was i narked or just stupid?

hi,

i went to the zenobia (shipwreck @ 20m+) last weekend for two dives and it was great.

before the second dive we went over the plan, and we were clear that there will be no penetration.
during the dive the DM brought us to a door and showed us an exit that was visible in the distance (some 30-40 metres), through the wreck.

at first i thought he was telling me "go through there" and was very ok with it. i started swiming inside and he grabed me and signed me "NO".

Once out of the water i realized i was ok with going inside a pitch-dark wreck with no lights and having no idea what's in there (i have no training at all with wrecks).

now, i'm a bit scared. i _know_ not to go beyod my experience level and that was way beyond.


the only time i'm sure i was narked was on a repetitive dive @20m, when i just felt like laughing.

so, was i narked this time?

Could very well possibly have been . . .
As so many on the board will tell you, nitrogen narcosis effects everyone in a different way and at differing depths.

Because you bring the question would indicate to me that you were.

the K

Possibly - especially since you realised how out of the ordinary your behaviour was AFTER the dive.

Dive Safe

Nauticalbutnice :fruit:

there are many faces to narcosis...

the heart-pounding nervous paranoid narcosis is one of the easiest to identify, and has the most obvious risks.

the goofy, looped out, donating your octopus/long hose to the fishes narcosis is also easy to figure in retrospect.

then there's the warm fuzzy velvet narcosis where everything is perfectly fine, but it isn't...

My second dive on 30/30 really freaked me out because I realized just how dark and scary it was down there, and was acutely aware that there was 10+ foot long sharks out there that divers routinely have contact with. I nearly peed in my drysuit because i was not used to being that sober at depth. Next dive I did there was on nitrox again and the warm fluffyness of a little narcosis made everything all good again...

You were narc'd. Anyone below a certain depth is narc'd. I forget the exact depth, but it's not very deep. Everyone reacts a bit differently and sometimes we react differently on different dives. Just realize that you are always narc'd to some extent and you will be a safer diver.

I've heard the process of Nitrogen Narcosis being called "Martini's Law" stating that for every 60 feet you descend, it's the equivalent of drinking one Martini on an empty stomach. The best way to avoid it is by getting a good breakfast, staying hydrated, and getting a good night's sleep. Remember, being narc'd is a lot like taking strong pain medication, or getting drunk - you have a tendency to think you're 10 feet tall and bullet proof. Narcosis impairs judgement, and being that you normally wouldn't do it, but thought you could WHILE at depth indicates some level of narcosis. Have fun and dive safely!

Poor judgement that is immediately apparent when you ascend is a good sign of being narced.

I personally think narcosis is more dangerous to those divers that don't appear to be affected. They can still do tasks well, there are no obvious signs of impairment, but that lack of normal rationality is there. You want to do things you even when you know better. Very dangerous.

I wonder, (by way of a slight hijack) if my lower SAC rate at greater depths has anything to do with a little narcosis soothing me..........by golly I'll have to go diving to study that!