Narcosis Experiences

[JodiBB]

My experience was a couple of years ago. During my deepest dive ever at 111', got panic narked. It was my first time breaking in my new BC/Computer/suit, etc and I was diving with someone who was an avid photographer. We discussed the plan ahead of time, and I told them I was comfortable at about 70-90 feet, but deeper than that, I had only done 2 100' dives before and both times, it was with my instructor. I didn't feel comfortable going that deep myself and especially with new equipment (only tested in the pool). We agreed.

As we descended, I was having a bit of trouble. The new wetsuit was more buoyant than I gave credit for, but we descended to about 85' pretty well. Suddenly, my eyes began to really sting! Don't know if it was the saltwater (which I doubt as water wasn't leaking into the mask), but it had me distracted. I began to breathe extremely hard and felt a sense of panic. I looked at my new computer and saw 111'!

My saving grace was 2 things: my instructor's voice going through my head saying, "Don't bolt. Don't bolt." and my training in working with people with anxiety disorders. I looked at my buddy, who wasn't paying attention to me (they were taking pictures). I kept my eyes locked onto the back of my buddy's head and said to myself, "Breathe in, breathe out...breathe in, breathe out." As I did this, I forced myself to keep a focal point (the back of their head still) and slowly worked my way up to 100'....that did it....I found myself with naturally slower breathing and was able to swim over to my buddy and inform them I needed to go up. They didn't even know what I experienced until we surfaced and I could relay my story. We started our ascent. Between the anxiety and ascent, I ended up with reverse block to boot.

It was scary...not something I ever want to experience again, but a good learning experience all the same....I just make sure from that point out I keep closer look at my gauges, and provide myself every opportunity to stay in closer touch with every sensation with my body...I also make sure I buddy up with someone who stays as much aware of me as I am of them...

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I have been narced many, many times. It definitely reduces your safety and in my opinion, anyone who is venturing into depths that are likely to cause narcosis need to be good divers.

They need to be able to work all the equipment and perform all the normal diving skills without thinking about them at all. The diving, the environment and the gear should be entirely instinctive, before diving "deep". This could take dozens and dozens of dives in a pretty short period of time for most people to get to this level.

I normally don't notice any effects until around 160, but this can be very variable depending on conditions, currents, stress level and exertion level is a huge factor. Drifting along in warm clear water at 180 feet can be simple for some people, but if something bad happens and you have to help someone, solve an entanglement hazard and also exert yourself and swim hard, the narcosis can really make your head spin.

I recently did a deeper spearfishing air dive on a wreck with a buddy which required a lot of swimming and fighting with fish. The visibility was 20 ft (poor in my opinion). I was very aware of the narcosis and felt nervous and when I feel nervous, then the narcosis is stronger. I did the same wreck a few weeks earlier, solo in 125 feet visibility and without a gun. I did a gentle site seeing dive and felt little narcosis at depths of a little over 200 ft.

The recreational depth of 130 is more than deep enough for most sport divers in my opinion. It is not just the narcosis but also air consumption, deco issues and mental stress.

 

[David P]

2nd dive of the day, first dive was pretty bad, cold, no vis, lots of current out at Farnsworth Banks. anyhow second dive of the day, even worse current, probably should not have gotten in the water (out of a full boat only 6 of us splashed, only 3 of us got back on the boat without help. Remember that Dr. Bill?) So myself and 2 buddies headin down the line, Im in front and hit the bottom sand bed at ~120' current is RIPPIN! I'm worried about letting go of the line the current was so bad. I just laid there near (on?) the bottom thinking "woah, somethings wrong" I just laid there and paid attention to my breathing, "nope not hyperventilating", I listened to my pulse "nope, heart beat is nice and slow", checked my spg "nope, plenty of air" checked my computer, "hmm, somethings wrong... but I'm not sure what...." I just couldn't think straight and felt like I couldn't concentrate. I ascended 10 feet and did my self diagnosis with same results, ascended 10 feet and repeated test (oh yeah both buddies took off in seperate directions as soon as we hit the bottom...) I finally came up to 90 some odd feet, repeated the test and realized that my computer was in gauge mode "crap and I couldn't figure out how to do that the other day, now I did it on accident!" When my head cleared up enough to figure out what was wrong with my computer I could also immediately calculate how long and how deep I was on my first dive, my SI, and my allowable bottom time for the present dive. I found this to be a very interesting dive and thought I learned a lot. After an interesting ascent, having my buddy grab my ankle and climb hand over hand up my body so he could grab the ascent line... we made it back to the boat. Then the coast guard was called and I was sent to the hyperbaric chamber. All was good but a scare with scopolomine patches and rubbing of the eyes makes for an interesting afternoon. I also later learned that scopolomine patches can greatly affect narcosis.

