AOW. I've heard the "war stories" of nitrogen narcosis on the deep dive. Things like amnesia, a "stoned" feeling, paranoia, etc. I have complete confidence in my instructors. They are awesome! But freaking out, bolting for the surface from paranoia, or heck just not remembering the dive itself are not my ideas of fun. I guess my question is.....is there merit to this or are the "old salts" blowing bubbles up the rear of my wetsuit? I know narcosis HAS to be respected, but what's real? HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[soltari675]

I don't think it's worth being afraid of. I would say it is something to be cautious of and recognize. That's what your instructor and/or dive buddy is for. I've heard some stories. The panic or feeling like you're drunk. However, everything I have also been told is you can recognize it. And ascending about 10ft or so tends to make it go away almost instantly. So I wouldn't say you forget a dive. And I wouldn't say be too freaked out over it. It's just like everything else in diving. Be aware, and know how to handle it. I strongly recommend AOW. I am working on it now myself. It will give you more skills to be a more confident diver.

 

[Paladin]

I get narcked really easily and even I don't begin to feel the effects of inert gas narcosis much until around a hundred feet or so.

 

[chuck34gboro]

Everybody is different. It's like alcohol or other drugs. Some people have a high tolerance. Some don't. Your instructor will observe you and help you experience the "narcosis" effects so you know what to expect. As you gain experience, you will recognize how you are affected and learn how to control it yourself.

The key will be to descend slowly to the effects dont all hit you at once.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

If you are that concerned about it don't do AOW right now. Wait until you get more comfortable in the water. If you want to take any kind of class take something that will really help you with good dive skills like an Under Water Navigation class. Better still don't take any classes. Find an experienced diver and just dive with them. If necessary find a DM who has good skills and ask to just dive with them. Narcosis affects different people in different ways just like booze. There is no rule that you have to take more classes or ever dive deep. I have two students who will never if they can avoid it go below 60 feet. So they took under water navigation and will be doing rescue this summer. There is no need to have them do AOW.

 

[highdesert]

When we did our deep cert there were about eight of us, I think. One of our dives was the Hilma Hooker in Bonaire, 100 FSW to the sand. No one in that particular group experienced anything out of the ordinary. Yes, in general, on the average, however you want to put it, there will be some impairment in response time, judgement, etc, as you go deeper. For most people, this is on a sliding scale. Some individuals feel it more markedly at a certain depth. I think you're dwelling on some "worst case" types of stories. Your AOW and/or Deep classes are a better place to first experience it (if you feel it at all) than just doing so on your own. Go for it.

PS - Having said that no one experienced anything out of the ordinary does not mean were were not, to some degree, narced. The point is, we didn't feel it, and no one experienced dramatic symptoms.

 

[boulderjohn]

First I will speak for myself. I have a lot of experiences where I know I have been narced, but I have never felt like I was narced. Ever. On two occasions I had ample evidence that my judgment was impaired, but I felt fine. On another occasion I felt perfectly fine throughout the dive, much of which I spent next to a videographer. The only indication I had of narcosis came when I saw the video and realized I had no memory of what I was seeing.

Now I will speak of my students in AOW. I have never seen one indicate any signs of significantly impaired ability, nor has any indicated feeling it.

Narcosis is a real phenomenon, but for many people, including me, the danger lies in its subtlety. You feel just fine, but your judgment and reaction time will be impaired should anything arise that makes them important. You will probably do many dives while narced without realizing it.

 

[DebtheDiver]

Great answer John! I'm not sure I've been narc'd very often, but I was recently. We were in warm water (85 degrees) and reached max depth of 126'. The 'Barney' song (I love you, you love me - that'll be stuck in your head for awhile now? sorry) went through my head and the world was beautiful. After looking at the anchor or propeller (you're right - I have no idea) we went up and spent most of the dive at 100' and it went away.

My son tends to get narc'd rather quickly in cold water - usually around 100' when the temps are under 42 degrees. He says he can recognize it right away because he starts to feel warm and toasty (I have yet to feel warm below the second thermocline ever!). He says the worst is that even narc'd, he understands this is a clear signal that he needs to go up 10 or 15' until he's freezing again.

 

[CamG]

Greetings flightmedic_sd and the first thing you need to do is STOP AND RELAX!
It is no good to stress over narcosis or the possibility of it, in a sense it only makes it worse!
Your comfort level, training, Experience, conservative dive planning all can give you the upper hand when dealing with narcosis.
Do not be afraid of it but plan for it and in doing so train to minimize the effects.
Recognize the effects that you experience and at what depths it begins.
By building experience safely and slowly you will become accustomed to how the effects of narcosis specifically affect you and how you can keep them at a manageable level.

As others have mentioned it takes time to gain this valuable experience and it needs to be done very carefully under supervision if need be.
I took AOW right after OW and it was a lot of learning but the dives that followed were the ones that brought the practical application into play.
I had the great fortune of having a mentor that believed in training divers and not just the basics but the real story full of how's and why's in a safe conservative manor.
We were taught to perfect buoyancy and always plan dives conservatively learning to help one another train to perform skills and drills with ease.
This commitment to each other formed relationships forged in the water while training to be the best divers we could be.

Dive training is best to be undertaken when you wish to expand your skills to meet your personal diving goals.
Do not allow the trap of training to fast to speed you into dives that you are not ready for! THIS IS A GREAT DANGER THAT HAPPENS ALL TO OFTEN!
STOP, TAKE YOUR TIME, BUILD VALUABLE EXPERIENCE, LEARN TO TEMPER YOUR DIVES WITH CONSERVATISM TO ACHIEVE SAFE PRACTICAL DIVES.
Be very careful not to dive beyond your training and or experience.
Always be in a state of learning to become the best diver you can.

CamG Keep Diving....Keep Training....Keep Learning!

 

[Bob DBF]

As Jim said, you don't need AOW. It was 29 years of diving before I took AOW but thats a whole 'nother story. My advice is go dive, have fun and you will know when you want to do it.

I think the push to take another class overshadows the real need to take the time to become proficient in the skills you learned in your last class.


Bob
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I may be old, but I’m not dead yet.