Well, that was a bust...

[CardShark]

I would tend to believe it was too tight. I put 15 dives in three suits, with varying degrees of failure. The fourth one was the right one for me - wasn't a pain to put on by myself, had minimal water intrusion, and not too bad to get back off. Just don't give up !

 

[mikerault]

I'll bet it was pressure on the (correct me if I am wrong medical folks) the zyphoid process area, the area right near the soft spot on the front side of the base of the neck in the front. If I get too much pressure on that area of the neck, I get nauseous, almost did on my last dry suit dive diving a borrowed dry suit with a slightly tighter neck at Monterey. I adjusted the neck seal and the nausia vanished as fast as it appeared.

Try adjusting the neck area of the suit next time.

Mike

 

[scubadada]

Xiphoid is the little protuberance at the abdominal end of your sternum, not likely what you're talking about.

Good diving, Craig

 

[mikerault]

All right, below the cricoid cartilege and aove the jugular notch.

 

[dsmclaughlin]

If you can't move or breathe, it's too small no matter what the size chart says. Try going up a size or two until you find a suit that actually fits comfortably.

I wear XL sizes on land, but I can't take anything smaller than a 3XL when it comes to 7 mil 2-piece wetsuits. I had similar experiences to yours when I dove XL and 2XL wetsuits that were supposed to fit me. They squeezed my chest to the point of impairing normal breathing and left me exhausted after a couple of easy quarry dives. After those experiences I knew I would not continue to go cold water diving if it meant squeezing into a too-small wetsuit.

The 3XL is supposed to be wrong for me because it allows more water flow against skin, but my experience has been that concern is overrated. YMMV, but personally I have not noticed any significant discomfort due to cold in the 3XL. I'm looking into dry suits for the future, but for now the farmer john style 7 mil is just fine for me to go cold water diving.

 

[BabyDuck]

carotid sinuses, mike...good idea, could be...

 

[Crush]

Hi Hoomi,

While it sounds as though the main problem was your suit, you should consider reading the SB thread "Panic Attacks - is it normal?" by jessinthas at http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ne...ering-diving/291016-panic-attacks-normal.html - you will see that MANY divers get panicked occasionally, esp if they have 0-24 dives.

 

[k0rx]

You did the right thing - thumbing the dives if you felt uncomfortable.

Dave

 

[AbyssalPlains]

sounds like you didn't try out the suit in the shop

remember, never go on a dive trip (this means boarding the boat) with any piece of equipment you haven't tested to make sure it works

Good advice.

 

[Dr Neil]

If your LDS doesn't carry a wet suit you want, there are online vendors. I recently purchased a new 3 mil from Leisure Pro. The suit wasn't the right size so I exchanged it for a different size no questions asked.

Also, you can dive at Lake Pleasant just north of Phoenix. EL Mar Diving Center has boat trips on Lake Pleasant. Lake Pleasant is unique diving because the desert is still there underwater. I dove Lake Pleasant in the summer time with a 3 mil suit. I dove there around Thanksgiving in a drysuit.