Why the Prejudice about DIR or GUE

[Thalassamania]

As I said in an earlier thread, I used to strive for a low sac rate but I found all that it gained me was returning to shore with half full tanks and a headache. My goal now is to have a sac rate between 6. and .7 and no headaches. Headache mean CO2, CO2 means potential decompression problems, decompression problems means possible spinal damage, spinal damage means possible loss of bowel, bladder and sexual function.

My spinal collumn has been bery, bery, good to me. I'm pleased to return the favor.

 

[dsteding]

That will change radically when a six-gill swims into the cone of your light out of the darkness ... or in a couple of months when (a now 250-lb but still playful) Junior comes back to spend the winter harassing divers in Cove 2 ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I can attest to the "six-gill effect."

 

[SparticleBrane]

As I said in an earlier thread, I used to strive for a low sac rate but I found all that it gained me was returning to shore with half full tanks and a headache. My goal now is to have a sac rate between 6. and .7 and no headaches. Headache mean CO2, CO2 means potential decompression problems, decompression problems means possible spinal damage, spinal damage means possible loss of bowel, bladder and sexual function.

My spinal collumn has been bery, bery, good to me. I'm pleased to return the favor.

With just under 0.5 for my normal SAC I haven't had any headache issues as of yet. Then again I'm a good bit younger than you...

 

[TSandM]

It was many, many dives after I reached the SAC rate I have, before I ever calculated it. It is what it is -- it is DATA. I happen to be little, with a small metabolic body mass, and I was able to conquer the apprehension of diving enough to get my minute ventilation down to what it should be for the depth. It's nothing to get an award over.

When I dive with people who use more gas, we either plan a shorter dive, or we share air somewhere in the dive. They're both good uptions for me.

 

[jeckyll]

As I said in an earlier thread, I used to strive for a low sac rate but I found all that it gained me was returning to shore with half full tanks and a headache. My goal now is to have a sac rate between 6. and .7 and no headaches. Headache mean CO2, CO2 means potential decompression problems, decompression problems means possible spinal damage, spinal damage means possible loss of bowel, bladder and sexual function.

My spinal collumn has been bery, bery, good to me. I'm pleased to return the favor.

No headache. I'm quite aware of the CO2 issues and try to keep my breathing nice and relaxed and deep and regular

Out of 70 someoneodd dives this year, I've had 1 headache and I was goofing around with swimming under cables on walls which caused me to do a bit of breath holding to maintain my buoyancy after sinking to the right depth. Learned from that and have had zero headaches since.

 

[Thalassamania]

Just one of those things that a not-quite-senior-citizen with a 10 year old son starts to think about<G>.

 

[lamont]

For me, 0.45 is about right. I've gotten below that on a scooter dive (where I wasn't deliberately trying to skip breathe) but I wound up starting to get a CO2 narc and had a headache afterwards. If I'm feeling a little too relaxed now I'll actually force myself to take some large tidal breaths to make sure I'm not building up CO2...

 

[Meng_Tze]

...and sexual function.

There are pills for that you know?

 

[Thalassamania]

There are pills for that you know?

Not for when your spinal cord is damaged.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I have noticed that for short bounce dives on air to 170-190 with bottom times of 8-10 minutes, that if I try to breath MORE than I feel the need for during the entire dive, I am much less likely to get a headache (this includes the initial descent). This is for strenous spearfishing dives where I am skip breathing to stalk fish and then later chasing/wrestling fish that have been shot. I'm not recommending this activity to anyone.

I found that a single 80 provides more than enough air to do this type of dive and still make a couple of deco/safety stops. Plus I avoid the headaches that previously were common.

All this talk about low sac rates seems frivoulous. Sometimes I can tell a really good dive by how HIGH my sac rate is. I can suck an 80 cuft tank to 500 in 20-23 minutes in 80 feet, if really working hard (and having fun).

I generally TRY to relax and not over-exert myself, but trying to conserve air just so I can show a low sac rate or have a lot in my tank at the end of the dive is not a worthwhile endeavour. If I need to do a longer dive, I bring a longer tank.