Does sea sickness medications effect airtime?

[AndyNewman]

Hi,

I use a lot of air. It's really annoying. I am new to scuba and trust that practice will pay off in the long run...

But I am looking to reasons why I might be using more. I am very fit, but know that I worry a lot in my head and need to improve buoyancy too.

There are plenty of articles about how to use less air, so what my specific new question here is "does sea sickness medications effect the amount of air you use?". I usually take some Dramamine and it does knock me around because of the cocktail between caffeine and relaxants. Any insights or suggestions?

Thank you in advance

 

[Bob DBF]

You are new to scuba, that accounts for more air consumption than some marginal difference some medication might make. Being very fit is a good thing, but it does not directly relate to better gas consumption, because the way you breathe for workout will not be efficient and use more air than you need for diving.

Priority of skills to master for new divers

 

[BlueTrin]

I am fairly new to scuba and my experience is that my sac went lower:

• As I improved my trim and buoyancy, so I move less to do the same thing. I also spend less air inflating/dumping from the BCD.
• As I got used to be underwater, most things did not require as much mental effort. For example checking your air will not require for you to find your SPG. Or blowing a DSMB will become easy and not require as much focus
• As I improved my breathing technique by doing slow breathing and trying to feel as relaxed as I could

I used to have a SAC of 25l/min or over and now I am at around 14-15l/min on a fairly easy dive in drysuit with not too much current.

Maybe your gas consumption has more to do with you being new than the medication ?

 

[Esprise Me]

I only take seasickness medication for boat dives, yet my SAC is much better on boat dives than beach dives. (I don't attribute this to the meds, but rather to the physical exertion of walking from my car down to the beach in full gear and usually doing a long-ish surface swim, plus the psychological stress of surf entries.)

Sitting on the couch, my SAC rate is about .3 cf/min. These days, I typically manage between .4 and .6 in water; when I started, it was .7 up to about 1. I'm not in better shape now than Iwas then; I'm just more relaxed and efficient. Keep at it; you'll get there.

 

[scubadada]

Average Gas Consumption

 

[drl]

I use seasickness meds whenever I get on a boat, and they don’t seem to affect my air consumption. I was an air hog as a newer diver (surprising since I’m a small woman) but my consumption improved with experience and learning to be quiet in the water.
On the other hand, there is individual variation that just depends on physiology. I have a friend who is a highly experienced tech diver, dives Great Lakes wrecks as well as tropical waters, slim and fit, but he always gets larger tanks, because he still uses way more air than average.
There are many factors in air consumption, but if seasickness meds are a factor at all it’s a minor one.

 

[Altamira]

If you need meds for sea sickness, take them. I would bet the meds account for a lot lower air usage than puking in your reg or worrying about getting sick.

 

[mallbritton]

I doubt the sea sickness meds are dramatically affecting your breathing. My suggestions for you are to slow down, relax and practice long slow breaths. Try 4 seconds in and 6 seconds out. Also, getting your weighting dialed in will help your buoyancy a lot, which will also help your air consumption. Once you get your buoyancy down you will need less weight and you'll be able to control your trim in the water with your lungs.

Remember... long, slow breaths. Diving is a slow sport!

 

[Kimela]

but know that I worry a lot in my head

I suspect that is your issue, more than anything. It takes time to dial in your buoyancy and it takes time to be calm in the water. My gas consumption used to be WAY better than my husband's, but he's caught up to me. It just takes time. It'll happen.

 

[Dominik_E]

Putting aside for the moment that of course there are many other factors involved, including training and experience: it may even be! Many seasickness meds are actually H1 antagonists. Those are centrally acting and can influence both heart rate and breathing. I know of no solid data to even derive in which direction this effect may go, maybe one of the MDs here does. But it is not a nonsensical idea per se, and should not be put down as one. Regardless of it being a main factor in this concrete case here.