 

[Nemrod]

Acutally pilots who are in an unpressurized aircraft CAN suffer from Nitrogen Narcosis. Maybe you should do your research next time. I have a very difficult time believing that a diver can go to a depth of 200' (on air) and not experience Narcosis. Although I certainly agree that experience can help you recognize narcosis, and therefore assist you in overcoming it, how are training and conditioning a factor for "innoculation". Overloading is a huge factor in being narc'd. It has to do with your breath rate (it's simple physics).

I'd like to invite anyone who thinks that they have never been narc'd dive to at a depth of 200' in pitch black water, that's not only dark, but silted so that you can't see lights, and has a temp of 33 degrees. I believe the effects would be more obvious in those conditions.

Personally, my cut-off is 170. That is for safety reasons. At that depth and on very familiar dive sites, I'm smart enough to realize the effects of narcosis on me. Anything deeper and my reasoning and reaction time is not what it should be.

Quite honestly, I can always tell when I'm narc'd. I get this undying urge to sneak of up lawyer fish....

Uh, excuse me but I am commerical and instrument and a few other ratings and I don't recall anything in my flight training about nitrogen narcosis and flying. I think you mean they (pilots and loss of pressurization) can be bent, check YOUR facts next time bud. The rest I will stick with, thanks. The two studies that were linked to earlier pretty much support my thoughts and unlike antedotal opinion it at least involved some resemblence of scientific method.

You have to be careful reading aviation texts, they often confuse narcosis with ADS, altitude decompression sickness, which we correctly refer to as the bends etc. Narcosis is the effects of toxisity of nitrogen under pressure, something a pilot whose aircraft undergoes sudden decompression is not likely to encounter as if he won't have plenty of other problems to deal with.

N

 

[TSandM]

My first knowing experience with narcosis was extremely unpleasant. I was doing a dive with Snowbear and a friend, to a place in Cove 2 where I hadn't previously been, at about 110 fsw. Viz was poor, no better than 10 feet if that. We were navigating by compass over a silt bottom with no distinctive features. I was feeling progressively more uneasy but wasn't sure why. When we finally got to the logs we were looking for, I became convinced that I was initiating an uncontrolled ascent. I dumped everything out of my drysuit and wing, and ended up floundering in the silt, holding onto the log to keep myself from shooting to the surface. When I hit the bottom, the idea began to percolate into consciousness that I was obviously NEGATIVE and couldn't be ascending. I gradually got my breathing and my thinking back under control and restored neutral buoyancy, and we headed up to shallower water.

I had a similar, but less intense experience a few weeks later, in limited viz at a similar depth. My personal hard deck these days is 100 fsw, and I don't make a distinction between low viz and clear water, because I'm sure the same impairment is present, even if, in clear water, I'm not as aware of it.

 

[gcbryan]

My first knowing experience with narcosis was extremely unpleasant. I was doing a dive with Snowbear and a friend, to a place in Cove 2 where I hadn't previously been, at about 110 fsw. Viz was poor, no better than 10 feet if that. We were navigating by compass over a silt bottom with no distinctive features. I was feeling progressively more uneasy but wasn't sure why. When we finally got to the logs we were looking for, I became convinced that I was initiating an uncontrolled ascent. I dumped everything out of my drysuit and wing, and ended up floundering in the silt, holding onto the log to keep myself from shooting to the surface. When I hit the bottom, the idea began to percolate into consciousness that I was obviously NEGATIVE and couldn't be ascending. I gradually got my breathing and my thinking back under control and restored neutral buoyancy, and we headed up to shallower water.

I had a similar, but less intense experience a few weeks later, in limited viz at a similar depth. My personal hard deck these days is 100 fsw, and I don't make a distinction between low viz and clear water, because I'm sure the same impairment is present, even if, in clear water, I'm not as aware of it.

Could vertigo have been involved as well as narcosis or are you saying that narcosis triggered vertigo or that it wasn't vertigo and solely narcosis?

Or perhaps your point is that it was unpleasant whatever it was and you don't intend to experience it again.

 

[TSandM]

No, there was no vertigo involved. I've got LOTS of experience with vertigo, and it wasn't that. It was unease that blossomed into a real conviction that I was about to hurtle to the surface. I call it a hallucination, because it was such an immediate and real-seeming misperception.

