Nitrox problem, is it normal?

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kalidor's8

Contributor
Messages
101
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Location
Austin, Tx
# of dives
100 - 199
Ok let me start by explaining the situation. A buddy and I did our first Nitrox dive this last weekend, this was our second dive the first going to 112FFW. We made it to 88ft on the nitrox when we both noticed a problem with breathing. We both felt that it was hard to catch a breath and could not draw enough into our lungs.(pressure was at 1100 on my tank at this point) Normaly I am relaxed in the water and have never had a problem with issues but this time I felt myself start to panic. We desided to start heading back to our stage bottle for our safety stop and after going up about 10ft we noticed a big change in breathing ease, but contiued to stop due to gas lvl. We were working a bit to get to our target and we think that had a big part to do with things, but is that all it was? I know when you work harder it gets hard to breath thru the regulator but for us both tobe affected by it at almost the same point it seems strange. What are your thoughts on it and has anyone had te same or simmilar issues?

Thanks
 
Were you using the same regs? Sounds like a reg problem. Maybe not being able to draw well at depth. I wouldnt think the mix would affect how easy it is to breathe. I could be wrong though.... its happened more than once.
 
There is no reason why the nitrox would cause a problemas depth increases, but two problems do come to mind. First would be the regs,have they been recently serviced? They can often come back a little tight after a service, but themost probable in my mind was a contaminated fill. I had a problem when diving in the Maldives a few years ago. Down to about 30 m (100 ft) all was fine, beyond that I would start to feel like I was very narked, now I'm used to diving much deeped and I dont normally get that narked at that depth in clear water, several buddies experienced similar problems. When we returned home we had our pony cylinders serviced and cleaned, the insides were full of dirt and moisture,my buddies cylinder was the same. I still believe the contamination came from the compressor used on the liveaboard and that caused the problems underwater.
 
kalidor's8:
We were working a bit to get to our target and we think that had a big part to do with things, but is that all it was?

Sounds like you have your answer right there...Overexertion can cause you to have that feeling of not being able to catch your breath and thus cause some anxiety. You used the term "we" so I doubt it was a reg problem although it is always a good idea to have them serviced once a year, or whenever you find them not functioning properly.
 
Over exertion, possibly CO2 retention leading to a bit of narcosis.
 
I'm not sure I understand heading back for your stage bottle?
 
kalidor's8:
Ok let me start by explaining the situation. A bubby and I did our first Nitrox dive this last weekend, this was our second dive the first going to 112FFW. We made it to 88ft on the nitrox when we both noticed a problem with breathing. We both felt that it was hard to catch a breath and could not draw enough into our lungs.(pressure was at 1100 on my tank at this point) Normaly I am relaxed in the water and have never had a problem with issues but this time I felt
It has nothing to do with Nitrox. Hard to tell from the description, but it's either you or the regs.

If you could breathe without much effort but felt like you couldn't "catch your breath", I'd suspect you were hyperventilating, which can make it feel like you can't get enough air.

If it was actually difficult to breathe, I'd suspect a hardware problem.

It's possible the tank was clogged, or the valve wasn't fully open or the tanks were contaminated or that the reg's inlet filter was clogged, or that the reg needs service, or that you're both using the same model reg and it wasn't designed to deliver as much air as you needed at that depth.

Terry
 
I agree with the others. This has nothing to do with Nitrox. It is either your regs, narcosis or probably a combination of the two. There are a few other possibilities, but most likely it's a matter of the regs breathing a bit harder with increased ambient pressure, or just breathing being a bit tougher as pressure increases and narcosis causing some paranoia.
 
What was the mix and did you check it before the dive? What regs did you use?

Stan
 
kalidor's8:
Ok let me start by explaining the situation. A bubby and I did our first Nitrox dive this last weekend, this was our second dive the first going to 112FFW. We made it to 88ft on the nitrox when we both noticed a problem with breathing. We both felt that it was hard to catch a breath and could not draw enough into our lungs.(pressure was at 1100 on my tank at this point) Normaly I am relaxed in the water and have never had a problem with issues but this time I felt myself start to panic. We desided to start heading back to our stage bottle for our safety stop and after going up about 10ft we noticed a big change in breathing ease, but contiued to stop due to gas lvl. We were working a bit to get to our target and we think that had a big part to do with things, but is that all it was? I know when you work harder it gets hard to breath thru the regulator but for us both tobe affected by it at almost the same point it seems strange. What are your thoughts on it and has anyone had te same or simmilar issues?

Thanks

Need some more info from you, cse this sounds odd.
1- how long have you been diving
2- where were you diving
3- what mix were you using, did YOU verify it
4- what was the water temp/condition
5- what do mean by "stage bottles" ? That doesn't sound like something a brand new
nitrox diver uses.
6- what brand and model of regs are you using
7- are these your own tanks or are you renting

Should help pinpoint the problem better
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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