Got narced hard today!!

[park1231]

Me and a buddy dove down to 135ft today on air. Diving in southern california means that at 135ft the water temp is cold with very little ambient surface light. Ive been to around this depth on numerous occasions and am familiar with the onset of narcosis (usually around 90ft for myself) but today I got narced pretty hard and felt as if I couldnt catch my breath when we reached our maximum depth. This was followed by an impending sense of doom and terror:wacko: Although I could sense that I was on the verge of panic I was able to keep it together and perform a normal ascent and safety stop. Is there any medical reason that narcosis would make one feel out of breath? It was as if my reg wasnt supplying enough air. Or is the most likely culprit, paranoia brought on by narcosis

Normally narcosis doesnt hit me this hard. Today at around 120ft I could tell that I was definately narced hard, my lips were numb,my ears were ringing and I felt intoxicated but instead of ascending I foolishly carried out the dive to the depth that my buddy and I had agreed upon. LESSON LEARNED: Listen to the signs that your body gives you and act decisively to ensure you and your buddys survival. 135ft will always be around another day!

 

[JeffAustin]

Being narced mellows you out, like being drunk. Your breathing slows down, then you get a problem with CO2 from not breathing properly. Paranoid, etc... are signs of excess CO2. But... maybe your reg IS funky, have it checked out.

 

[Northeastwrecks]

I'm glad to hear that you made it out OK.

That said, if you're going to that kind of depth regularly, why not do it on Mix?

 

[bwerb]

I'm sorry to jump on you like this on one of your first posts but come on and grab some common sense. If as you already indicated, you have a problem with narcosis at depths starting at 90 feet, then quite frankly you have absolutely no business planning dives to 135 feet on air. Your brain is telling you that enough is enough, you can't change physiology but you can change your gas mix. Looks like it's time to learn about helium gas mixtures if you want to continue to dive to these depths and return to tell us about your dives.

park1231 once bubbled...
Me and a buddy dove down to 135ft today on air. Ive been to around this depth on numerous occasions and am familiar with the onset of narcosis (usually around 90ft for myself)pretty hard and felt as if I couldnt catch my breath when we reached our maximum depth. This was followed by an impending sense of doom and terror

 

[park1231]

I meant that normally I feel the onset at around 90ft but it has never elevated to a level that impaired my judgement in the past.

Yes a mix would be the best way to go but when your 22 still in college and delivering pizzas to make rent not much funds are left to pursue hobbies

 

[King Kong Matt]

Not to jump on the new kid...but if you can't do the dive the right way, you probably shouldn't do the dive.

That's not meant to be nasty...quite the opposite, we want to hear about all your diving exploits for years to come!

 

[Uncle Pug]

...with Jeff. This sounds like a CO2 hit:

felt as if I couldnt catch my breath when we reached our maximum depth. This was followed by an impending sense of doom and terror

Or a *dark narc* as we sometimes used to call them.

Park, what was your activity level at the time... exertion combined with increased work of breathing will cause your CO2 levels to rise. You reg might be breathing harder as you go deeper since the air is denser... and that means extra WOB.

I also agree with Matt... perhaps you should wait to do the cold deep dark until you can afford to do it with mix... just a thought.

 

[bwerb]

King Kong Matt once bubbled...

That's not meant to be nasty...quite the opposite, we want to hear about all your diving exploits for years to come!

Exactly...

See you in the water

 

[LUBOLD8431]

I know what you are talking about bubba...I've gone down to 185 feet on air, and I felt the same things you did, minus the out of breath thing. The thing that I have realized with diving deep on air, the more you do it, the less symptoms you get. Its like training your body to deal with the narcosis. If you do deep dives like that, you should work up to that depth. I know everyone is going to bust on me about saying this, but, you don't have to use Trimix. Trimix just makes the dives safer, especially anything over 165 feet (some people would say over 100, or over 150). People have done deep diving on air for a long time. Yeah, some people die, but alot dont. More than anything, just don't do anything beyond your capability. Thats what gets people into trouble. Get some training in deep diving, and you will be fine.

 

[jbd]

you're gonna need lotsa sand bags and more machine guns to ward off the impending firestorm

Good luck


I do agree with you to a certain extent.