headache and miserable 1st dives

[Daner]

I don't have my tables here are work but would 4 dives in one day with three of them to 80' be within NDL? (I assume the second dive would have been to 80' since I was taught to do your deep dives first. I am also assuming the dives were done on 21% O2 unless the OP took a combined OW and Nitrox course)

I'm thinking there might be something more to this story.

I would bet stress to be the cause of the headaches. Whether the stress caused CO2 loading or jaw clenching (or both) to do a 80' wall dive and not be able to enjoy the wildlife and formations tells me the OP was not comfortable for these dives.

 

[muddiver]

I have to agree with TSandM, it sounds like a CO2 hit. I will get head aches SCUBA diving on deep profile dives, with my Sherwood Blizzard and on air. When I started diving Nitrox the after dive head aches ended. Drinking more water the day before and that morning didn't help any either.

I am switching to a full face mask and a high volume regulator. I want to see if that helps prevent this phenomenon.

 

[waynel]

Loosen the mask a bit and relax. I learned that after a few headaches of my own especially at deeper depths. Ask someone if they see that big red ring around your face after you finish taking the gear off (as I did). Too tight. Even if a little water creeps into the bottom of your mask, it's easy enough to clear.

 

[String]

After about the 1/2 way mark, I noticed I started to get a headache, but paid little attention to it, thinking it was mostly just me focusing too hard on the dive. Coming up to our safety stop, it was worse, and by the time we were back on the boat, my head was about to explode. I sat out the 2nd dive. We went back to the docks, had lunch and after a while, the headache was mostly gone.

Sounds absolutely classic CO2 headache to me.

Starts on the dive, gets worse throughout the dive, on the boat gets worse again, real nasty pounding in the head mixed with nausea at times. Eventually it goes away on its own with time or sleep.

Look at the way you breathe, are you trying to use your lungs TOO much for buoyancy resulting in large breaths in, shallow out? Its common with new divers. Also if you're anxious, nervous etc you can breathe faster making it worse.

 

[60feet]

Contaminated air/gas? Not likely. OP had 2 similar headache episodes on two different boats (and thus air sources). Also, contaminated air/gas should have resulted in other divers on each boat also experiencing similar headaches.

Sinus headache from squeeze / reverse squeeze? Not likely. No mentioning of ear ache. Also, onset of each headache episode did not happen at descent or ascent, but at depth and half way through the dive.

Jaw-clenching-induced (tension) headache? Maybe. OP stated he was relaxed, but even some relaxed divers can clench teeth without realizing it. Only OP knows if he was doing this or not.

Tight-mask-induced headache? Possible. Likely? Only OP knows if his mask was on too tight (tell-tale sign: mask ring on face post dive). Counterpoint: upon ascending and at 15 fsw safety stop, decreased external pressure on the mask perhaps should have started to ease the headache if it was caused by the tight mask?

Stress-induced headache? Maybe or maybe not. Point: OP was focused (subconsciously stress?) on staying close to buddy rather than looking at the wall for marine animals. Counterpoint: OP stated that he was relaxed and not stressed.

Sticky reg? Possible. An under-serviced reg with dirty/contaminated internals can “drag” and under-deliver air/gas on demand, affecting the diver’s breathing pattern and can lead to CO2 retention, especially if deep inhalation is favored over (incomplete) exhalation. As an aside, the OP did not state if the reg was his or a rental.

CO2 retention headache? Possible. Point:

... I do remember taking a few very deep breaths, when you get the feeling that you need to fill your lungs with air quickly...

The body’s “urge” to inhale is caused by CO2 buildup. The OP was following his buddy and intently focused on staying close. How fast was he swimming? (Over)exertion UW, coupled with controlled, slow but incomplete (shallow) breathing will easily lead to CO2 retention. Taking just a few deep breaths may not sufficiently expel CO2 to avoid buildup.

Temperature-related? How cold is Nassau water at 75-80 fsw? Did the OP wear a hood? I sometimes get a headache when I don’t wear a hood and my head gets too cold. Likely for OP? Not if he wore a hood or if hoodless but his head was not cold.

The list for possible causes goes on. From all subject-related responses, hopefully the OP will be able to narrow down to one or two likely causes.

 

[Scubakevdm]

I have to agree with TSandM, it sounds like a CO2 hit. I will get head aches SCUBA diving on deep profile dives, with my Sherwood Blizzard and on air. When I started diving Nitrox the after dive head aches ended. Drinking more water the day before and that morning didn't help any either.

I am switching to a full face mask and a high volume regulator. I want to see if that helps prevent this phenomenon.

I think you'll find that a full face mask will tend to make CO2 retention worse because of the increased dead air space. I'm not sure that the switch between EAN and air matters alot either( I realize that some of the CO2 in the air is displaced by O2, but it's not alot, I don't think enough to really make a difference), but a poorly tuned or hard breathing regulator will make a big difference, especially as you go deeper.
The OP may not even be able to tell if he had a hard breathing reg or not due to the simple reason that he hasn't made enought dives to really be able to tell the difference. My money's on too tight mask, then hard breathing reg, or a combination of both.

 

[fq1234]

This probably won't help you since you are in Nassau but....I was getting headaches because my hood was not tight enough and my head was getting cold. They went away when I bought a smaller hood. This is more for others who are in colder environments.

 

[loudgonzo]

Well, I'm back home and checking back in. Thanks to all once again for all the replies, I believe this has made for some interesting discussion that will benefit me and hopefully others.

A few things that I will clear from some of the replies:

-I was on air, not nitrox.
-I was comfortable and relaxed with myself during the length of the dive, my focus on my buddy was because I didn't want to get too far away or lost. I was not stressed with the dive itself.
-I know my mask was not too tight, but will be more careful to recheck it on my next time out.

I believe more and more from these replies that it is likely due to CO2, and also going deeper than I should have for the first time. Taking all this into consideration, I will definitely change my next dive profiles and look more closely on my mask fit, breathing, and depth.

Thanks again to all.

 

[muddiver]

I think you'll find that a full face mask will tend to make CO2 retention worse because of the increased dead air space. I'm not sure that the switch between EAN and air matters alot either( I realize that some of the CO2 in the air is displaced by O2, but it's not alot, I don't think enough to really make a difference), but a poorly tuned or hard breathing regulator will make a big difference, especially as you go deeper.
The OP may not even be able to tell if he had a hard breathing reg or not due to the simple reason that he hasn't made enought dives to really be able to tell the difference. My money's on too tight mask, then hard breathing reg, or a combination of both.

Yes that is correct. What I should have said is that I am switching to a high flow, adjustable regulator that happens to be attached to a full face mask. On the M48 you accually breath off the regulator directly through a standard SCUBA mouth piece that protrudes into the mask. In theory that is supposed to reduce the CO2 build up in the mask, sort of like the oral nasal skirt in an AGA or an EXO 26 full face mask.

 

[Scubakevdm]

Yes that is correct. What I should have said is that I am switching to a high flow, adjustable regulator that happens to be attached to a full face mask. On the M48 you accually breath off the regulator directly through a standard SCUBA mouth piece that protrudes into the mask. In theory that is supposed to reduce the CO2 build up in the mask, sort of like the oral nasal skirt in an AGA or an EXO 26 full face mask.

Wow, that's a good idea. So there's a mouthpiece, just like a regular second stage?