feeling suddenly hard to breath + claustrophobic at only ~38ft???

[lowwall]

i stopped kicking - and laid on my stomach on the seabed for a few mins - it still didn’t help so I shot up to the surface. It was the scariest thing ever!!

That's not good.

Assuming your air was on, the most likely explanation was general discomfort and a reg that was not as good as you are used to leading to incomplete breathing cycles and thus CO2 buildup. Some people respond that way to nitrogen narcosis, but that's extremely unlikely at 38' (12m).

Excessive CO2 does nasty things to the brain and body. Thankfully it's super easy to deal with, just make longer exhales. You say you normally do 3 seconds in and 3 out. Try 3 in and 5 or 6 out. You'll need to slow the volume per second, but that's OK. You want the exhaled bubbles to be a steady stream, not one big glob.

Really concentrate on the exhalations, the inhalations will take care of themselves.

 

[alex_can_dive]

My guess, is that all the factors you have described played into the experience. Tired, cold, the regs that you borrowed do not breathe the way your own do and that was probably weighing on your mind,.long before you even got into the water. And knowing that you forgot to zip your wetsuit couldn't have helped.

Do you and your buddies do a buddy check before entering the water?

You've been doing a fair amount of diving lately for a beginner. I'm surprised at you bolting to the surface. You need to be able to control your panic.

Why would you think that you had or could have had a heart attack?

When are you getting your own reg set back?

we do basic checks - that is, weights, air, fins. (Wetsuit zipper wasn’t on the list, last i checked )

I’m only guessing at the cardiac thing because I remember feeling unusually cold, and I’d read somewhere that you could get it if you dive too cold(?)

About controlling your panic, at what point should you abandon it and just bolt?
i did try to stay calm by laying on the bottom for a few mins, but when I realized it wasn't working, that’s when I got real panicked!

My reg is fine - just without octo. The new octo should arrive next week. In retrospect, maybe I should have dived with it, without the octo (like so many people were adamantly against ) at least, it would probably have been my buddies that might’ve got problems

 

[lowwall]

My reg is fine - just without octo. The new octo should arrive next week. In retrospect, maybe I should have dived with it, without the octo (like so many people were adamantly against ) at least, it would probably have been my buddies that might’ve got problems

What octo did your end up getting?

The shop might let you rent just an octo, it takes less than a minute to screw one on. Especially if you bought the original reg or the replacement octo from them. Actually in that case, I wouldn't be surprised if they put on a free loaner if you asked about renting one.

 

[chillyinCanada]

we do basic checks - that is, weights, air, fins. (Wetsuit zipper wasn’t on the list, last i checked )

I’m only guessing at the cardiac thing because I remember feeling unusually cold, and I’d read somewhere that you could get it if you dive too cold(?)

About controlling your panic, at what point should you abandon it and just bolt?
i did try to stay calm by laying on the bottom for a few mins, but when I realized it wasn't working, that’s when I got real panicked!

My reg is fine - just without octo. The new octo should arrive next week. In retrospect, maybe I should have dived with it, without the octo (like so many people were adamantly against ) at least, it would probably have been my buddies that might’ve got problems

The problem is that you bolted.

What were your buddies doing whilst you were laying on the bottom? Did you signal for an air share? Had you done that, a buddy should have been right with you and supporting you with slow normal ascent to the surface.

 

[alex_can_dive]

What octo did your end up getting?

The shop might let you rent just an octo, it takes less than a minute to screw one on. Especially if you bought the original reg or the replacement octo from them. Actually in that case, I wouldn't be surprised if they put on a free loaner if you asked about renting one.

i wanted an atomics m1, which they didn’t have in stock. And we were in the rush to fill the tanks, loan our wetsuits, pick the weights, etc, so instead of plugging their rental octo into my set, they just gave me the full set.

The problem is that you bolted.

What were your buddies doing whilst you were laying on the bottom? Did you signal for an air share? Had you done that, a buddy should have been right with you and supporting you with slow normal ascent to the surface.

they waited around. but now that you mentioned it, I don’t remember having difficulty getting air into my mouth. It was just my chest that felt extremely constricted from external pressure. That’s why I didn’t ask for air.

When I did decide to shoot up, I didn’t have the mind to communicate or ask for help

 

[chillyinCanada]

I've only panicked once and it was long ago.

Remember this. If you can breathe, you have time to solve the problem.

So, there you were on the bottom, feeling very uncomfortable and a bit scared. At that point, you need your brain to say, I'm still getting air, I have time to solve this problem.

Practice that and remember that. You've got time to solve the problem. No need to bolt. Breathing, solve problem.

In this case, you were breathing but wanted the surface. Signal to buddies that you need to go up.

That's it.

You can breathe, you have time to solve the problem.

And remember, that as long as you're still getting air from your reg, a bolt to the surface could very well create a much larger problem.

 

[happy-diver]

- I forgot to zip the back of my wetsuit so it was a little cold.

yes - I always open valves all the way or closed. Never in between

we do basic checks - that is, weights, air, fins. (Wetsuit zipper wasn’t on the list, last i checked )

You think this is funny or are you nervous, have more respect for diving and familiarise yourself with your stuff

 

[chillyinCanada]

You think this is funny or are you nervous, have more respect for diving and familiarise yourself with your stuff

If she didn't remember her zipper wasn't up, someone or something was rushing things to get into the water.

Visualization, is import too Alex. Run over in your mind how you will prepare on the surface. Once prepared, run over in your mind, how the dive will go. Be relaxed before entering the water because you know that you are prepared.

If you aren't relaxed because you know that you are ready for the dive, it isn't time to enter the water yet.

 

[lowwall]

Remember this. If you can breathe, you have time to solve the problem.

So, there you were on the bottom, feeling very uncomfortable and a bit scared. At that point, you need your brain to say, I'm still getting air, I have time to solve this problem.

Practice that and remember that. You've got time to solve the problem. No need to bolt. Breathing, solve problem.

Great post.

You can breathe, you have time to solve the problem.

This is the point. Also remember that as the pressure increases, you get more oxygen per breath. At 38', it's more than double the O2 you would get on the surface. No matter how it feels, if you can take a breath on your reg, you are getting enough oxygen to do whatever you need to do.

So concentrate on that, take a deep breath and do a nice long exhale. Then repeat as needed. The exhales will be dumping the CO2 that could otherwise trigger panic. If we called CO2 what it is, "panic gas", then maybe people would take it more seriously.

High [partial pressure of CO2 in the arteries] triggers the fight or flight response, affects hormone levels and can cause anxiety, irritability and inappropriate or panic responses, which can be beyond the control of the subject, sometimes with little or no warning.- Hypercapnia - Wikipedia

 

[Bob DBF]

P.S: was it possible I almost got a cardiac arrest???

A panic attack will mimic a heart attack. In any event see your doctor to insure you do not have overlapping issues.

This is where diving gets interesting, you will have to sort out what actually happened as you continue to dive. Stay shallow because nothing gets better when deep. Have your buddies keep an eye on you for clues. If you can, change one variable at a time and assess your comfort level.

The hardest thing to do will be trying to follow your training instead of your panic. Focus on what you need to do, and do it, instead of the flight response of panic. Not saying it is easy, but it could save your life. Now that you know what can happen, when things feel wrong, make an orderly retreat rather than letting events deteriorate. This goes for any issue that comes up, not just this one.