How does fatigue affect feelings and/or narcosis?

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ginti

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Catania, Italy
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Two weekends ago, I took Friday, Saturday and Sunday off to dive with my club. For several reasons, I could sleep only three hours on Friday night and six on Saturday night, although I had plenty of rest (read it: laying on the bed with my eyes closed - and my roommate snoring a lot).

On Saturday morning, I made a dive, reasonably easy: descent to 27m, a bit of swimming around some rocks, plenty of fishes, gorgonians etc. and ascent on the SMB. Some current. As soon as I arrived at the bottom, I started feeling as if I was breathing A LOT, and I felt compressed. These feelings were not excessive, and after I realised that my breathing rate was regular (in other words, my sense were not compatible with reality), I decided I could continue. The dive was enjoyable and without problems.

The feelings I had are very similar to the one I feel when I dive deeper than 35m, and I associated them with narcosis, even if I never had these symptoms at only 27m.

I believe that because I couldn't rest well in the previous nights, I was even more susceptible to narcosis than usual.

Do you agree? If yes, why and how fatigue affects narcosis?
If not, do you think that fatigue could have played a role? In this case, how did it affect my feelings?
 
Narcosis is a silent killer. You react to it differently depending on fatigue, hydration, light, and temperature. Most don't really notice its effects and they'll proudly proclaim that they've never been narced. So, feeling the narc is a blessing as well as a curse. If you feel impaired, you need to do mitigate it and that includes possibly aborting the dive. Yeah, you've paid to be there, but if you're so narced that you actually can detect it, then it's probably worse than you think. You might be able to follow some training, but you'll overlook a lot of solutions and won't be able to adapt much should a problem occur. When in doubt, bail the ef out!
 
Big time!
Nothing beat a sound sleep(lying on bed with eyes shut is NOT resting at all for me). Body need complete switch off from anything.
I do not know why but fatigue also affect me physically. Get tire quickly and lack of stamina as well.
 
Narcosis is a silent killer. You react to it differently depending on fatigue, hydration, light, and temperature. Most don't really notice its effects and they'll proudly proclaim that they've never been narced. So, feeling the narc is a blessing as well as a curse. If you feel impaired, you need to do mitigate it and that includes possibly aborting the dive. Yeah, you've paid to be there, but if you're so narced that you actually can detect it, then it's probably worse than you think. You might be able to follow some training, but you'll overlook a lot of solutions and won't be able to adapt much should a problem occur. When in doubt, bail the ef out!

Totally agree. I wouldn't have any problem thumbing the dive. I once thumbed a dive after 5minutes because of cold :D And that was some 130km away from home, which means 70€ for gasoline and highway fees plus half a day out for almost nothing.

Still, I don't understand how fatigue does affect narcosis, assuming I was narced the last time (it might have been something else, even if I cannot imagine anything)
 
Fatigue lowers your sharpness overall just as narcosis does. It's not additive, but rather multiplicative.
 
Fatigue lowers your sharpness overall just as narcosis does. It's not additive, but rather multiplicative.

Thanks for your replies :)

So you don't find it weird that I was feeling narced at a depth shallower than usual, do you?

Lastly, do you have any idea if there is a physiological explanation for the interaction between fatigue and narcosis? And, more in general, for the interaction between fatigue and diving?
 
Two weekends ago, I took Friday, Saturday and Sunday off to dive with my club. For several reasons, I could sleep only three hours on Friday night and six on Saturday night, although I had plenty of rest (read it: laying on the bed with my eyes closed - and my roommate snoring a lot).

On Saturday morning, I made a dive, reasonably easy: descent to 27m, a bit of swimming around some rocks, plenty of fishes, gorgonians etc. and ascent on the SMB. Some current. As soon as I arrived at the bottom, I started feeling as if I was breathing A LOT, and I felt compressed. These feelings were not excessive, and after I realised that my breathing rate was regular (in other words, my sense were not compatible with reality), I decided I could continue. The dive was enjoyable and without problems.

The feelings I had are very similar to the one I feel when I dive deeper than 35m, and I associated them with narcosis, even if I never had these symptoms at only 27m.

I believe that because I couldn't rest well in the previous nights, I was even more susceptible to narcosis than usual.

Do you agree? If yes, why and how fatigue affects narcosis?
If not, do you think that fatigue could have played a role? In this case, how did it affect my feelings?
My understanding is that your level of fitness has been tested and is found wanting. A fully nutritional meal consisting of proteins, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, sugars. Plus moderate fluid intake. It is not uncommon for me to travel 40 hours to get to a dive site; sleep for a few hours and be ready to dive, regardless of depth. Of course after 12 days of fun, I will be fatigued. But that is part and parcel of the journey. To your question: narcosis is fatigue not the other way round.
 
Thanks for your replies :)

So you don't find it weird that I was feeling narced at a depth shallower than usual, do you?

Lastly, do you have any idea if there is a physiological explanation for the interaction between fatigue and narcosis? And, more in general, for the interaction between fatigue and diving?

No, I don't think it's odd at all.

On some rare occasions, I've felt the dark narc. "I've got to get out. Frightened for no reason, etc." I eventually learned that this feeling would come over me when more tired than usual. Not every time, though, but not so rare that it kept me from learning to recognize (after a minute or two) what was happening and a rise in the water column would more often than not send the dark narc away.

I've also learned to recognize that if I'm hearing a thrumming sound, to watch myself closely, as that's an early warning sound for me when deeper, perhaps 130'.

The dark narcs though, very unfortunate but yes, only when I've been more tired than usual.
 
My understanding is that your level of fitness has been tested and is found wanting. A fully nutritional meal consisting of proteins, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, sugars. Plus moderate fluid intake. It is not uncommon for me to travel 40 hours to get to a dive site; sleep for a few hours and be ready to dive, regardless of depth. Of course after 12 days of fun, I will be fatigued. But that is part and parcel of the journey. To your question: narcosis is fatigue not the other way round.

Future readers of this thread should note that Scuba Client is a troll and/or idiot who was banned for posting silly things.

Narcosis is NOT just fatigue. It is actual inebriation due to nitrogen (and oxygen) becoming literal anesthetics at high partial pressures. The mechanism is not fully understood, and numerous factors affect susceptibility. Fatigue is a big contributor. But narcosis is absolutely a real medical phenomenon beyond just being fatigued.
 
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