Narcosis

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Jmarsland

Jmarsland

Registered
Messages
13
Reaction score
0
Location
Honolulu, HI
# of dives
25 - 49
I wasn't to start off by thanking everyone who responded to my thread about whether or not I experienced Narcosis on my first deep dive. I learned a lot and feel better able to judge my own sensations.

Many people mentioned Dark Narc and thought I've yet to experience this I was wondering what people do when they experience this affect of narcosis?

I know that if it is a bad dark narc to safely ascend but I'm more asking if there are anythings that people do to help reassure themselves that they -will- be alright.

Thanks for any thoughts on this!

Jenn
 
Edit: I want to start by thanking people.
 
Jmarsland:
I know that if it is a bad dark narc to safely ascend but I'm more asking if there are anythings that people do to help reassure themselves that they -will- be alright
Click to expand...

If by ascend you mean come up a few metres until the symptoms retreat, then yes, that's a good plan

As for avoiding dark narc (paranoia etc), I find it helpful to have something useful to think about - I usually go over my run time plan - bottom time, deco stop depths, what depth to change to my stage bottle etc etc, or go through a mental valve drill or similar to keep my mind occupied (but not so occupied that I forget about watching my bottom time or gauge pressure); that way I don't have time to think about the 'bad stuff' while listening to the jungle drums

But if it's your first 'dark narc' experience - which since you say you've never had one, it will be - I'd suggest the first strategy (ascend until your mind clears)

There's nothing wrong with thumbing the dive if you don't feel right
 
Hello Jmarsland!

I remember your other post.

There is probably no better advice than just to acend if you start to feel any anxiety during your dive. That should go a long way in clearing things up.

But to tell you the truth, if you have yet to experience the so called "Dark Narc" and you have already been to the 90-100ft range, then I doubt you are going to ever have a problem with it if you stay within the normal rec depths. Like myself, you appear to have no problems with narcosis.
 
BDSC:
Like myself, you appear to have no problems with narcosis
Click to expand...

I can't let this pass

Everyone gets narc'd, no-one is immune

You may not notice any symptoms at the rec depths you mention; that doesn't mean they aren't there
 
Tortuga68:
I can't let this pass

Everyone gets narc'd, no-one is immune

You may not notice any symptoms at the rec depths you mention; that doesn't mean they aren't there
Click to expand...

I can't let this pass either. If you read carefully, I said I don't have a problem with it. I never said narcosis didn't exist. My feeling is if the sypmtoms are so minimal that you can't even notice them, then they are nothing to worry about.
 
Personally, I equate a "dark narc" to CO2 build-up, not inert gas narcosis. The only times I have ever experienced it is when I was working hard in a high-flow cave and it tells me I need to slow down and/or take a quick rest and it clears right up. It's different for everyone, but to me it's a different feeling than the slight buzz of nitrogen narcosis.
 
Jmarsland:
I know that if it is a bad dark narc to safely ascend but I'm more asking if there are anythings that people do to help reassure themselves that they -will- be alright.
Click to expand...

Cold, dark and deep (the only place I've felt a "dark narc") is no place to be trying to talk yourself into believing everything is OK, since being that distracted and uneasy means that by definition everything isn't OK.

If it's distracting and creepy enough that it's really noticeable, I just bag the dive and ascend.

Terry
 
BDSC:
If you read carefully, I said I don't have a problem with it... My feeling is if the sypmtoms are so minimal that you can't even notice them, then they are nothing to worry about
Click to expand...

I read carefully; I stand by my earlier comments

The fact that you don't recognize the symptoms doesn't mean they are nothing to be worried about

Have you tested your reactions at 100' versus surface?
 
Tortuga68:
I read carefully; I stand by my earlier comments

The fact that you don't recognize the symptoms doesn't mean they are nothing to be worried about

Have you tested your reactions at 100' versus surface?
Click to expand...

Yep. I've done it a couple of times. Of course it was the old knot tying experiment which in my mind doesn't really prove much but there was no difference in the results at 125 ft vs 25 ft.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

mattvish
I want to get narked
2 3 4
Replies
32
Views
2,829
Moerae
M
H
Is there an operator for blackwater in Okinawa?
Replies
0
Views
149
humuhumu_
H
N
Dive Master Course advice
Replies
2
Views
396
TMHeimer
TMHeimer
OTF
Marking Strobes
2
Replies
15
Views
1,407
buddhasummer
buddhasummer
Z
Question Argonaut Kraken Owner
2 3
Replies
22
Views
859
DIVER1969DOWN
DIVER1969DOWN
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

Back
Top Bottom