Is the severity of narcosis greater when diving cold water?

[Boarderguy]

The decision to leave your buddy simply for the thrill of going deep.....your decision making was influenced to some degree by the "martini effect" of narcosis.

The worry about your buddy and your decision to leave him alone ......influenced to some degree by the "dark nark" form of narcosis.

Identifying our altered emotional states and poor judgments is how we learn to recognize narcosis.

Unless your neurological function is different to every other human, saying you weren't narked is the equivalent of the driver who says, "I drive better after three beers."

Or that was the plan from the start. I routinely dive with a buddy that doesn't like to go south of 110. If there is a feature or something I want to see and know it's below his bottom then we discuss that and part ways there. Sometimes we regroup at X. Sometimes we find eachother later on. Sometimes we find eachother at the surface following our dive.

There are also times where I'll see something and signal that I'm going to X and he can do his own thing or vice versa. Big boy diving doesn't require hand holding from the agencies.

This is all in low vis dark water for the most part.

 

[Still Kicking]

Or that was the plan from the start. I routinely dive with a buddy that doesn't like to go south of 110. If there is a feature or something I want to see and know it's below his bottom then we discuss that and part ways there. Sometimes we regroup at X. Sometimes we find eachother later on. Sometimes we find eachother at the surface following our dive.

There are also times where I'll see something and signal that I'm going to X and he can do his own thing or vice versa. Big boy diving doesn't require hand holding from the agencies.

This is all in low vis dark water for the most part.

Yes if the dive is planned that way it's different, obviously.

 

[Bob DBF]

I had left my dive buddy, who wasnt that experienced, to go deep. While down at that depth I started to worry alittle about my dive buddy and after a few minutes thought I best go back up beside him. So I was thinking and was able to do as I wanted,, no problem

That, in itself, does not mean you are not narked. I've been diving deep air since the '60's, and although most dives went according to plan, I never once figured I was not narked. Narcosis narrowes ones focus, and suppresses ones higher brain functions, some have a better tolerance but it happens to everyone as a function of depth. Following your own train of thought is easy when narked, but you could have as easily decided to watch some sealife on the bottom, and focused on that without thinking about your air, depth, or bottom time.

 

[Still Kicking]

That, in itself, does not mean you are not narked. I've been diving deep air since the '60's, and although most dives went according to plan, I never once figured I was not narked. Narcosis narrowes ones focus, and suppresses ones higher brain functions, some have a better tolerance but it happens to everyone as a function of depth. Following your own train of thought is easy when narked, but you could have as easily decided to watch some sealife on the bottom, and focused on that without thinking about your air, depth, or bottom time.

I guess the OP fails to realize how subtle narcosis is. In fact, the intangible nature of the impairment is part of what makes it so insidious.

As I posted previously, it wasn't until I tried helium that I discovered what it felt like to be clear-headed at 130'. On my previous dives I never thought I was all that narked on air.

 

[Bob DBF]

As I posted previously, it wasn't until I tried helium that I discovered what it felt like to be clear-headed at 130'. On my previous dives I never thought I was all that narked on air.

I've never done helium, but I do know there is a difference. I thank my mentor, as I am old and still here, while others of the same era will be forever young.

 

[Still Kicking]

I've never done helium, but I do know there is a difference. I thank my mentor, as I am old and still here, while others of the same era will be forever young.

I wish I had deep enough pockets to use it more often.

These days I spend my money foolishly on things like boats and stay shallower.

 

[boulderjohn]

I had left my dive buddy, who wasnt that experienced, to go deep. While down at that depth I started to worry alittle about my dive buddy and after a few minutes thought I best go back up beside him. So I was thinking and was able to do as I wanted,, no problem

So in this thread, people have said that they do not feel narcosis and do not know it happens unless something unusual happens to indicate a level of incapacitation. You said you were not narked because you 1) did not feel narked and 2) were able to do something so very basic that even the most narked person in the world would be able to do it.

 

[davehicks]

I've swum in cold water and my breathing rate goes up. So it makes sense. Everyone feels the cold differently. I'm not sure in BM index makes a difference.

That's not how it works diving in cold water. You would be hypothermic in 20 minutes in Puget Sound's 46-52F water if you dove in a swimsuit. Instead, you wear a proper drysuit or heavy wetsuit and you can be very comfortable for an hour or so. Your breathing rate is no different than diving in tropical waters.

And No, you won't get narc'ed any faster in cold water than warm water. It's about the nitrogen and depth and your individual response to it, not the temperature.

 

[rgkv]

So in this thread, people have said that they do not feel narcosis and do not know it happens unless something unusual happens to indicate a level of incapacitation. You said you were not narked because you 1) did not feel narked and 2) were able to do something so very basic that even the most narked person in the world would be able to do it.

I quess I never knew that being that deep, reading my computor to see depth, watching my ncl, after a minute start to think about leaving my buddy with another teem, that it really isnt fair, deciding to head back up, was the easest thing in the world to do. But I am willing to admit that from what others say, yourself included I was narked and just didn[t know it. To be honest I wish could feel it at least once, and realize it, so I know the feeling. Bolderjohn, no offence, just saying

 

[Still Kicking]

..... after a minute start to think about leaving my buddy with another teem, that it really isnt fair.....

That kind of delayed processing is absolute classic narcosis. So you have experienced it without realizing it.