Panic Attack

[jlwest63]

I am trying to figure out what happened. Maybe someone can help.

Diving on Sunday on the east coast of florida. VERY strong current and 4 - 6 seas according to the caption. 1st dive was good. I have done 15 or so drift dives. Wife and step daughter decided to sit out the second dive and I went with a insta- buddy. I ended up with the float. Get to depth 88 - 95 feet and I am being pulled very fast by the float.

All of a sudden I got the overwhelming feeling I had to get out of there and started to panic. I look around and have no buddy in site, float pulling me along pretty quick but I can still stop by grabbing the bottom, but everything else was fine. I dive with a Pony just in case I get left alone.

I had to close my eyes and relax, after 15 to 30 secs I calmed down and finished the dive and it was great.

I am wondering if I got narced or something. Any ideas?

 

[daniel f aleman]

You may have been narc-ed, but there is no way for anyone other than you to actually make a reasonable guess. By the way, good going on your "calming down" response to your "panic".

Insta-buddys will do it to you, please be careful with whom you dive. Really.

 

[TSandM]

It could have been narcosis -- All my narcosis episodes have involved being anxious and unhappy and wishing I were elsewhere. But it could also have been CO2 retention related to struggling with the current and the float. That would go along with the fact that, when you stopped and relaxed and breathed quietly for a little while, the feeling went away. CO2 retention causes a great deal of anxiety -- Your body knows you need to breathe to live, and a lot of stress hormones pour out when you aren't breathing enough.

 

[Scuba-Jay]

It could also be exactly what you initially said....a panick attack. glad you kept your head about you though.

J

 

[Whitelightnin]

Great job on being able to get back in control. I agree, it could have been narcosis or it could have been CO2 retention. Both can cause those feelings. Severe CO2 retention leaves me with a headache that lasts for a couple of hours.

 

[DennisW]

If you were diving, you were under the influence of Nitrogen Narcosis. I would bet that this was a Narcosis effect. When I can feel like I am narc'd, I get these same kind of feelings. Force yourself to calm down, ascend to about 60 ft, and you will feel better. Then finish the dive.

 

[jlwest63]

After the dive was over I was thinking that I was narced but I was not sure since it never happened before.

Thanks for the confirmation.

 

[Madrone]

Thats scary panic attack under water. When I was in Palau, I had issues with one of my masks fogging up. I kept tipping water in it to clear it out. It got so bad I pulled my mask off, which I have done a lot, but I pulled too quick and water rushed up my nose. It freaked me out, all I kept saying as I coughed and coughed, was panicking divers die, I kept repeating it LOL. I had my buddie hold my by the BC and wait with me till I cleared my mask put it back on and chilled out. Its intense that such a small thing can push me into near panic and a desire to shoot to the top. Thats why I had my buddy hold on tight. I have been more careful since then...

 

[BidAndDive.com]

The panic probably started to snowball starting with you being pulled along by the float and then looking around and seeing that you didn't have a buddy. I don't think you would have been able to control yourself as you did if you were Narced...

 

[jdavenport]

Divers panic because:

(1) They often begin to over-exert themselves without realizing it which leads to inefficient gas exchange in the lungs and a build up of carbon dioxide.

(2) The build up of CO2 causes the body to think it's not getting enough O2 which, in turn, leads to that claustrophobic / "I don't like it here and want to go home" feeling. This can happen to most anyone at any depth. However, it gets worse in cold, dark and/or deep water.

(3) Other factors such as losing your buddy, bad vis, current, narcosis, temperature, depth, equipment malfunction, fumbling, inexperience, etc. will exacerbate the problem and can often CAUSE the initial overbreathing that leads to the CO2 buildup.

In your case, I believe the combination of physical exertion and stressors caused you to overbreath your regulator and led to the onset of the early symptoms of panic. Narcosis may have contributed, but I doubt it was the primary cause at that depth and temperature.