post-dive blahs

[sam1]

I have heard about people getting "the blahs" after diving (and of the alleged benefits of Nitrox in preventing/reducing this) but did not really know what people were referring to as I had never experienced such post-dive effects. Well, yesterday, after the second of two dives (on air) I surfaced and felt, well, a bit blah. This persisted throughout most of the day. Today, fine. I am curious as to how frequently divers experience this feeling, what diver type or dive profile is most likely to cause it, and whether people believe that Nitrox does help. (I have read in various places that that is a myth, unsupported by scientific evidence.) Thanks.

 

[Web Monkey]

A really slow ascent (1 -2 minutes) for the final 15' or 20' of your dive seems to help a great deal. It's also great practice for buoyancy control.

I beleive switching to Nitrox helps because it "hides" the effects of a too-fast ascent, because you have less dissoved nitrogen to start with.

FWIW, since I started doing really slow final ascents and switched to nitrox, I feel like I'm ready to go diving again after two dives, instead of feeling like I need to pull off the road and find a motel, like I used to feel.

Out of the two, the really slow ascent made a huge difference. Switching to nitrox seemed to help, but is harder to quantify.

Terry

I have heard about people getting "the blahs" after diving (and of the alleged benefits of Nitrox in preventing/reducing this) but did not really know what people were referring to as I had never experienced such post-dive effects. Well, yesterday, after the second of two dives (on air) I surfaced and felt, well, a bit blah. This persisted throughout most of the day. Today, fine. I am curious as to how frequently divers experience this feeling, what diver type or dive profile is most likely to cause it, and whether people believe that Nitrox does help. (I have read in various places that that is a myth, unsupported by scientific evidence.) Thanks.

 

[Rick Inman]

Some fatigue is actually sub-clinical DCS. Some is from just havin' too much fun in the sun! I spent a day fly fishing a local stream recently, hiking up and down it for hours, and was beat the next day, but I didn't call DAN.

Coming out really clean is the key for me. Staying hydrated, diving easy, going slow before and after the dive (I actually like to float around relaxing for a couple of minutes before exiting the water), and as Web Monk said, taking those last 10' really slow.

Coming out cleaner can be helped by using higher O2 mixes if you don't ride the NDLs. If you use nitrox to extend your bottom time, there is no anti-DCS benefit.

 

[dbg40]

Looks like a teeny little hit. fatigue, ascend SLOWER. The last 10 feet is critical to off gassing, and is offten overlooked. Give it a try and see if it helps. Im not too sure of the miracle of nitrox as being a cure for post dive fatigue. Only my opinion.

 

[jbisjim]

Like Rick said. Make sure you are well hydrated for a least a few days before you dive. Don't just drink before you go.

 

[frankc420]

I like that, "the blahs", actually I had "the blahs" for a couple of days after diving in a quarry, and I know for a fact that I came up to fast. This last weekend I had 'the blahs' after my first couple of dives, but I did come up very slow. Something that helped me was Red Bull. (Yeah thanks bugman)

Not sure what it is, but it sure helped. I guess the excess nitrogen in the system bogs down your body, and the Red bull just gives you that little pickup that you need to get rid of 'the blahs'. Try it, lemme know if it works

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I dive alot on the weekends (4 dives day is not uncommon). I will feel really blah on Monday morning if I do not do all of the following:

1. Deep stop at 1/2 max depth

2. Slow ascents of no more than 30 fpm and preferrably less.

3. Plan the dive to spend the last half at progressively shallower depths.

4. On computer dives, conduct the dive so that the nitorgen loading gragh is in the green when I surface.

5. 3 minute safety stop at 20 ft followed by a very slow ascent to the surface

6. drink lots of water the day prior to and on diving days (caffenated drinks don't count as your body has to use lots of that water to eliminate the caffine from your system.)

 

[sharkattack]

We don't dive anything but Nitrox. 36% at home. When we travel we take what we can get. I find if I just use air, I feel pretty crappy after 2 or 3 dives. Thats just me though. Wife doesn't seem to notice either way.

 

[ClayJar]

I must say that I've never encountered "the blahs" in my diving. (After one *very* strenuous dive, I was beat, but that was anticipated exhaustion due to making a planned dive in a very sub-optimal current.)

By my first openwater dive, I'd read a library or two and had learned about the apparent benefits of the deep stop, and so, from my first openwater training dive, I was making deep stops.

Also, I had bought a wrist computer before my checkout trip, as it seemed blatantly obvious after doing the math that it would be very useful for slow, constant-rate ascents and precise deep and safety stop monitoring. Absolutely, I can ascend with just a depth gauge plus timing device, or on a line, or (if necessary) with nothing but the water and bubbles and silt (if everything fails), but while you train for the worst, you learn and use the available gear.

Anyway, with a controlled, slow ascent rate, iterative (if necessary) deep stops, a pleasant 3+ minutes of safety stop, and a very slow terminal ascent, I've never had "the blahs". Additionally, although the guys at the LDS (instructors, etc) raved about how they feel so much better on the way home if they dive nitrox, I could not detect an identifiable difference when I dove nitrox.

I learned from hiking that dehydration will rip you to shreds if you're not careful (ran out of water one hike, barely made it back, and spent the next several weeks recovering), and water is basically neutrally-buoyant, so I never have a problem there. I suppose dehydration could easily contribute in several modes to post-dive blahs.

Hmm... I suppose if I drank, being hungover might factor in, but I don't... and my OW instructor is allergic to alcohol, so obviously he doesn't drink, and yet he repeated the "nitrox prevents the blahs for me" idea. Breathing even a miniscule amount of second-hand smoke gives me a raging headache, but I don't see any correlation between smokers and blah-feelers.

Hmm... I wonder if there's any correlation between caffeine and the blahs. I wonder if DAN could talk enough people into giving up coffee and caffeine for a few weeks to test it. (I can't participate, as I haven't done caffeine in years. It's just so much easier to drive 1000-mile days without it.)

Well, anyway, let's just chalk it up to tightly controlled ascent rates, (iterative) deep stops, precise safety stops, and slow terminal ascents, then.

 

[ianr33]

Totally agree with what everybody else has said. I used to find that I felt better diving nitrox rather than air but now realise that what the nitrox was really doing was covering up bad habits on the air dives. Slow ascents really are incredibly important. While it may be taught that it is OK to do a 100 foot dive,3 minute safety stop then pop to the surface in practice it will probably make you feel like ,well,blah.