Panic Episode This Weekend

[uncfnp]

This weekend I was doing a deeper dive at about 100 feet. I was perfectly fine one second and then the next second I was in a panic. I had a weird pain on the right side of the chest and then this urgent need to surface. I was breathing really hard and freaking out. I was able to get my emotions in check and surface normally with a saftey stop but I litterally thought I was dying for a short time. I remember telling myself I have to make it for my kids. SCARY that I had to go there.

I am not sure what brought this on but I am a fairly experienced diver and have not had anything like this happen before. I keep replaying the dive in my head but cant figure it out. I was diving a 130 steel tank for the first time deep but I was weighted properly and didnt have any issues that made the dive uncomfortable. After surfacing I was fine and after a 30 min surface interval, I geared up and went for a second, shallower dive with out any further issues.

Though I am not a huge fan of going real deep, I had no anxety about the dive prior and have dove to 120ft numerous times in the past with out issue or anxiety. Not sure what happened that day but it was like a switch flipped and I almost lost it. I literally an grateful I had a full face mask on cause I felt like I woulda spit the reg out and freaked.

Talk about spooky!

This is purely a nonmedical opinion but I vote for a good, old fashioned panic attack. You've "never had one" until you have the first one and rarely can a specific trigger be identified. I think you've had your first one.

 

[Dive the Ice]

I dont recall a head ache after the dive. I did have an extended accending time and safety stop. i Had plenty of air and once I was up to about 60 feet I was perfectly fine. No panic or worries at all.

I have an interspiro fullface mask. No adjustment that I am aware of. I have only ever dove the full face that deep one time before, and was fine. The full face is used mainly for rescue calls and department training in shallow water. It is due for its annual so it will be going in shortly for inspection. I will not be diving it until the inspection is complete.

---------- Post added August 14th, 2013 at 08:34 AM ----------

I have 4 youg childeren and a wife.... SO yes I have stress, but nothing out of the ordinary. I am a 34 year old male in pretty decent shape with no medical issues or medications. I also have never done drugs and I rarely drink alcohol. I guess work may be buggin me more than usual at work but I dont feel like I take any of that home with me. I dont even think about work when I am not there. Hopefully just an isolated incident!

How old are you? Are you undergoing a great deal of stress in other areas of your life? Are you male or female?
I often see men,especially, experience off-the wall panic attacks when they are having lots of stress at work or home.
Another thing, any alcohol or drugs? Medications? These things can make panic attacks more likely and anything can make panic more likely when combined with dark, cold water under pressure at depth. Again, narcosis is more likely in colder, darker water as well.

 

[FinnMom]

Congratulations on holding your cool. I've had a couple friends tell me about the stress of an ear problem underwater: sudden pain, nausea, disorientation, fear. I guess all you can do is concentrate on slow, steady breathing for a moment or two (or five or ten). Being experienced enough that air management has been properly considered and respected is a fine thing in a time like that.

I experienced several episodes of sudden, gripping pain in my chest several times over a series of mornings when I was only 34 or so. I was absolutely sure it was an impending heart attack. Having national healthcare, it was easy to find out (not the same financial pain threshold as in many places). Full workup later that Doc told me it was radiating pain from my back & shoulders. According to the Doc you can't always trust pain to tell where the true source of the problem is. I'd just returned to farm work after being a full-time mom for about a year and the Doc felt that my back & shoulders weren't up the work yet.

After hearing his opinion my heart sure raced a lot less when I felt the pain! :blinking: And the episodes did indeed decrease in frequency and cease over the next several weeks.

 

[bada3003]

For what it's worth, if you haven't already done so, I would suggest checking with your physician as noted by Dsix36. Health issues arise on the surface and under water, and in the latter, not always diving related. Hopefully it's nothing but it can give you some peace of mind and rule out general health issues.

 

[Dive the Ice]

I actually went to the hospital last Thursday for what turned out to be unrelated heart issues. 3 days, 8 different tests And what seemed like a million blood draws and my heart is in as good of shape as it has ever been. Doctors where not concerned at all about my heart. Thinking it was CO build up and a flat out panic attack.


Back at it this weekend! Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Nice to get other opinions and thought processes.

 

[bada3003]

I actually went to the hospital last Thursday for what turned out to be unrelated heart issues. 3 days, 8 different tests And what seemed like a million blood draws and my heart is in as good of shape as it has ever been. Doctors where not concerned at all about my heart. Thinking it was CO build up and a flat out panic attack.


Back at it this weekend! Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Nice to get other opinions and thought processes.

Glad to hear the checkups turned up ok. Had a cancer scare myself not long ago (luckily false alarm), and not one to visit a physician unless dragged to, the relief was palpable despite the surrounding overhead.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

I actually went to the hospital last Thursday for what turned out to be unrelated heart issues. 3 days, 8 different tests And what seemed like a million blood draws and my heart is in as good of shape as it has ever been. Doctors where not concerned at all about my heart. Thinking it was CO build up and a flat out panic attack.


Back at it this weekend! Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Nice to get other opinions and thought processes.

I hope you mean CO2 (carbon dioxide) and not CO (carbon monoxide). However, if there is a potential for carbon monoxide, there can be numerous bad symptoms, especially on a deep dive. If CO is possible, check the air source to make sure there is no CO in the breathing air.

SeaRat

 

[billt4sf]

And perhaps a bit of a dark narc experience? /QUOTE]

What does the term "dark narc" mean? Are we talking about the narcosis that one can get from diving deep or is there something else?

 

[dshorwich]

What does the term "dark narc" mean? Are we talking about the narcosis that one can get from diving deep or is there something else?

We're talking about good ol' nitrogen narcosis, yes, but in this case it's characterized by feelings of anxiety, doom & gloom, and/or a sense of imminent disaster, rather than the stereotypical description of narcosis as producing feelings of euphoria or intoxication. This is according to the accounts I've read - I've not experienced dark narc myself, and as far as I can recall had no idea the phenomenon even existed until many years after my initial training. One might suspect that this is one of those things that tends to get elided in the average OW training so as not to freak out the new diver...

 

[Crass3000]

We're talking about good ol' nitrogen narcosis, yes, but in this case it's characterized by feelings of anxiety, doom & gloom, and/or a sense of imminent disaster, rather than the stereotypical description of narcosis as producing feelings of euphoria or intoxication. This is according to the accounts I've read - I've not experienced dark narc myself,

Yes this is true. I was doing some reading the other day and it was mentioned. Sounded like narcosis somewhat amplifies the feelings you are having. For example, if one was nervous, narcosis would tend to amplify that emotion.