Booze, Drugs, And Diving

[Kimela]

Maybe it's because I'm an old codger, or maybe it's because if I drink I get a headache and it's not worth it, but if I'm spending money to get to a dive location (none worth seeing, IMO in Missouri) then I want to be mostly 'aware' of the experience. I can drink and have headaches at home - no flight or hotel necessary, and I won't be missing palm trees and sand.

AND ... there are so many cases of 'undeserved hits' that this is just another factor to add to the overall equation of how those undeserved hits happen.

 

[BoltSnap]

Maybe it's because I'm an old codger, or maybe it's because if I drink I get a headache and it's not worth it, but if I'm spending money to get to a dive location (none worth seeing, IMO in Missouri) then I want to be mostly 'aware' of the experience. I can drink and have headaches at home - no flight or hotel necessary, and I won't be missing palm trees and sand.

AND ... there are so many cases of 'undeserved hits' that this is just another factor to add to the overall equation of how those undeserved hits happen.

Exactly. If they can't go without liquor or "narcotics" for the duration of their dive trip, they have serious problems and should seek professional help.

 

[neuneu]

Whenever these type threads pop up on SB it gets me thinking, why are people so obsessed with needing to get high or impaired on something?
It seems Americans are the worst, IDK? It just seems that way. I look at the voracious appetite in this country for cocaine weed pills hallucinogenics, etc. and I just don’t understand it.
And trying to combine all that crap with diving just seems so counter productive. Diving is a pure and healthy activity and shouldn’t need to be enhanced or worked around by some psychoactive drug. Diving alone to me is better than any drug and given the choice I would choose pure sobriety and diving over anything else. Maybe I’m just getting old and value what time I have left.
I mean, it’s a free world and people can do what they want, I just don’t understand it.

I absolutely agree. my appetite is by no means voracious. usually a six pack and joint a couple times a month.

usually when i am traveling i drink more so i was curious about risks.

if it was deadly to drink within 24 hours of diving i would have no problems giving up drugs/alcohol to prioritize diving.

i know too many people who are reliant on a substance and refuse to travel to places where it is illegal. or ones who refuse to hang out unless drugs are involved. it pisses me off and doesn’t make sense.

thanks for the response

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

Don't drink enough to have a hangover. Drink some water before bed. If you are diving shallow reefs/wrecks say around max 60 feet/20 meters you will likely be ok having a couple of cocktails. Get a good nights' sleep. If your NDL's approach zero you will need to extend/double your safety stops. No deco diving.

Obviously the best practice is early to bed, no booze.

 

[kaylee_ann]

Maybe it's because I'm an old codger, or maybe it's because if I drink I get a headache and it's not worth it, but if I'm spending money to get to a dive location (none worth seeing, IMO in Missouri) then I want to be mostly 'aware' of the experience. I can drink and have headaches at home - no flight or hotel necessary, and I won't be missing palm trees and sand.

AND ... there are so many cases of 'undeserved hits' that this is just another factor to add to the overall equation of how those undeserved hits happen.

right! it'd cost me so much to go to somewhere like the Bahamas that I want to make the best of it- wouldn't be possible for another few years after.
maybe one or two drinks for me, well after a dive. plus, I don't want to turn my beautiful, warm, crystal-clear-water diving vacation into a chamber trip.

 

[scubadada]

Moderation in drinking is a good idea. However, I am unaware of any evidence-based guidelines related to this topic and the relative risk of DCS. I'd be glad to be proven wrong, Dehydration is a commonly implicated risk factor in DCS

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

Let's just say.. if you are drinking Bud Light, I'm not diving with you.

The only thing I can think is... didn't you recently have some kind of mental lapse and almost kill yourself diving? I forget the details. Was a cold (Coors light) or two somewhere in the mix that day - since it is "not a big deal" before a non-deco dive?

Yeah...... I fully admit that I did have a mental lapse that almost killed me. Got complacent on my pre-dive checks on a solo dive and ended up with my pony reg in my mug which went OOG after ten minutes. No alcohol involved.

Sorry if I got off track on the Bud Light thing..... but lately whenever I hear about folks boycotting or dissing Bud Light drinkers....it seems to me to be all about some people's inability to deal with other folks right to live and love however and whomever they choose.

 

[kaylee_ann]

Moderation in drinking is a good idea. However, I am unaware of any evidence-based guidelines related to this topic and the relative risk of DCS. I'd be glad to be proven wrong, Dehydration is a commonly implicated risk factor in DCS

I was actually curious about this since there were other comments disputing alcohol's correlation to DCS. alcohol is actually a diuretic, so it makes you pee more. This dehydrates you if you didn't have lots of water before, therefore increasing your DCS risk.
source: Alcohol and diving: A cross-sectional study of attitudes towards alcohol consumption among 4322 French divers

off-topic, sort of: one of my medications is actually a diuretic. it reduces fluid build-up in the body by making you pee it out. so I'm super dehydrated constantly; weird thing is, there's no desire to drink anything except maybe once a week. I then chug water because I'm so so thirsty.
It's prescribed to me for its effects on reducing CSF production, though, not as a "water pill".

 

[scubadada]

I was actually curious about this since there were other comments disputing alcohol's correlation to DCS. alcohol is actually a diuretic, so it makes you pee more. This dehydrates you if you didn't have lots of water before, therefore increasing your DCS risk.
source: Alcohol and diving: A cross-sectional study of attitudes towards alcohol consumption among 4322 French divers

off-topic, sort of: one of my medications is actually a diuretic. it reduces fluid build-up in the body by making you pee it out. so I'm super dehydrated constantly; weird thing is, there's no desire to drink anything except maybe once a week. I then chug water because I'm so so thirsty.
It's prescribed to me for its effects on reducing CSF production, though, not as a "water pill".

Did you have your shunt placed? How are you doing, cleared to dive?

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

alcohol is actually a diuretic, so it makes you pee more. This dehydrates you if you didn't have lots of water before, therefore increasing your DCS risk.

Thats a fact, Jack.