Panicked!

[ptyx]

Just to emphasize a very good rule again:

Anyone can abort a dive at any moment for any reason, no questions asked and no grief or blame afterward.

There are obviously no numbers about it, but I suspect panic is #1 killer of divers. Take action before it happen.

 

[waynne fowler]

i'd have to agree... I don't read that as a 'panic attack'.. you kept your head... you say that all your 'training didn't help one bit'... I say hogwash... that you knew you needed to control your head and your ascent say's you training DID help and you followed it to the best of your ability at that moment...

I'm with others who would guess CO2 to be the problem for you on this dive.

Good for you for staying in control, listening to that little instructor voice in you head. Kudo's to the guide for holding your hand like they did... smart move.. a touch in those conditions can make all the difference...

Good Job and I'm glad your OK... as an aside... RENTALS SUUUUCKKK!!!! take your own stuff next time, it's one of the best investments you'll EVER make in comfort and safety.

 

[piikki]

there've been times when I felt narcd at 28-33m when my buddies didn't even feel an itch.

/

he asked me if I could swim to the chain and make my safety stop on my own but I hold on to his hand like a baby and wanted him to come with me (quite embarrassing...).

You already stated how much you learnt from this dive, so I won't repeat all the points you made. I would be prone to agree with the people who are in the CO2 boat instead of just panic (although the panic aspect is there). I would like you to look at your statement about your having 'a history' of getting 'narced' very easily/shallow. Maybe you should pay attention to a possible tendency of overworking during your dives in general? Maybe you are often getting on the verge of CO2 hit but you interpret it as being narc'ed? It can be hard to distinguish between the two when new. However, you can easily start looking at ways to handle this by not getting so worked up (relaxing, paying attention to dive environments and buddy choices, making good dive plans, maybe even some gear choices eg fins etc).

Also, the other thing I wanted to bring up was to congratulate you for not letting the 'helping hand' go when you needed it. Yes, it might have felt embarrassing especially because he was trying to go (wrong thing to do!) but it was absolutely the right thing to do when you needed it! So often we hear these stories about DM:s/buddies waving troubled divers off on the uplines/shallows only to hear later that "s/he looked Ok, I though s/he had calmed down and could make it back from there on", and then somebody ends up hurt/dead on the surface on the last transition. Always see your buddy back onto solid surface and do not deny a companion when one is on offer!

 

[Web Monkey]

I'm almost certain that as mentioned, you had a problem with CO2 retention due to anxiety and excessive exertion (the BC that wouldn't hold air).

Just to add a little, it's really difficult to make this go away underwater unless you can ascend quite a bit (to reduce the work of breathing) and relax (hanging on to a line for example), or simply surface.

Never be afraid to call a dive before or during the dive, and never worry about what anybody else will think about you if you do. I've called dives for nothing more impressive than a feeling that "I shouldn't do this dive". My regular buddy called a dive and I still don't know what his reason was.

If it's not going to be safe and enjoyable, don't do it.

Terry

 

[SDiverJim]

As a new diver I learned some amazing things here. I would have to say if those were all friends on a "friendly dive" they should understand if you had to change out your BCD. You have to correct EVERY little problem even if it means forgoing the dive! I do think your next few dives should be shallow and in better visibility in order to establish back your comfort zone. Prep your dive buddy or the DM for what had occurred and that you need a little attention to get back to square one. Thanks for sharing!

 

[ddogu]

Thank you very much for all the comments and the constructive attitude! I read them before my second dive (a kinda "rehab" dive) and they were pretty motivating.

This time I didn't get any problems. Although I planned not to go deeper than 10 meters this time, I didn't restrain myself either and let go. I deliberately didn't check my depth gauge and stayed close to my buddy (and of course, we had a detailed buddy check). Maybe being aware of my depth had excited me that time... At the end of the dive I checked my deptch gauge at the boat and saw that we dived to almost the same depth. This is a lesson I won't ever forget, that's for sure.


@Bubbletrubble: Well, in fact I AM trained to dive with a buddy, in fact I'm trained never to dive without one. That one time it slipped... Won't happen again . Having a buddy really gives a feeling of trust and safety (to me at least). And my throbbing problem before the dive was a social thing. I kinda felt nervous with some certain ppl around me and but I still kept hanging around... -god knows why-

@CamG: thanks for the advice!

