Weird Narcosis Experience?

[IncreaseMyT]

You can imagine me thinking he is narced, so I want him to come up with me the whole time. He would for a second, then would go right back down. He was disoriented, but he wasn't completely out of it.

So thats why I think this can be an important lesson to differentiate the two, if your buddy has a problem, you don't know if he needs to stay down and try to straighten out his ears, or bring him up a little so he is less narced.

Ive gotten it from back rolling and slapping my ear on the water, but its easier to shake off at the surface.

 

[IncreaseMyT]

And lastly just for informational purposes:

It comes on suddenly. You feel like you're spinning—or maybe the world is spinning around you. Your stomach heaves, and you hold onto something so you don't fall. This is vertigo, a hallucination of motion—a mismatch between reality and the signals your eyes, inner ears, and sense of touch are sending your brain. Vertigo is a symptom, not a disease—an indication that something is wrong in the body—and it's surprisingly common. Here's what you need to know about the condition.

Because it's so disorienting and comes on so suddenly, vertigo can cause anxiety and panic attacks. Chronic vertigo can cause depression in some people because doing everyday tasks—like caring for themselves, their children, or their family—is often impossible. They might even lose their job because driving is out of the question.

13 Facts About Vertigo

 

[eleniel]

It definitely sounds like vertigo to me - I'm no expert but I have dealt with vertigo while diving before.
In my case it was a cold water lake dive near a dam, second dive of the day. I was fine until we got close (not dangerously close) to the turbines near the base of the dam - at that point some combination of dropping down with less than 1 foot of visibility, the sound of the turbines, and a thermocline just knocked my brain silly. I remember looking at my computer and seeing the depth just dropping and not quite understanding why - I hit another thermocline and was like nope! I finned up until I found a ridge to sit on around 70 feet, where I proceeded to just stand awkwardly while trying to focus my brain. The visibility opened up a tiny bit and I was able to get the attention of my dive buddy. To this day I have strange memories of swimming around in mustard yellow water and sitting on a huge concrete ledge (photos indicate it was actually a rock, not a lego-shaped block like my brain thinks it was). I remember being afraid my buddy would never find me and I'd get sucked through the turbines in the dam (despite logically knowing I was nowhere near a dangerous area).
I recovered enough to get another diver untangled from his spool/DSMB and get the DSMB untangled from an overhead dock but it was a nauseating task.
By the time we got out, I was so dizzy and sick I didn't care about my dignity or my kit and sort of half-dragged myself up the shore trying not to puke.

I haven't had it happen since, but it was definitely a unique experience. I remember being thoroughly disoriented to the point where I almost forgot where I was even diving. It set off a massive surge of anxiety while I was standing on the 'concrete block' which didn't calm down until my buddy came into view.
The only lasting issue I seem to have is I am now very prone to seasickness during surface swims or waiting for pickup - that was never a problem before but is almost debilitating now (to the point where sometimes I can't even walk straight after getting out during shore dives and tend to stumble off to puke in a bush).

 

[Bigbella]

Sounds like hydrogen psychosis to me -- Crazy Eye!

 

[grf88]

It definitely sounds like vertigo to me - I'm no expert but I have dealt with vertigo while diving before.
In my case it was a cold water lake dive near a dam, second dive of the day. I was fine until we got close (not dangerously close) to the turbines near the base of the dam - at that point some combination of dropping down with less than 1 foot of visibility, the sound of the turbines, and a thermocline just knocked my brain silly. I remember looking at my computer and seeing the depth just dropping and not quite understanding why - I hit another thermocline and was like nope! I finned up until I found a ridge to sit on around 70 feet, where I proceeded to just stand awkwardly while trying to focus my brain. The visibility opened up a tiny bit and I was able to get the attention of my dive buddy. To this day I have strange memories of swimming around in mustard yellow water and sitting on a huge concrete ledge (photos indicate it was actually a rock, not a lego-shaped block like my brain thinks it was). I remember being afraid my buddy would never find me and I'd get sucked through the turbines in the dam (despite logically knowing I was nowhere near a dangerous area).
I recovered enough to get another diver untangled from his spool/DSMB and get the DSMB untangled from an overhead dock but it was a nauseating task.
By the time we got out, I was so dizzy and sick I didn't care about my dignity or my kit and sort of half-dragged myself up the shore trying not to puke.

