Strange experience on first wreck dive. A shallow narc?

[tore124]

Hi. Ok, im a reasonably new diver. Just started pursuing SSI master diver, have about 26 dives logged and have only dived in mediterranean and agean seas. Just working my way through my specs bit by bit. Last week I did my first dive here in the UK, at an inland site called Stoney Cove - which any British users will know very well. Anyway, I did my first wreck dive. There is a wreck there called the stanegarth that sits at about 18-22m. We did a surface swim to the marker buoy and descended from there. This was also my first ever low vis dive - the vis was about 2.5 - 3 metres max that day. So...descending down into dark nothingness, then all of a sudden out of nowhere...the wreck appears and looms out of the darkness. Suddenly I felt...well....literally like I was coming up on some kind of illicit drug. It was a weird euphoria, a bit of fear, and everything seemed really very peculiar, surreal, didn't quite register. Its very difficult to describe how I felt....but the last time I felt like that i was a teenager in a dark london nightclub!! Now, I certainly have limited diving experience, but have previously been to about 32m whilst doing an advanced adventurer cert and didn't have any sniff of the narcs. But, something definitely happened on this occasion....but I wasn't even at 18m at the time!! I just wondered what your thoughts may be, or if anything like this has happened to anyone else. Perhaps it was a combination of disorientation and awe....maybe Im just a big girl and get narced if I so much as get my head wet. Im not sure.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

I'm not sure you were narc'd, but you could have been. Individual physiology varies, as does susceptibility to nitrogen narcosis. Also, a low viz, cold water dive ( I'm pretty sure most if not all UK fresh water dives are in fairly cold water) are stress factors that are each a reason to add about 3 meters to your planned dive depth when doing your dive planning. That said, both I and my wife had, at various times, experienced a euphoric feeling on certain dives and times, that is not exactly like narcosis, but is "something." I suggest you treat such events as if they were narcosis, and slowly ascend until your head clears, and then resume the dive, with a slow descent. Alternatively, you could have been feeling a little claustrophobic ( like being in a dark club with lots of people) due to the limited viz, but you did not panic, which is good. It is likeley that you could repeat the dive, now knowing what to expect, and not have such a feeling come over you.
DivemasterDennis

 

[tore124]

Hi Dennis. Thank you Yes the water was cold...and I was diving semi dry as I have only had my pool orientation for my drysuit spec. Most of it was pretty comfortable though. One nasty spot. Luckily I am in the middle of the stress and rescue course and I did have to have a word with myself at the early stages of the dive to stop myself getting into a panic situation...going through the 'breathe, think, assess' type process. By the end of the dive I was smiling like an idiot for the best part of an hour, it was an amazing experience. Was just the first time id ever had such an odd sensation. Thank you for your input. Lets see what happens next time. )

 

[Bogtrotter]

From your description it's sounds like a touch of euphoria to me, similar to a feeling I had on a cenote dive last year.

 

[Jeblis]

Possibly alternobaric vertigo (unequal pressure in each ear). I've had it from time to time and it makes you a little dizzy. Alternobaric vertigo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wish it was mentioned in the open water classes, since it can be concerning if you don't know what it is or what to do.

 

[Akimbo]

In addition to vertigo, it could be CO2. Symptoms are often confused. Did anything change when (if) you relaxed and breathed deeply?

 

[lemke]

I've had similar "feelings" at less-than-typical-narc depths... usually it's some combination of low visibility, a new area, or seeing a big shadow out of my peripheral vision. Sometimes it's paranoia, sometimes it's just a surreal feeling, and sometimes it's sharks!

 

[Redshift]

It could have been some narcosis, but I think you were apprehensive with the whole situation. It was very different from what you were used to and it's natural that you reacted differently and your brain was in an alert / even slightly scared mode. That's what's training is for, to expose you to different and more challenging environments. Not all different feelings underwater are narcosis.

You could compare to how it feels if you start going down from the ledge and navigate towards the "wreck" instead of dropping down from the buoy.

Now, to the hydrobox!

 

[Locus]

What happened next?

Nitrogen narcosis has a cumulative effect, so if that was what you were experiencing then it would have continued or intensified until you ascended to a shallower depth.

If you stayed at that depth and it dissipated, then as Akimbo suspects, it could have been CO2 narcosis, caused by a buildup of that gas in your system on your way down. I have had similar experiences after fast descents (though mine are less euphoric; more uneasy) and I catalog them based on whether or not they go away after some deliberate, relaxed breathing.

 

[tore124]

Wow thanks for all of the replies. Well yes i did ease off as soon as I got into the dive, but the whole thing was a challenge to the senses as yes it was very different to what I was used to, and C02 is plausible as I was breathing a little more erratically than my usual relaxed rate so that may well have been a factor. It will be interesting to see what happens when I return there this weekend. Now I know what to expect, it may be a different situation. Yes redshift...the Hydrobox is coming when I do my deep spec in a couple of weeks.....half excited half terrified. Needing a torch to check I still exist is a little unnerving lol