Narcosis??

[waynel]

I never felt light headed after a dive of 80 ft. or so, but both my wife and I usually have a small headache for a short period of time back on the boat. Don't mean to commandeer this thread, but does anyone else experience that?

 

[Mr. Sunday]

I recall a dive on air in the South China Sea where I was at 39 meters. I was leading the dive and started to feel a bit odd. I could not stay moving in a straight line no matter how hard I tried. I was using my compass but still started to go in circles. I knew exactly what was happening to me at the time but it was still an unpleasant experience. It was like being a bit drunk or something similar. I ascended just a couple of meters and it went away as fast as it came on.

I had done almost 250 dives up to this point and had never felt like this before even though I have been as deep if not a bit deeper previously. I think the conditions and my body chemistry just happen to be more susceptible that particular day. If you are prepared for it when it happens you hopefully will be much less likely to have an incident.

Keep your cool; make sure you breathe slow and steady. Ascend until the feeling passes and determine if you need to abort the rest of the dive. If diving to a depth of 100+ Nitrox should be a better alternative.

 

[Gombessa]

Do people respond to narcosis the same way they respond to alcohol intoxication?

When I'm buzzed, I'm kind of a killjoy - not depressed or anything like that, but definitely aware that I'm not thinking straight, and as a result I"m much more deliberate and measured in my thoughts and actions, and take more time to think things through to make sure I'm not saying or doing anything stupid (the success of which, is of course, somewhat up in the air). In other words, if I was buzzed underwater (bad idea, I know), I would be checking my spg/depth twice as much as I normally do, out of fear that I might be neglecting my safety.

Will being narced feel the same way or trigger the same response, or might it be completely different? When you feel a bit narced, are you aware of the fact, and do you respond the same way as you do to alcohol? Or is the feeling something completely different??

 

[Crazy Fingers]

I find that after about 80 feet, I start to get a little paranoid and a little angry. The deeper I go, the more angry I get. At 100, I feel like all of my dive buddies are morons, they aren't paying attention, I have to control them and keep them from killing themselves. I remember feeling this quite strongly in the bottom of Paradise Spring, but looking back on it they weren't doing anything wrong or dangerous.

Does narc make me a jerk?

 

[H2Andy]

I remember feeling this quite strongly in the bottom of Paradise Spring, but looking back on it they weren't doing anything wrong or dangerous.

i remember feeling way narced at Paradise once ... i guess the darkness and the low vis just get the best of you

 

[drbill]

I know I am narced at 100 ft based on simple tests of numerical computation skills at the surface, then at depth. I routinely dive to 180-200 ft where I know I am even more narced. However, I am also there to find and film critters at these depths. The fact that my mind is absorbed with these tasks eliminates much of the self-awareness of the narcosis.

Fortunately I have never experienced "rapture of the deep" or serious disorientation which might cause me to do something really stupid (well, beyond the normal). I stop at my maximum depth (OK, I did cross the line to 201 ft a few times) and don't go beyond it... or beyond a reasonably conservative deco obligation.

 

[Thalassamania]

I never felt light headed after a dive of 80 ft. or so, but both my wife and I usually have a small headache for a short period of time back on the boat. Don't mean to commandeer this thread, but does anyone else experience that?

Careful, that's a symptom of CO₂ retention.

 

[grumpymedic]

Waynel,
I often have a headache after diving. I think I try to work hard at not using up my air quickly, so I alter my breathing pattern which I believe causes a build of of carbon dioxide in my system which gives me a headache.