feeling suddenly hard to breath + claustrophobic at only ~38ft???

[alex_can_dive]

@alex_can_dive what was your breathing like after you surfaced? Were you coughing at all?

Best regards,
DDM

It was normal - as soon as I got my head out of the water, took off the mask, the hood and the reg, I felt better. No coughing...

 

[happy-diver]

i didn’t think any of this was funny - admittedly I was being a bit flippant

Hey, when you go to pick up your regs, see if they have a front zip suit

 

[Raphus]

After the first time, when you go into the water with Temps around freezing and you forgot to close your drysuit, you will add zippers to your safety check before the dive

Never happened to me, but it's a common mistake and fun to watch(on a shore dive. when doing a deep water entry it can be dangerous).


You asked when it is OK to abandon the panic control and bolt. The answer is simple: never.

You don't have to stay down. If someone feels extremely nervous or even panicking it's not the best choice to Stay down. Depends on how sever the feeling is.
But doing a slow control ascent is the right answer. Call the dive, and ascent with the situation under Control.

 

[Akimbo]

I have a dive buddy that has felt something similar but only after being vertical in the water for a period of time, especially if we are somewhat shallow. If he flattens out horizontal the feeling dissipates.

I wonder if a wetsuit that is too tight in the torso is a contributing factor? Going deeper compresses wetsuit material, which can relieve some of the constriction.