pm3009
Guest
This is the first time I've ever experienced this. I've been diving for about
4 years now. Around 110 dives. Advanced C-Card.
I was in Cozumel this past July with my friend and my cousin. We dove
Devils Throat one day. Had a great dive. Everything went smooth. Second time
I've dove this site. Dove it once 4 years ago and it also went smooth then. That site has been my two deepest dives to date. 133 feet the first time around. 142 feet this time around.
Towards the end of the week, my friend said she just didn't feel right. She said she had a nightmare, that she died diving. So, I told her she shouldn't dive if she doesn't feel right. She stayed behind, and I dove with my cousin. We went back to Devils Throat for the second time that week. We LOVE that site! Now when we dove it 4 years ago, we did a very quick swimthrough. This DM took us through some amazing swimtroughs this time around. I didn't know this site had so much to explore.
Anywhoo....felt very rushed getting ready on the boat and into the water and felt some anxiety for whatever unknown reason. For a brief second, the thought occurred to me as I was wondering why I felt anxiety...."what if my friend was really dreaming about me? what if I'm the one who dies on this dive?". Stupid I know.
So...as I'm descending, I'm trying to slow my breathing and relax. Swimthroughs have always been my favorite. We get to the swimthrough, and I'm just not feeling right. I felt like I was hyperventilating. And then the DM brings us deeper, and into a narrower spot. And I just felt like I couldn't catch my breath at all. I felt like I was overbreathing my regulator or something...I just couldn't get enough oxygen. I was in the rear. I felt extremely close to panic. I decided....ok....you have stop going through these swimthroughs,and just swim above them. I was about to do that, and I told myself....just stop being a baby....relax and breath slow. You must be just feeling claustophobic. So I continued and went through another swimthrough. And the feeling of panic was just getting worse. The feeling of not being able to get enough oxygen was just getting worse and worse. So as the DM and my cousin were going through another swimthrough, I was about to follow, telling myself to just relax and you'll be fine....you've just dove this site a couple days ago and loved it... and then I backed up and decided I had to ascend some, or something really bad was going to happen. I signaled to the DM that I was ok, but I needed to go up some. So I swam about 15 feet above them, while they went through another swimthrough, and we met on the other side. I didn't start feeling back to normal until I was about at 60 feet.
The DM asked me at the surface if I was ok,and I told him what had happened. He said that, that happened to him once, and that it was because he had gotten narc'd.
He said he just felt like he couldn't get any oxygen. He said that I did the only thing I could have, and dove shallower.
So...in your opinion....was I narc'd? Or was it just anxiety/near panic? Was I overbreathing my regulator because I was near hyperventilating? I did think to myself afterwards...wow...this must be how people can pass out and drown underwater with plenty of air in their tanks.
Went on to a shaller 2nd dive, and felt great.
Strange how I dove that same dive earlier in the week, and had a wonderful relaxing dive.
Bye
Pam
4 years now. Around 110 dives. Advanced C-Card.
I was in Cozumel this past July with my friend and my cousin. We dove
Devils Throat one day. Had a great dive. Everything went smooth. Second time
I've dove this site. Dove it once 4 years ago and it also went smooth then. That site has been my two deepest dives to date. 133 feet the first time around. 142 feet this time around.
Towards the end of the week, my friend said she just didn't feel right. She said she had a nightmare, that she died diving. So, I told her she shouldn't dive if she doesn't feel right. She stayed behind, and I dove with my cousin. We went back to Devils Throat for the second time that week. We LOVE that site! Now when we dove it 4 years ago, we did a very quick swimthrough. This DM took us through some amazing swimtroughs this time around. I didn't know this site had so much to explore.
Anywhoo....felt very rushed getting ready on the boat and into the water and felt some anxiety for whatever unknown reason. For a brief second, the thought occurred to me as I was wondering why I felt anxiety...."what if my friend was really dreaming about me? what if I'm the one who dies on this dive?". Stupid I know.
So...as I'm descending, I'm trying to slow my breathing and relax. Swimthroughs have always been my favorite. We get to the swimthrough, and I'm just not feeling right. I felt like I was hyperventilating. And then the DM brings us deeper, and into a narrower spot. And I just felt like I couldn't catch my breath at all. I felt like I was overbreathing my regulator or something...I just couldn't get enough oxygen. I was in the rear. I felt extremely close to panic. I decided....ok....you have stop going through these swimthroughs,and just swim above them. I was about to do that, and I told myself....just stop being a baby....relax and breath slow. You must be just feeling claustophobic. So I continued and went through another swimthrough. And the feeling of panic was just getting worse. The feeling of not being able to get enough oxygen was just getting worse and worse. So as the DM and my cousin were going through another swimthrough, I was about to follow, telling myself to just relax and you'll be fine....you've just dove this site a couple days ago and loved it... and then I backed up and decided I had to ascend some, or something really bad was going to happen. I signaled to the DM that I was ok, but I needed to go up some. So I swam about 15 feet above them, while they went through another swimthrough, and we met on the other side. I didn't start feeling back to normal until I was about at 60 feet.
The DM asked me at the surface if I was ok,and I told him what had happened. He said that, that happened to him once, and that it was because he had gotten narc'd.
He said he just felt like he couldn't get any oxygen. He said that I did the only thing I could have, and dove shallower.
So...in your opinion....was I narc'd? Or was it just anxiety/near panic? Was I overbreathing my regulator because I was near hyperventilating? I did think to myself afterwards...wow...this must be how people can pass out and drown underwater with plenty of air in their tanks.
Went on to a shaller 2nd dive, and felt great.
Strange how I dove that same dive earlier in the week, and had a wonderful relaxing dive.
Bye
Pam