Tight feeling around the lungs and neck

[oOoribicaoOo]

Your wetsuit should not have any gaps and should fit sung but not tight. It should not restrict your breathing in any way. If you can not raise your arms over your head comfortably, (football, touchdown sign) it is too tight.

yep, this is part of the problem, it would hurt to do so.

 

[la_diver]

Don't rule out aniexty. I had the same feelings in my first dives. Thought that my wetwuit was too tight. In my situation I had not breathed air underwater in 54 years other than snorkeling. At some times just didn't feel like I could get enough air.If possible dive several days straight so that problems or previous experiences will be fresh on your mind when you dive the next dive. No expert on the subject but your situation sounds familliar. The more dives you dive the more at ease you should become. Hope this will help. Good luck and good diving. I actually cut the seal around my neck on my shorty to loosen up around my neck. I don't like tightness around my neck above the water.

 

[Dwag766]

How funny!! I got some strange looks when I cut the neck on my rash guard......I still believe I must have been choked in a previous life......I wear almost exclusively farmer jane wetsuits and then if needed I add something on top that is open in front.

I have a full wetsuit and dread the cooler days I have to wear it....Thank goodness I dive in Florida!

 

[la_diver]

Been cutting the neck of T shirts for years. One day one of my children was wearing a shirt with the neck cut. That was the way she bought it. Cutting the neck on my shorty made all the difference making it comfortable.

 

[la_diver]

An after thought. Why not go to your lds with your scuba gear and dive in their pool as you have dove previously and compare the dives. If you think wetsuit is too tight take it off and dive without it and see if anything changes. The more comfortable you are the better your diving will be. Just a thought.

 

[oOoribicaoOo]

this sounds like a good idea, because i wouldn't have anxiety in the pool, so i can rule this out if that is one of the causes and i can practice bouyancy.

 

[oOoribicaoOo]

i also remember that on the one of the previous dives i couldn't even bend forward enough to be able to put my fin on, which in retrospect does not sound right either.

 

[sabbath999]

One of the issues with snorkels is that they increase the dead space, or the volume of gas you're exchanging with each breath that ISN'T contributing to removing carbon dioxide from your blood. You have to breathe more (move more total air per minute) when using a snorkel than you do normally, and that can result in a feeling of shortness of breath, especially if you are trying to exercise hard (swim hard) while you are using one. Snorkeling is best done at a leisurely pace while sight-seeing -- I'm with you, I'd much rather do surface swims on my back.

+1

Unless I am just basically floating along with an occasional kick, I overbreath my snorkle. I just did rescue class, and people were snorkling out to get to the victims, but I was using my reg because I don't overbreath it at any level of exertion.

A nice, calm swim on your back is VERY relaxing...

 

[iztok]

I just completed confined dives this past weekend. And on a second day when we put our gear on in the water it just didn't feel right (use BC with weights + weight belt) and I couldn't adjust it properly for that dive to save my life.

For the second dive of the day I've put the equipment on outside of the water and was fine. Even when I've removed belt and removed BC as part of the workout and put them back on I was just fine then. So it must be the way I've put my equipment on while floating.

I also realized that I *need* to practice buoyancy more, way more!

 

[oOoribicaoOo]

i envy fish and their natural buoyancy.
many thanks fr all the posts folks! i am going to be diving in the adriatic sea in a month or so and hope for the best, it should be easier than in the atlantic ocean where i got my training done.