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

[lexvil]

Can you explain what happened to the F8? It’s a very good and simple reg and would make an excellent primary or safe second, any tech who has trouble repairing it shouldn’t be allowed near diving gear.

 

[alex_can_dive]

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

i didn’t think any of this was funny - admittedly I was being a bit flippant in the post because I was annoyed the stupid mistake. (Air was hot and my buddies were taking forever to put their things together. So I thought I’d wait. Then all of sudden, the beach goers were rushing us off “their” beach)

 

[alex_can_dive]

Can you explain what happened to the F8? It’s a very good and simple reg and would make an excellent primary or safe second, any tech who has trouble repairing it shouldn’t be allowed near diving gear.

I made this “psssst” sound as soon as you connect the regs to a tank (and turn on the air). Similar to the sound it made when you press the purge button but a lot softer - probably was leaki by some air too, I could feel it when I put the hand near the mouth piece.

tried breathing it underwater, I got lot of water in my mouth.

As explained, this thing was old, and possibly got some abused from my buddies who’d eventually donated it to me. My shop never serviced the brand so they didn’t want to take chances

 

[lexvil]

I made this “psssst” sound as soon as you connect the regs to a tank (and turn on the air). Similar to the sound it made when you press the purge button but a lot softer - probably was leaki by some air too, I could feel it when I put the hand near the mouth piece.

tried breathing it underwater, I got lot of water in my mouth.

As explained, this thing was old, and possibly got some abused from my buddies who’d eventually donated it to me. My shop never serviced the brand so they didn’t want to take chances

F8 isn’t old by any means, are you sure it’s an F8? These are pretty simple Regs (zeagle) and the only real difference between the old ZX and the F8 is the atomic inspired seat saver, have a picture of the second?

 

[alex_can_dive]

F8 isn’t old by any means, are you sure it’s an F8? These are pretty simple Regs (zeagle) and the only real difference between the old ZX and the F8 is the atomic inspired seat saver, have a picture of the second?

what’s your definition of “old”?
Mine is “anything that’s not brand new out of the box”.
But yeah, I’m pretty sure. My buddy who gave it to me sent it in to fix. It’s been used for about 2-3 years, once or two dives a week

 

[lowwall]

what’s your definition of “old”?
Mine is “anything that’s not brand new out of the box”.
But yeah, I’m pretty sure. My buddy who gave it to me sent it in to fix. It’s been used for about 2-3 years, once or two dives a week

I'd call that "used". Regs take decades to get "old"

 

[lexvil]

what’s your definition of “old”?
Mine is “anything that’s not brand new out of the box”.
But yeah, I’m pretty sure. My buddy who gave it to me sent it in to fix. It’s been used for about 2-3 years, once or two dives a week

I would call that used nearly new, I’ll take it off your hands if you don’t want it.

 

[DeltaWardog]

With rec diving, if you don't have time to do it right, you don't have time to do it at all. I hope you take this in the spirit in which it is offered - you need to slow down, do your checks properly, be more mindful of the reasons for all these things. Remember that all the rules you were taught in class were written in blood. The A&I forum is full of stories about people who skipped steps to get in the water faster.

I admit to making similar mistakes. The only time I've felt really uncomfortable, bordering on thumbing the dive 5 minutes in because I was so out of sorts, was when I was overbreathing my reg, because I was stressed, because my weighting was off, because I hadn't taken the time to do a proper weight check with new gear. I learned my lesson.

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

In a dive today, as soon as we reached ~38ft, 51F (descended gradually, starting at 10ft - 20 mins), I suddenly felt extremely claustrophobic and hard to breath - like being squeezed into tiny space. And I could feel water pressing on my chest. (was wearing wetsuit, though, so it shouldn't "squeeze", right?).

I'm trying to figure out why - this was not the first time I'd gone to 38ft - been up 50ft multiple times before without any problem. (This was the same site I've dived at multiple times before)

A few "hiccups" today include:
- rental regs (mine didn't have an octo yet so had to rent)
- didn't have lunch before we dived
- I forgot to zip the back of my wetsuit so it was a little cold.

I don't think equipment was a problem because I was breathing fine for the first 20'.
Maybe I was tired + cold? But why the claustrophobic feeling?

Anyone got a theory?

@alex_can_dive what was your breathing like after you surfaced? Were you coughing at all?

Best regards,
DDM

 

[cmrangel]

I have a dive buddy that has felt something similar but only after being vertical in the water for a period of time, especially if we are somewhat shallow. If he flattens out horizontal the feeling dissipates. I am not sure but I think it has to do with the reg delivering air a the pressure it senses at mouth level. When you are vertical, the center of your chest is experiencing a pressure slightly higher since it is 12" ~ 18" lower. In any case, if you experience it again, you may try getting horizontal or even slightly head down and see if it feels better.