Nitrox Question (lack of energy and heartburn)

[kmurray719]

I should add, that it is not just a lack of energy, but that I feel kind of 'yucky' after my 2nd/3rd dive - how is that for a good description!

I used to feel like this after multiple dive days on a trip. The term I used was "feeling like junk." I found that when I made a conscious effort to do my ascents very slowly it made all the difference, especially in the last 15-20 feet. I can now do 3-4 dives a day and still feel fantastic afterwards. It's sort of a challenge now to see just how slow I can get from my safety stop to the surface.

 

[Hatul]

I get heartburn as well frequently when I dive. I think it has to do with the head down position, and can be prevented by taking one of the H2 blockers like famotidine, or ranitidine (Pepcid or Zantac) a couple of hours before diving and are without prescription.

I've also had somnolence after diving and I think it's partly waking up early and the work of diving, but also has to do with the effect of nitrogen at high partial pressures. It acts as a narcotic and I believe there is some residual effect.

Adam

 

[TSandM]

Karen, are you diving wet? Coping with cold is exhausting. I dive in Puget Sound in a dry suit, with good undergarments, but I really don't have any appetite for a third dive in a day. I have done a couple of three tank charters, and I'm just all done in at the end of them. Nitrox is not going to help with that, or with the general fatigue of manhandling heavy gear around on a moving boat.

I am one of those who believes there is enough information out there to describe a subclinical decompression stress, and that is something that can be alleviated with Nitrox. But I think it's often only a very small part of multi-dive fatigue in cold water.

As far as the heartburn goes, I'd look hard at where your daily routine changes when you are diving. Do you drink coffee on dive days that you don't drink normally? Eat greasier food? Eat more? Drink more fluids? Lots of things can increase intragastric pressure or relax the esophageal sphincter and cause reflux. And most reflux isn't related to excessive acid production (unlike ulcers) but is simply the presence of acid in an area that isn't designed to cope with it. Antacid medications don't cure the reflux, but reduce the inflammation and damage done by the fluid that refluxes.

 

[captain]

Low energy and heartburn were the symptoms I was having during physical activity that increased my heart rate. Turned out to be blockage in 3 coronary arteries supplying blood to my heart, get checked.

 

[seaducer]

I am one of those who believes there is enough information out there to describe a subclinical decompression stress, and that is something that can be alleviated with Nitrox.

I was wondering if the lesser fatigue and lesser soreness when diving Nitrox might not also be related to hyperbaric O2 therapy?

Might it be possible that breathing EANx at depth is giving an accelerated healing affect? We are talking minute damage that causes muscle soreness from work or lactic acididosis. Even though we are talking about only a small increase in O2 compared to hyperbaric O2 therapy, we are also talking about very small injuries compared to what that treatment is used for.

Just a something I think of when people say there is no scientific evidence that Nitrox relieves soreness and fatigue, I kind of think there is, just not where we would expect to find it...

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I was wondering if the lesser fatigue and lesser soreness when diving Nitrox might not also be related to hyperbaric O2 therapy?

Might it be possible that breathing EANx at depth is giving an accelerated healing affect? We are talking minute damage that causes muscle soreness from work or lactic acididosis. Even though we are talking about only a small increase in O2 compared to hyperbaric O2 therapy, we are also talking about very small injuries compared to what that treatment is used for.

Just a something I think of when people say there is no scientific evidence that Nitrox relieves soreness and fatigue, I kind of think there is, just not where we would expect to find it...

@seaducer: Not sure how you're defining the "healing effect."
If you're talking about wound healing and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, there is a fair amount of scientific literature on that. Fibroblast proliferation and angiogenesis are probably involved.

A completely separate issue is the muscle soreness phenomenon. A possible mechanism might be interference with inflammatory modulators or perhaps a more direct effect on pain sensation.

 

[seaducer]

@seaducer: Not sure how you're defining the "healing effect."
If you're talking about wound healing and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, there is a fair amount of scientific literature on that. Fibroblast proliferation and angiogenesis are probably involved.

A completely separate issue is the muscle soreness phenomenon. A possible mechanism might be interference with inflammatory modulators or perhaps a more direct effect on pain sensation.

I like to think of myself as a fairly fart smeller, but some of those words went right over my head.

I guess the what I am trying to get at, is that if hyperbaric O2 has an affect on wound healing, could that be one of the driving factors that causes people to feel generally better after diving?

Muscle soreness is caused by damage inflicted from overuse, damage=wound, hyperbaric O2 is used to treat chronic wounds.

Maybe there is no relation but my somewhat logical mind wants to connect those dots.

While I have yet to digest your post, I am thinking that perhaps we are discussing very different wound types, and that one is not the same as the other?

 

[Bubbletrubble]

@seaducer: I was thinking about "healing" in terms of "wound healing," which relates to the repair process that skin cells undergo following injury. It appears that I was imparting more specificity than you had originally intended when using the term "wound healing." FWIW, HBOT is approved for use in chronic wounds, skin grafts, etc.

Technically speaking, you're correct in saying that "wound" can refer to other tissue-organs, muscles included. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

I guess the what I am trying to get at, is that if hyperbaric O2 has an affect on wound healing, could that be one of the driving factors that causes people to feel generally better after diving?

Definitely maybe.

 

[Hatul]

Another explanation for diving heartburn may be swallowed air. This may expand during ascent and cause reflux in a horizontal or head down position.

Adam

 

[djcheburashka]

Another explanation for diving heartburn may be swallowed air. This may expand during ascent and cause reflux in a horizontal or head down position.

Adam

Yes... And if you spend 2.5 hours per day swimming and you're over 40, you just might feel tired after...

The divers "symptoms" all sound perfectly normal.