@zaberman1: glad this can be of help to others too! btw I'm gonna get more informed about CO2 retention.

@TSandM: yep I've been using rental gear, that BCD's been put away now. How can a regulator with too much pressure cause CO2 retention? AFAIK the amount of CO2 produced depends on the O2 that's been consumed by the body. A regulator feeding too much air cannot make one use all that O2 and thus cause a higher level of CO2 in blood, can it?


@piikki: that seems quite possible yes. I'll keep an eye on that...

 

[Slonda828]

Thank you very much for all the comments and the constructive attitude! I read them before my second dive (a kinda "rehab" dive) and they were pretty motivating.

This time I didn't get any problems. Although I planned not to go deeper than 10 meters this time, I didn't restrain myself either and let go. I deliberately didn't check my depth gauge and stayed close to my buddy (and of course, we had a detailed buddy check). Maybe being aware of my depth had excited me that time... At the end of the dive I checked my deptch gauge at the boat and saw that we dived to almost the same depth. This is a lesson I won't ever forget, that's for sure.


@Bubbletrubble: Well, in fact I AM trained to dive with a buddy, in fact I'm trained never to dive without one. That one time it slipped... Won't happen again . Having a buddy really gives a feeling of trust and safety (to me at least). And my throbbing problem before the dive was a social thing. I kinda felt nervous with some certain ppl around me and but I still kept hanging around... -god knows why-

@CamG: thanks for the advice!

@zaberman1: glad this can be of help to others too! btw I'm gonna get more informed about CO2 retention.

@TSandM: yep I've been using rental gear, that BCD's been put away now. How can a regulator with too much pressure cause CO2 retention? AFAIK the amount of CO2 produced depends on the O2 that's been consumed by the body. A regulator feeding too much air cannot make one use all that O2 and thus cause a higher level of CO2 in blood, can it?


@piikki: that seems quite possible yes. I'll keep an eye on that...

Hey, congrats on managing your stress well. I would not call what you did panicking. Might you be slightly overweighted on your dives if you have to fin the whole time with no air in your BC? Ideally, depending on your exposure protection, many people with their weight dialed in only need to use their BC below 60 feet. Being overweighted with lead tends to make a person breathe harder and retain more co2 as well based upon my experiences. Just something to think about. Maybe on your next safety stop you can let all the gas out of your BC and see if you feel heavy. I bet you could take a pound or two off your body. I find that because of how little weight it takes to sink me that even being 1-2 pounds over on my weighting makes for a lot more effort on the dive. Cheers to you though, I've seen people in better situations perform worse than you did.

 

[TSandM]

Your CO2 level is directly related to the amount of gas you move through the gas exchange portion of your lungs each minute. If it's hard to pull gas out of the regulator, you're likely to take shallower breaths and not ventilate the gas exchange areas well, thus causing CO2 buildup.

 

[Bronson]

Thank you for sharing as that is tough to do. Glad things worked out. It is an example of how small problems can lead to bigger problems. A lesson learned is one to remember what went right as several folks above pointed out.

 

[renegade17]

While I agree with getting back to diving ASAP, I believe to do that effectively, if it were "me", I would:

1) Make sure my gear is 100% before splashing

2) Dive with a trusted buddy (the divemaster should assign me one if I don't have one)

3) Only plan and execute a dive within my comfort zone (depth and site)

The same "almost panicked" scenario happened to me when I once made my 1st deep dive of the season with new equipment (reg, BP & W,and a mask that flooded) and at a new site!!!! I felt stressed before the dive (heartrate), was not assigned a buddy, and it was my first deep dive of the season. I aborted the dive at about 76ft, and moved up to a safety stop where I felt better. I then surfaced and waited for the group. I told a couple I trusted what had happened and asked them if I could dive with them on the next dive but only go to 75ft. They were great about this and soon I was down to 120ft without any issues.

Every season I now begin my dives shallow and work progressively deeper.This allows me to understand my level of narcosis, tests and gives me confidence in my gear, and I practice different emergency scenarios with my buddy to stay both self sufficient and competent. I always dive with a 19cft pony on deep dives and I practice deploying it with a buddy.