 

[Potapko]

2nd dive of the day, first dive was pretty bad, cold, no vis, lots of current out at Farnsworth Banks. anyhow second dive of the day, even worse current, probably should not have gotten in the water (out of a full boat only 6 of us splashed, only 3 of us got back on the boat without help. Remember that Dr. Bill?) So myself and 2 buddies headin down the line, Im in front and hit the bottom sand bed at ~120' current is RIPPIN! I'm worried about letting go of the line the current was so bad. I just laid there near (on?) the bottom thinking "woah, somethings wrong" I just laid there and paid attention to my breathing, "nope not hyperventilating", I listened to my pulse "nope, heart beat is nice and slow", checked my spg "nope, plenty of air" checked my computer, "hmm, somethings wrong... but I'm not sure what...." I just couldn't think straight and felt like I couldn't concentrate. I ascended 10 feet and did my self diagnosis with same results, ascended 10 feet and repeated test (oh yeah both buddies took off in seperate directions as soon as we hit the bottom...) I finally came up to 90 some odd feet, repeated the test and realized that my computer was in gauge mode "crap and I couldn't figure out how to do that the other day, now I did it on accident!" When my head cleared up enough to figure out what was wrong with my computer I could also immediately calculate how long and how deep I was on my first dive, my SI, and my allowable bottom time for the present dive. I found this to be a very interesting dive and thought I learned a lot. After an interesting ascent, having my buddy grab my ankle and climb hand over hand up my body so he could grab the ascent line... we made it back to the boat. Then the coast guard was called and I was sent to the hyperbaric chamber. All was good but a scare with scopolomine patches and rubbing of the eyes makes for an interesting afternoon. I also later learned that scopolomine patches can greatly affect narcosis.

This is very interesting. Can you tell us what kind of computer you have? My Nitek duo will not let you change to gauge mode after the first dive. It takes I believe 48 hrs to clear before you can make the switch. That's a serious potential hazard.

and thanks for sharing what happened

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

My most memorable experience with narcosis was actually kind've funny (which is unusual for me, because narcosis usually just gives me a case of anxiety).

I was doing a dive a few years back with a friend at Hood Canal. He was carrying a camera, and I wasn't ... so I was the designated "critter finder". At about 110 fsw I found a wolf eel den, turning to my buddy I signaled so he could come take a picture. He did, and we proceeded on our way. A minute or so later I found another wolf eel den, and I signaled again. He swam over, looked at me kind've curiously, and proceeded swimming. Hmmm ... strange ... he didn't want a picture. So I took off swimming again until I found another wolf eel den. Same reaction.

This happened a few more times ... then it was time to head up.

After the dive I asked Shawn why he didn't want more pictures of all those wolf eels. He told me because I was swimming in a circle back to the same wolf eel over and over again ... :11:

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[diver 85]

I don't know if this should be posted somewhere else or not. Anyway, it might be interesting to hear from those of us who have entered the world of narcosis and what we experienced. I'll start out. This summer, my buddy and I were diving in Lake Travis, Austin, TX. We decided to check out the "Pecan Grove", a grove of large pecan trees at about 110 ft. We planned the dive out. It was also decided that if we got silted out and lost visibility of each other we would search two minutes and then surface. Vis was excellent (20' plus). We got down to the grove and sure enough, got silted up. As planned, I began my ascent after two minutes of searching the immediate area keeping a very close watch on my depth guage. Air was plenty. I immediately noticed I was not ascending according to my guage. Being in a "grove", I checked to see if I had gotten snagged on a branch or something. I was clear, but still not ascending. I began popping air into my bc slowly. Still no movement. Suddenly, I realized the problem. I had been fixated on my maximum depth needle. I was looking at the wrong needle. I then saw I was at 65' and rising quick. I immediately dumped the air and decended back to 90'. I then began a slow ascent with a five minute safety stop at 15'. I got to the surface and met up with my buddy. This is a long thread but I guess my point is that being narced does not mean you become a complete and total idiot. I thought I was thinking very rationally, following the plan, and even looking for a logical explanation for not beign able to ascend. And in that lies the danger.

My honest personnal experience with narcosis,- none-ever- after countless dives to greater than 110'(for myself or hearing any other diver's on the boat talk about their 'experience')........I purposely asked everyone-5 divers diving with Aldora -last month after a dive made to 135'+/- to Devil's Throat off Cozumel if anyone got 'narced', answer 'not me'......I'm thinking they are 'over teaching' this narcosis thing way too much these days.....Sometimes 'pilot error' happens to everyone but that doesn't mean there was a physical reason for it....Take driving a car & letting your mind wander, to the point of not being able to recall the previous past few minutes, what caused that----being a human being, nothing more nothing less.....Sometimes people need to accept our innate human tendancies & being imperfect is one.....


"have a Great day", Les Miles December 1, 2007...........GEAUX TIGERS.......