Was this overexertion?

[noobascooba]

I am recently qualified and I had a pool session a couple of weeks ago just to practice some skills. I was happy because my bouyancy control was a lot better, but I was concerend because my chest felt odd. I felt like breathing was difficult a lot of the time. My reg delivers a lot of air so I think it was my problem, not my equiptment. Quite quickly, I got tired and felt breathless. My chest felt tingly. In the dives I did for my certification, we mostly decended, did skills and ascended, there wasn't much swimming around. I was wearing a pair of split fins I borrowed. This time, I spent a lot of time swimming around and I was wearing much stiffer fins. I didn't feel like I was working*that* hard, but I thought maybe overexertion was causing my problems. I was calm, not nervous.

I should have taken a rest, but instead I moved into the shallow end to practise some skills. I struggled with reg recovery because when the reg was out of my mouth and I was exhaling I ran out of breath quickly and felt breathless when I had it back in my mouth. I also struggled with no mask breathing- I passed the open water test on this but I want to keep practicing until I can do it without any problems. Sometimes I feel like I have some water gurgling around in my nose and sometimes I can't breathe in because of it; other times I'm fine.

Out of the water, I was practising breathing through my mouth only so I can get better at no mask breathing. When I did this, I noticed I felt breathless and had a bit of a tingly chest, just like when I was swimming around underwater. This made me wonder if their is something in my physiology that makes my body not like breathing through my mouth alone, and weather this could be a problem.

Sorry this is a long post, I just wanted to describe exactly how I felt. Any advice or explination is more than welcome- I really enjoy diving and don't want to feel breathless

cheers,

ns

 

[fisherdvm]

I wonder if your suit might be too tight. However, it would have been worse in your OW dives with the greater depth. Next I would wonder if you have alot of anxiety in the past, as panic attacks and severe anxiety can cause chest pain. Certainly unusual entry movement can cause a pull in abdominal muscle, rib muscle or diaphram muscles, which can contribute to the pain. Lung problems such as emphysemia or "blebs" can cause pain, but I wonder why you did not have problems with deeper dives. Certainly excercise or cold induced asthma could cause discomfort and shallow breathing. You probably should see a doctor before you go on dives deeper than the pool.

 

[fisherdvm]

Rereading your post, you certainly might have symptoms of asthma. Many people do not show symptoms until exertion is combined with hypothermia. This should not prevent you from diving, however, but you need to be cleared with a physician, especially a pulmonologist, before you reenter water again. You should be cleared of any lung diseases then have your asthma treated. One can tolerate cold induced asthma better by wearing thicker wetsuits or drysuit, and maintaining good aerobic conditioning.

 

[noobascooba]

I hope it isn't exercise induced asthma- I believe that is one type of asthma that is supposed to mean avoiding diving.

I wasn't anxious, but I have been in the past during my intial confinned water dives. I have good aerobic fitness- I am a slow long distance runner. I didn't have any pain in my chest, just a slightly odd feeling- like a mild tingling, mainly it was just breathlessness. I also don't understand why, if the cause was the cold water and exercise, I got similar feelings by just concentrating on breathing through my mouth alone out of the water. Maybe I am just being overly concerned as a new diver, but I will think about getting my lungs checked out by a doctor. Thanks for the advice
ns

 

[TSandM]

You're doing the right thing with the no-mask work. We all passed it in OW, but many people come out of OW not very comfortable with their mask off, and I learned the hard way that one should overcome that particular resistance.

As far as your description of your pool session, I'm wondering if perhaps you were actually hyperventilating. One of the symptoms of hyperventilation can be tingling sensations, although they are more typically in the hands and feet. If you thought you were having trouble moving air, and were therefore breathing more than you needed to, you could end up feeling this way.

Another thing to check was whether the regulator you were using is properly adjusted. A friend of mine got a new regulator and dove it for a week, feeling as though she just couldn't breathe right or was badly out of shape. She took the reg into the shop, and it turned out the cracking pressure (the amount of force necessary to start air flowing) was set about three times too high!

 

[REII]

ns;

In your profile it says that you like to run. Do you have this type of out of breath exhaustion after running for a while? I think fisherdvm may be right about your suit or gear being too tight. That may make you uncomfortable and cause anxiety. I think if you had asthma you would notice it when running.

TOM

 

[noobascooba]

I think hyperventilation would make sense... that could explain why I had the same symptoms out of the water- if I was making a concious effort to breathe rather than letting it happen naturally I could have been breathing too frequently and too deeply.

And obviously I like that explination better than cold/ exercise enduced asthma!

The reg seems to breathe pretty easy and give a lot of air, but the very first breathe is difficult (feels like the cracking pressure is high on the first breathe then is low on subsequent breaths). I have a oceanic zeta, I read somewhere that the cracking pressure was a little high on them but when they deliver air they deliver plenty. Maybe I should get a shop to tkae a look at it though... so I have to get me AND my gear checked out!

ns

 

[noobascooba]

Tom,
I generally am ok when I am running. I used to get wheezy up hills (hiking or running) but I assume this was lack of fitness rather than asthma because it isn't as bad now I am fitter, it's quite rare. I think my wetsuit fits ok, I did have a badly fitting BC that I had loaned, but it was too loose rather than too tight. It was annoying me though, so maybe it made me less relaxed. I also think I exacerbated the situation by not resting when I first felt a bit breathless- I was so desperate to keep diving I let that cloud my judgement I think. Maybe I need to try and have another pool session with a better fitting bc, less swimming around and resting frequently and see how it goes... if I still get symtpoms maybe it's then time to see a lung doc..

 

[fisherdvm]

I would not say that exercise induced asthma rule out diving. There is varying degree, and some only if you are chilled. The only 2 times I had asthma attacks were once when I was shoveling wet snow off my roof and got wet and chilled. The second time when I was forced to run in the wet cold rain while in the Army. Of course, I did fine once I warmed up. I take extra precaution to stay warm while excercising now.

 

[rawls]

I would have said...assuming you have an external adjustment on your reg...that you may be setting the tension too low which will give you alot of air but at the same time you may feel air starved because you are not getting ideal air flow. It's like riding uphill on a bicycle with the gears set too high. It's really easy to pedal but you end up working harder in the long run. But being that you are also having the same problems out of the water I think the problem may be that you are trying too hard and having a bit of anxiety and frustration. When I see students have a problem with a skill and they just can't get it fixed, I tell them that we are going to quit for awhile, do something else, or rest, then get back to it later. So I would suggest that if you are try, try, trying again, just stop and get away from it awhile. Don't go straight back to it. Do something you are doing well and something you enjoy like buoyancy practice or just finning around. Maybe even take a day away from it. In effect, get it off of your mind for a time. It may boil down to simply trying too hard. Hope this may help....