Super newbee - having 2nd thoughts

[Hooked4Life]

coquito: The first time I was in the pool with all of the Scuba gear on I felt like I could not breath. I kept taking shorter breaths and had to come up out of the water. My instructor told me to take deep long breaths. I concentrated on taking longer breaths and making sure I exhaled all of the way. After my 2nd pool session I felt completely fine under water. Now I have close to 25 dives under my belt and I totally feel fine underwater. I was in less then 5 feet viz the other weekend and felt the shortness of breath coming on. I concentrated on taking deep breaths, and I resumed normal breathing.

To make a long story short, it is not natural for us to breathe underwater. Take things slow and at your own pace. Some people catch on quicker then others.

 

[divad]

Concentrate on breathing with your diaphram instead of your chest. That always helps me.

 

[coquito]

Hi guys,!!!

Sorry I did not answer before, but I have been having problems loggin in for a couple of days now (arrrg, I hate cookies!!:upset: ).

However, I have been reading your replies. Wow, a lot of good tips and very useful information. Thank you very much.

My Tues. class got postponed until tonight. So, I'll let you know tomorrow how it went. Feel much better about it, and I am actually looking forward to it. Thanks again. I'll keep you posted.

You are all great!!

 

[Blue Kangaroo]

We'll be thinking of you !

I'm looking forward to hearing how your Advanced course goes !

cheers

Blue.

 

[coquito]

Hi everybody,

OK here's the update. Class was last night. Followed a lot of your tips and actually felt A LOT more relaxed about it. Went great!!!! No panic, not pressure on my chest, no claustro feeling. I even took my regulator out of my moutn to clear it. It went so smooth that I surprised myself, LOL I even practiced my gigant stride on the deep end of the pool - no problem.

Like most of you said, is all about being relaxing and working a breathing rhythm and exhaling ( thank you Mass-diver, Sealkie, and Learn-Scuba, I remembered how much you emphized that!!

Going back this weekend for some extre pool time. Got to master this, because I am liking it too much,

I can thank everybody enough for your help, support and useful information. You advice helped.

Have a great and safe weekend, everyone

TGIF!!!!!

 

[sealkie]

Really glad to hear it went well !!

 

[learn-scuba]

Awesome coquito! Good for you!

It just keeps getting better from here.

 

[DrownedRat]

A lot of great posts here! I'm a newbie myself (about 35 logged dives this year) and never once had trouble breathing underwater. That is until last wednesday.. 115 ffw, I was fine throughout the decent but once I reached the bottom, it felt like I couldn't draw enough air (I have roughly 6 dives at 90+ft so it's not like I was nervous). At first I figured my BC was too tight so I managed to loosen my straps a bit (not an easy feat in 5mm gloves) with no change. Then I slowed down, relaxed and gave a few good long exhales and deep breaths. After that my lungs seemed to "open up" and the rest of the dive was great. Sort of a side note, but that dive taught me another lesson... No matter how much you trust your equipment, keep your buddy close! I cannot stress that enough. About 1-2 min before we headed to the anchor line we did a pressure check. I was at about 1000psi and the two fellows I was with were about 1400 (ok maybe I did more than a few deep breaths ;-). About all we can figure was my gague "stuck" at 1000 for a bit casue at the bottom of the anchor line, which was around 85ffw my gague suddenly read 0. I got maybe 2-3 breaths before I was able to convince my buddy that I was truly out-of-air. I have to tell ya, I have a hell of a lot more respect for the DIR long hose rig now Anyway, food for thought. It dosen't matter how many dives you have, this sort of feeling can happen. The key it seems is to relax, it's only mental

 

[Blue Kangaroo]

Yes !!

Way to go !

Well done.

Keep it up - you'll soon be spending all your free hours underwater and all your free cash on gear.

Seriously though I'm really pleased it went well for you

Blue

 

[ScottNY]

First of all, maybe it will end up that SCUBA just isn't for you. But maybe you owe it to yourself to really find out first. That is, find a way to get yourself though the course. Give yourself enough of a chance before you miss out on what could be some amazing experiences.

I'd agree with the pool work to desensitize you or whatever the psych term would be for trying to get past any fear issues. But I'd go further to try to figure out what specifically the issue is. For example, your feelings may be caused by one or several issues to varying degrees. That is, sure, it may be part psychological, but it could be greatly exacerbated by a too tight wetsuit. Or an incorrectly sized and tight bc.

Ideally, youi'd do this with a SCUBA friend or just any friend who can swim nearby.

Try the pool. Ideally a relatively warm pool. Sit with the regulator in your mouth on the bottom in the shallow end. Just use some UNATTACHED weights in your hands or something to hold you down for a while. Try it again with just a BC and weight belt lightly cinched down. Then again with it tight. Now with a wetsuit. You MIGHT just find you have an equipment issue more than a mental one. Minimally, you'll probably find out what the issue is in any case.

Personally I'll tell you that even though I have AOW and recently got PADI Rescue certified, I wouldn't be able to dive chilly water without the newer hyperstretch wetsuits. In the - to me - uncomfortable thick rubbery suits I feel very constrained and uncomfortable. And it shows in my breathing.

The point again? One: You're not alone. Two: The issue MIGHT be equipment related and EASILY solvable. Three: If you want to, odds are very high you can get comfortable with things.

Good Luck!

Scott