Madhu R
Registered
Hi
Brand new diver here. In my first pool class, I was fine for the first hour. We started with the swim and treading water tests. Then we went to a depth of 10 feet, and while underwater, I was able to complete whatever basic skills I was asked to do. Buoyancy wasn't an issue either. I did find that if I took a deep breath, I'd start popping up to the surface, so I breathed shallowly.
After about 10 minutes at 10 feet, we went to the shallow end for about 15 minutes. As my instructor was explaining stuff to me, I started to feel less and less comfortable. I found it a relief when I was able to take my mask off (for a brief period while we switched masks). Eventually, we went back to a depth of 10 feet, at which point I was not 100% comfort. We spent about 10 minutes at that depth, doing regulator recovery drills and playing with pool toys. The whole time, I was a little dizzy, but did not want to call it off. We surfaced again, at which point I had a gradual but unrelenting onset of what I call vertigo. I was unable to sit up or stand up, and had to lie down for the next five or 10 minutes. We had to call the lesson an hour early. When I did stand up to wash the rental gear, and put my street clothes back on, I started feeling nauseous and lost what was left of my lunch. I was unable to drive, my instructor give me a ride to a friend’s house where I spent the night. I was basically fine the next morning.
So I have two classes of questions. First, what is going on with me? A similar if not quite so extreme thing happened when I went snorkeling. It was a daylong trip and we had three hours in the water, but I couldn't stay in the water more than 20-25 minutes at a time for the second and third hours. For the second half of the day on the trip, I was either lying down on a bench inside the boat or I was in the water. That day I had even taken a seasickness pill (ginger-based something or the other).
Second, what can I do about it? I’m seeing my primary care doctor tomorrow morning, so I hope to get some ideas there. I really want to be able to dive, but need a solution to this problem if I am to continue diving.
Thanks,
Madhu
Brand new diver here. In my first pool class, I was fine for the first hour. We started with the swim and treading water tests. Then we went to a depth of 10 feet, and while underwater, I was able to complete whatever basic skills I was asked to do. Buoyancy wasn't an issue either. I did find that if I took a deep breath, I'd start popping up to the surface, so I breathed shallowly.
After about 10 minutes at 10 feet, we went to the shallow end for about 15 minutes. As my instructor was explaining stuff to me, I started to feel less and less comfortable. I found it a relief when I was able to take my mask off (for a brief period while we switched masks). Eventually, we went back to a depth of 10 feet, at which point I was not 100% comfort. We spent about 10 minutes at that depth, doing regulator recovery drills and playing with pool toys. The whole time, I was a little dizzy, but did not want to call it off. We surfaced again, at which point I had a gradual but unrelenting onset of what I call vertigo. I was unable to sit up or stand up, and had to lie down for the next five or 10 minutes. We had to call the lesson an hour early. When I did stand up to wash the rental gear, and put my street clothes back on, I started feeling nauseous and lost what was left of my lunch. I was unable to drive, my instructor give me a ride to a friend’s house where I spent the night. I was basically fine the next morning.
So I have two classes of questions. First, what is going on with me? A similar if not quite so extreme thing happened when I went snorkeling. It was a daylong trip and we had three hours in the water, but I couldn't stay in the water more than 20-25 minutes at a time for the second and third hours. For the second half of the day on the trip, I was either lying down on a bench inside the boat or I was in the water. That day I had even taken a seasickness pill (ginger-based something or the other).
Second, what can I do about it? I’m seeing my primary care doctor tomorrow morning, so I hope to get some ideas there. I really want to be able to dive, but need a solution to this problem if I am to continue diving.
Thanks,
Madhu