Nitrogen Narcosis help

[zaberman1]

Narcosis is an interesting phenomenon and probably more ubiquitous than people think. Theoretically, it is possible to be 'narced' while diving below 60fsw though symptoms seldom manifest (probability is extremely remote) or become noticeable until proceeding to deeper depths. Instead of being afraid, ask the instructor questions about the mechanism of narcosis and how to manage those risks. Frankly, narcosis is something every diver should be aware of and, most certainly, educated on how to manage. The article at Nitrogen narcosis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia is an easy read and provides some good information.

I've found that taking your time, thinking through tasks on the surface, and performing safety drills at depth help me to manage/minimize narcosis.

EDIT: This has been debated for quite sometime (don't want to start one in this thread) but there is no correlation between the probability (or severity) of narcosis and enriched air. While it is true that reducing nitrogen probably reduces 'nitrogen' narcosis, the increased % of 02 may offset the reduced nitrogen in contributing to overall (oxygen) narcosis.

 

[lmorin]

I'd like to add a slight twist to this discussion, particularly as it relates to your wife's worries. When my wife and I were thinking about AOW, I didn't want to it because I thought it a waste of time and money. I just wanted to dive more. However, it proved to be a very useful and positive experience, if for only one reason. My wife was greatly worried, in a non-specific way, about depth. Taking the AOW course gave us an additional 5 dives with an instructor. Of course, the instructor was along on the deep dive, my wife's biggest fear. Having the instructor there made everything smoother and easier. In fact, both of us did better on the deep quiz than at the surface. So much for being narc'd. So, all things considered, the deep dive during AOW cert was well worth the time and expense because it made my wife much more comfortable while diving, particularly at depths greater than 75 ft.

 

[nimoh]

Narcosis is an interesting phenomenon and probably more ubiquitous than people think. Theoretically, it is possible to be 'narced' while diving below 60fsw though symptoms seldom manifest (probability is extremely remote) or become noticeable until proceeding to deeper depths. Instead of being afraid, ask the instructor questions about the mechanism of narcosis and how to manage those risks. Frankly, narcosis is something every diver should be aware of and, most certainly, educated on how to manage. The article at Nitrogen narcosis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia is an easy read and provides some good information.

I've found that taking your time, thinking through tasks on the surface, and performing safety drills at depth help me to manage/minimize narcosis.

EDIT: This has been debated for quite sometime (don't want to start one in this thread) but there is no correlation between the probability (or severity) of narcosis and enriched air. While it is true that reducing nitrogen probably reduces 'nitrogen' narcosis, the increased % of 02 may offset the reduced nitrogen in contributing to overall (oxygen) narcosis.

ouch, there is a can of worms!

 

[zaberman1]

^ It was going to be open one way or another

 

[smellzlikefish]

There is no sense talking your wife out of her safe zone. The class is called "advanced" open water, so you should exit the class feeling fairly confident underwater. It just sounds to me like she is still trying to get her head on straight with the concepts fro OW. Why don't you postpone the deep dive this weekend, get in a few more dives so she is a little more comfortable, then go for it.

 

[Been Soaked]

First and foremost, please take the time to talk to your wife about her anxiety and really listen / try to understand the source of her discomfort. Simply trying to convince someone to do something they are uncomfortable with often ends up making the experience all the more difficult.

Once you understand her reluctance it is possible to discuss it without pressuring her, perhaps along with your instructor. As noted above, she can always call a dive if it doesn't feel good. Pushing back the boundaries of ones comfort is something to be done incrementally, regardless of the activity.

The best reason to do your AOW is because it will make you both better divers; more comfortable in the water; more confident of your skills and aware of your limitations.

By the way, and for what it is worth, the deep part of AOW training isn't really deep. The surface is still accessible with a safety stop and the risk being assumed is very marginal. This is still considered recreational diving (as opposed to tec diving) and you will almost certainly find yourselves as comfortable at 25 or 30 meters as you do at 15 or 18.

Best of luck, and let us know how it goes!

 

[CamG]

Greetings Lizzard Leg it is never good to tease your wife, You know better than that!
The deep dive portion of AOW is a very structured safe training experience guided by a instructor who will brief you fully on the skills and hazards that will be managed through your training.
The key is to keep the dive safe and within you and your wife's comfort level so you will be able to enjoy it.
To be very honest narcosis is very manageable usually just a few feet or meters and it dissipates as fast as it came.

When my wife and I took AOW I was stoked and she was frozen!
We did our skills @70' and when it was time to drop to 100' she thumbed the dive.
It took a few dives to 70'-80' to get her comfortable with the thermals of cold water the narcosis has not ever been an issue for her.

We keep our dives to her level and comfort so she can enjoy them.
This might be a good idea for you as well if you want her to be your buddy.
In warm water you have to be keenly aware of narcosis because you will end up being deeper before you realize it.
Your instructor will prepare you so relax and trust him.
If your wife is uncomfortable with the 100' then alter the dive plan to keep her happy.
I believe the requirement is 70' and 100' is an option.

CamG Keep Diving....Keep Training....Keep Learning!

 

[Lizard Leg]

The deep part of our AOW isn't scheduled until Sept. 30, not this weekend, and as I mentioned in the very first post, I would cancel the trip in a heartbeat if she wasnt comfortable with it - I don't know where the idea I was trying to talk her into it came to be - nothing could be farther from the truth. I've had some PM's from member's here that I requested info from before I posted this, I have talked to her, sent her some links and other info and have made it quite known that all she has to do is say the word and we can alter our plans - no hard feelings, no anything - we'll still be diving.

As she put it earlier today to me, it's not that she is scared, just nervous. She got quite upset with me (I got an email in ALL CAPS!!) that she was in no way wanting to cancel the dive and was fine with it, just wanted to do some more research. Trust me, if she wasn't okay with it, she'd let me know, probably in ALL CAPS again

Her concern, I believe, is that for a shallow, warm water diver, every thing you hear about "being narc'd" is bad. Instructors joking about the time they got narc'd and spent 30 minutes watching a fish swim around there hand and almost went OOA before they're buddy dragged them up to shallower water kind of stuff. The near misses you hear about on here from being narc'd - most of them told in a funny manner, but... there isn't a lot of positives involving the effects of narcosis, so when you try to research it you can see where a new diver with no deep dives could get nervous.

 

[diverrex]

Maybe I missed it but I didn't see what experience you and your wife already had diving deep. The reasonable thing for most people is simply to do dives progressively deeper 60,70, 80,90,100. Get comfortable at each depth before moving to the next one whether that takes 1 dive or 5 dives. I think there is value in doing your first deeper dives with an instructor but don't think it's the best idea for someone never dived below 60 to all of a sudden do a deep dive to 100. Done gradually and it really becomes no big deal as you realize each successive depth is not much different.

I believe those that say we all get narced going deep but I can't say I've really noticed yet having gone to 130.

 

[rongoodman]

I'd never noticed it on the occasional 100'+ dive in the Caribbean, but a couple of weeks ago on the Radeau in Lake George, cold and dark at 105', I had some pretty obvious short term memory loss. I was neither paranoid or giddy, but I just have flashes of images of what the wreck looked like. I'm looking forward to doing it with some He in the mix next time and comparing the difference.