I want to get narked

[lostsheep]

Whippits Drug: Side Effects of Nitrous Oxide

In 2015, around 684,000 adolescents from the United States used whippets. What happens when one abuses this substance? Learn more about Whippets addiction.

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Don’t do drugs

 

[lostsheep]

Ever been on nitrous oxide at the dentist? Same effects from N2O on the surface as plain nitrogen at depth.

The subjective experience of narcosis can be more heavily impacted by CO2 level than by depth per se. This is difficult to simulate in a consistent manner because it depends on exertion level and individual physiology, although the increased gas density at depth does make hypercapnia more likely by increasing WOB.

Are you aware of any non-anecdotal evidence to back this up? I’m not saying you’re wrong, just never heard anything except personal accounts.

 

[OTF]

The (relatively poorly understood) mechanism of the two narcotics in question is thought to be similar.

What kind of non-anecdotal evidence would you like to see for a subjective and highly variable experience other than personal accounts?

FWIW there are a few anecdotes here, on this quirky site dedicated to recording drug experiences. It would be interesting for a few more serious divers to add their narcosis experiences for the record. https://www.erowid.org/experiences/subs/exp_Nitrogen_Narcosis_General.shtml

 

[TrimixToo]

Not that I'll claim to be the sharpest tool in the shed on the surface, but if I get below 160' or so I lose a lot of smarts. I can't really tell I am affected, but if I do something at that depth or deeper and survey the result later on mix, it's obvious it could have been done better. A lot better. So I essentially never go deeper than 160-165 on air. If I can't tie knots well, divine intervention might be needed if I had an emergency.

 

[lostsheep]

The (relatively poorly understood) mechanism of the two narcotics in question is thought to be similar.

What kind of non-anecdotal evidence would you like to see for a subjective and highly variable experience other than personal accounts?

So YOUR answer to my question is no, got it thank you.

To answer yours, I don’t know. I’d ASSume something that is used for approved medical practices has been tested extensively by people a lot smarter than I.

I’m not typically in the habit of trusting hippies high on nitrous and I’d rather not compare myself.

 

[bipolarbear]

In my (limited) experience I think that having the opportunity to experience narcosis, in a safe, supervised and controlled environment, probably makes you a better and more prudent diver as a general proposition.

I dive air semi-regularly on deeper dives (50-60m) but only in open, warm water and with a scooter so I'm not going to be working hard. I would not dive 'deep air' in cold water, strong current without a scooter, with a new buddy, in any physical overhead environment or with new/unfamiliar equipment.

Like most can attest to, those deeper air dives feel perfectly safe (if even a little warm & fuzzy) but I know that my reaction times are slower, my thinking is less clear that I am fundamentally not operating as safely as I could be under those conditions. This realisation really comes into focus when you run those same dives again on a proper mix (18/45 or 21/35, or whatever floats your boat) and you can actually remember what you saw down there...

 

[Nick_Radov]

Are you aware of any non-anecdotal evidence to back this up? I’m not saying you’re wrong, just never heard anything except personal accounts.

Read Bennett and Elliott chapter 9. The mechanism of inert gas narcosis isn't fully understood but is thought to be the same for all narcotic gasses, just differing in potencies. At the extreme end, xenon will completely knock you out at surface pressure (don't try this at home).

 

[SmashMonkey]

I just did 2 identical dives last month for Helitrox cert to 135ft/41M in 80F/27C water. 1st dive was on air and I could not tell I was narced, everything felt normal for a training dive, although I did get a bit lost backtracking to the ascent line and made a few other simple blunders. The 2nd dive was on 21/20 and the best way I can explain the difference between the two dives was the 1st dive was like watching TV at 720P right after waking up vs. 2nd dive on He was 4K TV after a cup of coffee. Everything looked clearer and I noticed more details and color. I was more aware of my surroundings. My mind was sharper and more focused on the tasks at hand and I made fewer mistakes. And I was actually swimming harder on the 2nd dive because I had to chase down my buddy (breathing air and probably narced) who swam off and ditched me.

 

[Celt]

years ago it was “ rapture of the deep” and stories of mermaids luring divers into the depths. Starting off you didn’t know what to expect with excitement and fairly tales. As you make more dives, you’re there to do a job and have a plan, and just get on with it. Narcosis doesn’t get a second thought.

 

[Cthippo]

A quick google indicates that most decompression chambers do not go "deep" enough to produce narcosis. The Navy tanles only call for recompressing divers to an equivelant of 60 feet, and medical HBOT chambers don't even go that far.

Be interesting to build a chamber that went to 6 ata (90 psi, 200' equivelant) that could simulate a bounce dive for exactly this purpose. Bonus if you could have a mask inside with trimix so the "diver" could immiedatly see the difference.