Anyone had experiences and symptoms if nitro/narcosis at 90 feet.

[Z Gear]

I was diving the La jolla canyon last weekend when I believed I experienced some nitro/narcosis. I was descending down a sloped canyon from 90 to 100 feet when it began to hit me. I had never felt that before. I recognized what was happening and took the following response.

I stopped even though I could not get the attention of my dive buddy and then proceeded to slowly kick upwards back to about 90 feet. I had to put a little air in to my BC because I did not want to exert that much energy trying to get myself back to 90 ( I thought it would only make it worse). I felt very light headed at the beginning, it was only when I decided to really slow my movements and just head back up ten feet or so , when it all went away. By then my dive buddy had already turned around and came towards me. I gave her a slow down motion and I led the rest of the dive. I stayed on that depth for a few minutes and the symptoms did not return. I then went back to 100 and this time went super slow. I did not have a re-occurance of any symptoms.

Has anyone had this kind of experience. I was a wondering if any of you have ever felt this. My dive buddy felt nothing and she was doing the same thing I was. Is this normal? Have to admit it was a little scary. If anyone has some advise on this subject I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[Akimbo]

Probably CO2 and/or a little equilibrium issues. You can probably reproduce it at 60' with a rapid descent and a high work load, like swimming hard once you reach the bottom. I have felt that many times. Narcosis tends not to go away.

 

[R-balljunkie]

dive dive dive.

Eventually it will all feel the same below 100' but it takes time to get conditioned mentally and physiologically.

You did the right thing. if you aren't comfortable at a certain depth, or in a certain situation..stop, ascend until you can regroup.

Just because your dive buddy in this instance was 'fine', don't let that be the litmus test for you.

 

[Dive Right In Scuba 2]

I tend to agree with Akimbo on the Co2/equilibrium thing. It happens to me when I'm tying in or untying a wreck and the current is ripping.....hauling a 35lb hook on a line tends to get the blood pumping a bit. Just slow down, control your breathing and relax...it tends to subside. To my narcosis tends to manifest itself first as a buzzing sound in my head, then I tend to feel a little "thick" and loopy...but I don't get those symptoms unless sub 140 on air.

 

[Remy B.]

This will maybe be a long thread with a lot of well intended opinions, the reality is it is different for everybody, like you mention your partner in crime did not feel anything, aldo, you may read comments that she was dramatically narced, we have something in common we both have a few hours on the clock diving, but I went to 130' and didn't feel any different actually little more relaxed, that suppose to be narced, still I had not any problems, remember everything, cordinate exercices accordenly, did all my rutine checks and see some fish, but accordenly to some experd all that was BS and I dreamed all that, and you can't remember whay you can't remember, I guess they were there with me during the dive but I didn't know they were there because it was a dream, at least they make sound their explanation like that, the curios part is that me and the instructors commented the dive in surface and saw the same things but it had to be that all 3 of us where dreaming the same thing.

 

[Z Gear]

Probably CO2 and/or a little equilibrium issues. You can probably reproduce it at 60' with a rapid descent and a high work load, like swimming hard once you reach the bottom. I have felt that many times. Narcosis tends not to go away.

If narcosis doesn't go away then I guess it must have been C02, build up.I can not tell what narcosis feels like but I can tell what light headedness does. It probably happened because when I reached that depth (100) I was swimming a little hard. I strongly think that if I would have continued what I was doing I could have passed out. I was feeling very light headed. It was important that I stop and make a correction to remedy my condition.

---------- Post added October 18th, 2014 at 08:00 PM ----------

I tend to agree with Akimbo on the Co2/equilibrium thing. It happens to me when I'm tying in or untying a wreck and the current is ripping.....hauling a 35lb hook on a line tends to get the blood pumping a bit. Just slow down, control your breathing and relax...it tends to subside. To my narcosis tends to manifest itself first as a buzzing sound in my head, then I tend to feel a little "thick" and loopy...but I don't get those symptoms unless sub 140 on air.

Do you feel, very light headed, or does it get kind of dim. This is what I was feeling. I can't remember a buzzing sound. It just felt very strange and at least I knew what to do. I hope it was not narc, but if it was it went away as soon as I slowed down and went up a little.

 

[Tony387]

This will maybe be a long thread with a lot of well intended opinions, the reality is it is different for everybody, like you mention your partner in crime did not feel anything, aldo, you may read comments that she was dramatically narced, we have something in common we both have a few hours on the clock diving, but I went to 130' and didn't feel any different actually little more relaxed, that suppose to be narced, still I had not any problems, remember everything, cordinate exercices accordenly, did all my rutine checks and see some fish, but accordenly to some experd all that was BS and I dreamed all that, and you can't remember whay you can't remember, I guess they were there with me during the dive but I didn't know they were there because it was a dream, at least they make sound their explanation like that, the curios part is that me and the instructors commented the dive in surface and saw the same things but it had to be that all 3 of us where dreaming the same thing.

It's true that some don't know what they don't know. Otherwise, you would know someone with <24 dives has no business at a depth of 130ft.

 

[TSandM]

Narcosis is extremely individual and variable from day to day. There is some evidence to suggest it may be related to descent rates, as well. I have DEFINITELY been impaired by narcosis at around 90 to 95 feet, on more than one occasion, documented by making egregious errors.

 

[Z Gear]

Narcosis is extremely individual and variable from day to day. There is some evidence to suggest it may be related to descent rates, as well. I have DEFINITELY been impaired by narcosis at around 90 to 95 feet, on more than one occasion, documented by making egregious errors.

Can you be impaired and suffer these narcosis symptoms for a brief period. I noticed mine went away as soon as I stopped for a moment and then slowly started to go upwards for a few feet as it got better. I am trying figure out if this could be CO2 build up caused by initially swimming to hard at that depth or possibly symptoms of narcosis because it went away when I decided to go up.

Which do you think? Should I just treat both CO2 build up and narcosis in the same manner. Thanks in advance.

 

[jky]

Narcosis tends not to go away.

Narcosis is directly related to depth. It subsides with a lessening of depth.

jky