I haven't had it happen since, but it was definitely a unique experience. I remember being thoroughly disoriented to the point where I almost forgot where I was even diving. It set off a massive surge of anxiety while I was standing on the 'concrete block' which didn't calm down until my buddy came into view.
The only lasting issue I seem to have is I am now very prone to seasickness during surface swims or waiting for pickup - that was never a problem before but is almost debilitating now (to the point where sometimes I can't even walk straight after getting out during shore dives and tend to stumble off to puke in a bush).

That sounds to me more like a dark narc than vertigo. With the vertigo I have experienced it seemed like everything was spinning around.

 

[eleniel]

That sounds to me more like a dark narc than vertigo. With the vertigo I have experienced it seemed like everything was spinning around.

There was a lot of the spinning feeling. One thing I did while standing around was watch my bubbles to figure out which way was up because of it.

I've dealt with narc before (the pleasant kind where I can happily chase a shark and the unpleasant kind where I'm convinced I'm going to die) and this was entirely different.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Yes but when reading the article you can see she is describing vertigo. She describes the scene as melting together and looking cartoonish. This is a very specific sign of vertigo. The disorientation makes everything blurry and you can't tell which way is up and which is down. This is probably why she hit the floor on descent, she had it from immersion and could not tell where she was at.

Also if your ears are stuck going up is only going to make it worse.

When I get narced I feel really confident, but I don't even notice it until I am back on the boat going over the dive in my head.

And the ringing in her ears also points to vertigo.

I hear ringing and/or thumping with some of my narcs. Can be the key indicator to me now that I recognize it. That was the reason that I was buying part of her story.

 

[IncreaseMyT]

I hear ringing and/or thumping with some of my narcs. Can be the key indicator to me now that I recognize it. That was the reason that I was buying part of her story.

From how quick the dive was I just have a hard time thinking she was narcd, I could be wrong. But it just sounds eerily familiar to my buddy's situation. Also the first time diving in cold water, and she then later described an anxiety attack to the T.

I have had ringing in my ears, but I was passed 100 feet. She describes the ringing initially, on her way down. This is when it can happen. My son actually has problems and the only thing that works is the IST mask, its like they work as plungers. On the way up you can't force an equalization without it. My buddy was able to differentiate this because he has been diving so long. He knew right away he wasn't narcd, we even questioned his account multiple times. He even said "this was different" many times and we have had many discussions since.

Edit: Also I assume she was wearing a hood or something unusually cause it was cold, and this can increase your chances.

Like I said I could be wrong, but they both described the event to a T.

 

[IncreaseMyT]

Speaking of that mask I highly recommend keeping one on the boat, even if you don't wear it all the time. If someones ears start hurting have them take that mask down for a dive, after that they won't need it anymore and will be right as rain.

Its great for free diving too so you don't have to equalize and waste air.

I am trying to get my buddy to use it.

 

[Bob DBF]

300 dives and the first one to 75’ to experience narcosis, does this sound weird to anyone else?

Unless you are actually looking for it, most first timers wont even notice they are narked. Even deeper, it’s touch and go whether one will recognise narcosis unless they have learned to detect its effects on them.

A CO2 hit is not narcosis, by itself it is a real pita, when combined with narcosis it’s an asskicker.

The symptoms the diver described do not seem to me to be either. I would go along with the vertigo theory, as I have heard some bizarre symptoms from two friends that have suffered. Spinning is something that we all have experienced, but sometimes the brain processes the information differently.

Perhaps @Duke Dive Medicine would drop by and give an informed opinion.


Bob