panic attack followed by headache that doesn't want to go away

[Limoges Diver]

Cracking pressure is how much suction you have to put on the regulator to get the valve to open and deliver air. It should be almost, but not quite effortless. When regulators have a "pre-dive" setting, what that does is increase the cracking pressure, to make it more difficult for air to come out and reduce the likelihood of freeflows. If you don't change that to "dive", you have to work harder than you should to draw air from the regulator, and this can increase the chance of CO2 retention.

Thank you - thought so, and I could have researched this, but your answer is very clear to the point!

The point you are making here is that the cracking pressure is something that can be adjusted once you're in the water, right? I have 2 mouthpieces: one with and one without an adjustment. I was told that the one with the adjustment is my back-up one. Anyway. I am now thinking about buying a new regulator, octo, etc... so I know that I have enough air delivery and dependable equipment. I was thinking about a ScubaPro setup that has a lifetime warranty for parts. I know this isn't an equipment-related thread, but does anyone have any recommendations regarding regulators that have lifetime parts warranty and have the ability to give this air hog enough air?

Now, its Monday morning when replying to you, and I still have soreness in my neck, still am a bit dizzy and I have a slight headache still. 2.5 days later??? If I had not enough air being delivered, would that result in these symptoms? I thought that what I was feeling was Co2 retention. I was also under the understanding that Co2 retention headaches go in a few minutes to a few hours - not a few days.
Does anyone have any ideas?

I am assuming that my regulator could get checked out to find out what the cracking pressure is. I want to know even if I'm buying a new regulator since I want to make sure that it was the equipment that failed and not my body.

 

[Bombay High]

It is possible that your symptoms are completely unrelated to the dive. The dive just triggered it. Even a high CO2 level should not hold symptoms 3 days later.
On the other hand (and I dont mean to imply that this is the case) the lasting symptoms could be imagined.
I have a colleague who imagines DCS symptoms after every dive (this is someone who dives for a living).
Maybe get your tank tested, just to rule out the possibility of bad air .

 

[Limoges Diver]

It is possible that your symptoms are completely unrelated to the dive. The dive just triggered it. Even a high CO2 level should not hold symptoms 3 days later.
On the other hand (and I dont mean to imply that this is the case) the lasting symptoms could be imagined.
I have a colleague who imagines DCS symptoms after every dive (this is someone who dives for a living).
Maybe get your tank tested, just to rule out the possibility of bad air .

This is not a case of imagination: I know how I felt and how I feel right now for sure. The headache when I exited the water was so debilitating, I could hardly stand.
Right now my headache is about a 2/10, my dizziness is about a 4/10, and my neck pain is about 3/10, with Friday afternoon being 10/10 for all 3 categories.

I will get all my gear tested, but I'm skeptical about the tank itself: I was inspected a year ago, and my incident on Tuesday was with another dive shop's tank and air.

Does anyone know what the physiological results of breathing through a regulator that doesn't deliver enough air?

Thanks you.

 

[ktomlinson]

In my OW class I got a horrible headache during a swim portion of the class...I thought it was due to exertion, so relaxed a fee minutes and then finished the class. A week or two later I got a horrible headache while working around the house, the same kind of headache that I got in my ow class. Both headaches started at the base of my neck and spread over my entire head and felt like an ice cream headache. I am on the telephone at work for hours a day and think that holding the phone on my shoulder caused the headaches. I have since switched to a headset and haven't had a problem since then. A long story to relate to you that pinched nerves and fatigued muscles can make some pretty bad headaches.

 

[Limoges Diver]

In my OW class I got a horrible headache during a swim portion of the class...I thought it was due to exertion, so relaxed a fee minutes and then finished the class. A week or two later I got a horrible headache while working around the house, the same kind of headache that I got in my ow class. Both headaches started at the base of my neck and spread over my entire head and felt like an ice cream headache. I am on the telephone at work for hours a day and think that holding the phone on my shoulder caused the headaches. I have since switched to a headset and haven't had a problem since then. A long story to relate to you that pinched nerves and fatigued muscles can make some pretty bad headaches.

hmmmm - I had the same problem during my swimming portion of my first OW class, but it was blood-sugar level related: I had not eaten dinner before going to class. But the headache didn't last this long. In fact, I have never had a headache last this long...

