Nitrogen Narcosis help

[Lizard Leg]

My wife and I were playing around the other night getting our new rigs setup more to our liking after our first dive with them, new bolt snaps for the flash lights, etc. and we were just joking around. We were talking about our upcoming AOW training beginning of October. We were talking about the deep dive, and I made the joke that I was "Looking forward to getting narced" (jokingly of course). When questioned, I said that everyone at some point or another gets "narced" when they dive deep and this really upset her.

I would rather take the $ paid for the AOW class and just move it to other dives and eat the $ for the books instead of doing ANYTHING she is not comfortable with. I've PM'd a few members but decided it was time to move this to an open forum.

I know the first step in AOW, and especially the deep dive, is having an instructor you like and trust. We requested the instructor we will be using from experience with him while he helped with some of our OW training - for the simple reason he knows his stuff and because he's a hard @$$. He says people tell him he's rude - I say you're teaching me the skills that might save my life down the road, so be rude. So that part of the equation is handled.

I told her that more than likely we will have to do a simple task on land/boat and then do the same task at depth to show us the effects of narcosis. I was still joking at this point, and was laughing saying that it should be fun

. She wasn't laughing.

Can the instructors and divers with 100's of deep dives shed some light and maybe explain this in a little more detail for us? We really don't have a desire to dive deep - but almost all of the dives close to us are 70-90' and we also feel the training and experience from the AOW dives would benefit us greatly. Our deep dive is scheduled to be the Thunderbolt at @ 100-110fsw.

Thanks for any information that you can give us on this.

 

[nimoh]

for AOW, a deep dive is necessary, but is defined as below 60'. You will be asked to peform a small timed task. For our classes we usually have students open a combination lock both near the surface, and at depth. For most students, there isn't much time difference, probably indicating that their level of narcosis is minimal. I have never seen a student take considerably longer with the task at depth (except for things like dropping the lock and having to pick it up).

You could request that your instructor keep the depth around 60' the skills part of the class, and then proceed a little deeper if you feel comfortable. I think it is unlikely that narcosis will be an issue for you with a short dive between 60 and 80 feet, but your instructor is trained to watch for signs of narcosis, and so if you do get narc'd a bit, your instructor will likely take you up to shallower water before you even realize it.

Your instructor may already have a 60'-70' dive in mind for the deep dive.

 

[NCadiver]

At the 70-90ft level you can get narc. And you never know when you are going to get hit one day it maybe at 63ft the next day it maybe 105ft you never know. And the skill is to get narc so you know what it feel like and understand the feeling and know what to do. PS she can always call the dive on the desent as well.

 

[Scott]

for AOW, a deep dive is necessary, but is defined as below 60'. You will be asked to peform a small timed task. For our classes we usually have students open a combination lock both near the surface, and at depth. For most students, there isn't much time difference, probably indicating that their level of narcosis is minimal. I have never seen a student take considerably longer with the task at depth (except for things like dropping the lock and having to pick it up).

Just for clarification.
You may or may not be asked to perform a timed task on the AOW Deep dive since that is not a performance requirement for the dive.
Here are your performance requirements:
1. Descend using a line, wall or sloping bottom.
2. Compare changes in color at the surface and at depth.
3. Compare a depth gauge to another diver’s depth gauge.
4. Ascend at a rate not to exceed 18 metres/60 feet per minute using a dive computer (or depth gauge and timing device).
5. Make a safety stop at 5 metres/15 feet for at least three minutes.
What an instructor adds to the requirements is, well, their choice.
In the past I have used timed tasks, math calculations, tying knots or writing depth, time and cylinder pressures.

 

[tracydr]

Discuss the concerns with the instructor. I'm sure he can reassure her. The whole point of the dive is to learn to understand the gas planning and the various effects that depth has on air consumption and narcosis. It's not just about going deep. In the meantime, no more teasing. All that will do is make her more anxious.
The AOW class is a good class if you have a good instructor. It's not meant to break you, scare you or make you cry. It is meant to help you increase your skills on slightly more difficult dives like night dives, shore/boat dives, deeper dives and dives that require navigation skills.

 

[Lizard Leg]

As I mentioned above, the deep drive we have planned is Sept. 30 on the Thunderbolt (@100-100fsw). Our instructor is one we personally requested from experience during our OW training. We are also switching from PADI to NAUI for the Advanced class.

And no more teasing, I promise. I didn't even now she was nervous about it until this.

 

[nimoh]

Just for clarification.
You may or may not be asked to perform a timed task on the AOW Deep dive since that is not a performance requirement for the dive.
Here are your performance requirements:
1. Descend using a line, wall or sloping bottom.
2. Compare changes in color at the surface and at depth.
3. Compare a depth gauge to another diver’s depth gauge.
4. Ascend at a rate not to exceed 18 metres/60 feet per minute using a dive computer (or depth gauge and timing device).
5. Make a safety stop at 5 metres/15 feet for at least three minutes.
What an instructor adds to the requirements is, well, their choice.
In the past I have used timed tasks, math calculations, tying knots or writing depth, time and cylinder pressures.

thanks, Scott. I will be divemastering my first AOW class this weekend, and was going over the requirements last night. I should probably dig out my adventures in diving book and brush up a bit to differentiate the performance requirements from the add-ons

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Some things to consider ...

- First off, I'm not surprised at your wife's concerns ... those are pretty common among people who are relatively new to diving and experiencing deep for the first time.
- If you've been diving at all, you've already been narc'd ... it's just a matter of degrees. Sometimes you won't even notice it.
- Different people respond to narcosis in different ways ... sometimes you will respond in different ways depending on your mental state when you entered the water, the diving environment (light or dark, for example), or several other factors having to do with your physiology on the day of the dive. The mechanics of narcosis are not well-understood ... we only know at a basic level that it happens, and that higher partial pressures of nitrogen tend to make it worse.
- Narcosis is easily manageable ... all you have to do is recognize it and ascend a little bit and it'll go away. Learning how to recognize and manage it is kinda the point of the AOW deep dive.

She should have a discussion about her concerns with the instructor. This will probably happen anyway, as part of the course.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[darushin]

I know you are worried about the narcosis, and while it is possible I would put the odds extremely low (especially if using nitrox).

I routinely accompany my instructor on Aow deep dives and I have never seen anyone be more then a few seconds delayed at 100fsw on timed tasks). I have only seen 1 diver narced in less then 110 fsw. It was a spear fisher with two grouper, one jack, and a kobia on his side and basically exerted himself until he was narced.

 

[Lizard Leg]

No nitrox on these dives - air only.