First time diver with question about weird physical sensations after cert dives!

[tstocum]

I've suffered from sleep paralysis more times than I care to remember that's why it was my first thought after reading the OPs post. It really is freaky s**t.

 

[klecko73]

Quick update -

Feel a bit better today after about 6 hours of sleep. No more sleepy feeling in my right forearm/hand and just a slight tingling in the left. Feel just tired and sore all over but no pain and no joint pain. Went to the doctor and they think at this point I am just over-tired and my body hasn't had a chance to recover and that the fatigue is amplyifying what I am feeling (both physically and mentally). Everything else normal - blood pressure came back fine, no vertigo, etc. I have a follow-up appointment as well tomorrow.

 

[tracydr]

Any neck pain? I have neck problems and sometimes diving will cause me to over extend my neck. That can cause my arms and hands to feel tingly during the night.
Even worse when I ride horses.

 

[klecko73]

Any neck pain? I have neck problems and sometimes diving will cause me to over extend my neck. That can cause my arms and hands to feel tingly during the night.
Even worse when I ride horses.

Just a little sore in the neck area along with a general feeling of fatigue. That is an interesting question about the neck angle and now that I think about it it did feel a bit like my neck being at a weird overextended angle when diving. Not sure if this had any impact on my situation but I am going to watch it.

On a side note, after going to the doc's this morning, they advised mixing in gatorade or something similar with water to replace electrolytes. Had a big bottle of gatorade afterwards and within an hour the rest of the tingling in my left hand was gone. So it is either pyscho-somatic with me or it really was driven by dehydration.

 

[Fish in a Barrel]

I'll add one possible contributing factor: dehydration. One symptom of dehydration is that small, inconsequential problems can provoke extreme anxiety or panic. I experienced this after my first open water dive. The dive ended very late at night and I went straight to bed without getting anything to drink. I woke up in a near panic, terrified of the thought of going back into the water. Luckily, I've experienced this before and recognized it for what it was. One Gatorade and 15 minutes later, the panic just disappeared.

So it could be that you were dehydrated (SCUBA does this) and it enhanced your fear response.

 

[klecko73]

Fish -

Excellent point. I have felt much better since Monday morning and have continued to hydrate all week. Went to the doctor twice and everything is clear to go. They were of the same opinion as you that I didn't hydrate enough before/during/after the dives. I am going out tomorrow to finish up my last cert dive & hopefully have my first official dive as OW certified. I plan on making sure that I am sufficiently hydrated throughout the weekend.

After reading your post I read up on dehydration symptoms and causes and one of the issues brought up is that alot more water is lost through the lungs in the form of water vapor than we probably recognize. Add in the factor of dry compressed air and I guess it really isn't a suprise on how fast you can get dehydrated while diving.

Will let everyone know how things go.

Thanks again for all the very informative posts and suggestions.

-K73

 

[rk288]

Maintaining adequate or more than adequate hydration is a very important issue for divers. We alays bring Gatoraid at least or a good recovery drink plus Gatoraid at best. Fresh pineapple or oranges also really hit the spot especially during an SI.

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

How did the dive go today klecko73?

 

[cocoajoe]

Relax, it's just an alien trying to abduct you. Go along but don't let them 'probe' you or implant one of those metallic devices. Take it from me, you won't like it.

 

[klecko73]

How did the dive go today klecko73?

Well I am now officially OW certified. Finished the last cert dive Saturday morning and followed that up with a second dive in the early afternoon. Everything went well for both dives except I had to come up early on dive #2 cause I had to piss really bad and I couldn't under water despite my best efforts!

Felt ok after the dives but again on Saturday night at almost the same time as before, just like last week was done diving at 1:30pm and at 10:00pm, the weird sensation in my forearms started up again. It was less intense/tingly this time and it felt more like they were asleep. Drank some more water Saturday afternoon and night and again when I woke up Sunday morning. All the symptoms were gone by 8:00am Sunday morning.

Not sure what it is - one of the divers I was with thought it could be poor circulation in my hands??? And another said it could be anxiety as he had previously had suffered from anxiety/panic attacks and one of the signs for him was a tingly/numb feeling in his hands.

Anyway everything was great with the exception of the feeling in my hands. The good thing was that this time is was gone much faster and I wasn't as worried about it as I had been.