 

[TSandM]

You don't need to buy a new regulator. Virtually any regulator available today can be adjusted to breathe easily. It's just a service sort of thing. Not all regulators have a pre-dive setting and not all can be user-adjusted. Those are the kind of higher-end "bells and whistles" you get with the more expensive models.

I agree that a CO2 headache shouldn't persist for three days. Your neck pain now makes me wonder about muscle tension headache, or cervical arthritis. Holding the head back in the horizontal diving position can be painful for some people.

 

[Limoges Diver]

You don't need to buy a new regulator. Virtually any regulator available today can be adjusted to breathe easily. It's just a service sort of thing. Not all regulators have a pre-dive setting and not all can be user-adjusted. Those are the kind of higher-end "bells and whistles" you get with the more expensive models.

I agree that a CO2 headache shouldn't persist for three days. Your neck pain now makes me wonder about muscle tension headache, or cervical arthritis. Holding the head back in the horizontal diving position can be painful for some people.

I read the service manual for my first stage, and it said the outlet pressure must be 140 psig. So I checked the regulator, and adjusted the pressure to 140 psig (it was slightly lower). This adjustment was done several dives ago, and the pressure was tested immediately prior to my div on Friday. So delivery pressure is not the adjustment you are talking about? I still want to have gear that is less than a couple decades old: I want the warm & fuzzy feeling that I don't have to be suspicious about gear that is so important to my survival underwater.

 

[ktomlinson]

I believe you are referring to the pressure is in your lp hoses....cracking pressure is how hard you have to suck/breathe on the second stage in order to trigger the mechanism that gives you access to that 140psi.

 

[denisegg]

You can give DAN a call. That is what my dive buddy did when I had an incident and it was during a holiday weekend. It was actually on July 4th last year. They were able to access the situation and give the ER doctors instruction on how to treat me. You don't even have to be a member to get their help. I now keep their number programmed into my cell phone and I'm glad that my buddy did that day.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Cracking pressure is how much suction you have to put on the regulator to get the valve to open and deliver air. It should be almost, but not quite effortless. When regulators have a "pre-dive" setting, what that does is increase the cracking pressure, to make it more difficult for air to come out and reduce the likelihood of freeflows. If you don't change that to "dive", you have to work harder than you should to draw air from the regulator, and this can increase the chance of CO2 retention.

@TSandM: Actually, on all of the regs that I'm familiar with, cracking pressure isn't affected at all by the Venturi setting (dive/pre-dive or "+"/"-") on a second stage. Put simply, the Venturi lever in the "dive" or "+" position directs airflow to create a suction behind the second stage diaphragm, which makes it easier for the demand valve to remain open. So, essentially, the Venturi lever affects closure of the demand valve...not opening, per se.

Inappropriate sustained airflow of the second stage is encouraged by setting the Venturi lever to "dive" or "+." Switching the Venturi lever to "pre-dive" or "-" redirects airflow to minimize the suction effect. That's why reg manufacturers recommend that the second stage Venturi lever be placed in the "pre-dive"/"-" position while the diver is on the surface of the water.

I read the service manual for my first stage, and it said the outlet pressure must be 140 psig. So I checked the regulator, and adjusted the pressure to 140 psig (it was slightly lower). This adjustment was done several dives ago, and the pressure was tested immediately prior to my div on Friday. So delivery pressure is not the adjustment you are talking about? I still want to have gear that is less than a couple decades old: I want the warm & fuzzy feeling that I don't have to be suspicious about gear that is so important to my survival underwater.

@Limoges Diver: I feel very strongly that divers should not be monkeying around with reg settings if they don't understand what they are doing. Someone who cannot distinguish the difference between cracking pressure and intermediate pressure really shouldn't be attempting to tune a reg. I recommend that you take your reg setup to a competent reg technician and ask him to check it out for you. He should be able to evaluate intermediate pressure, cracking pressure, and overall behavior of the reg (subjective breathing test). Such an inspection should only take a few minutes to do.

It also wouldn't be a bad idea to get a medical check-up with your physician. Conditions to rule out would include various neurological and cardiovascular disorders. Ask him/her if a cardiac stress test might be useful.