On Verge Of Panic!!!

[OnceLoyal]

Day one of trip I was pretty congested and decided to dive anyway. I hit up the "nostrilla" (my main poison for combating that) and felt good of down I went. 50Ft. Max everything was cool. I got congested again not long after only to blow a little bit of blood and cr@p out of my nose. Somewhat freaked, but it cleared up pretty quick. Next day night dive same place 50Ft. max. No issues.
Third day congested and hit up the nostrilla again. Seemed clear so went for it. This was my first wreck and deep water dive. 140Ft. Decent was slow. I stayed behind the pack and let the DM know my condition before we went in. The decent was no problem. We didn't have too much time on bottom. We enetered the wreck down along the walkway port side. It was tight with fire worms that seemed to be every where. No gloves and in a shorty I had a somewhat hard time manuvering. Suddenly my nasal cavities (I am assuming) started to close up from about 130ft. -140ft. It seemed like someone was stabbing a knife in my forehead. I am talking worse than I ever experienced any form of sinus pain. Clanged my tank a couple times I managed to get my way through after snagging myself for about 5 second on a growth off the inside wall of the wreck. The snag seemed to last 10 minutes lol. I started getting panicy (which I am a very very calm cool collective person in times of distress). HR went up breathing went up. I got through and deflated BC so I was standing on the deck. I felt like I couldn't breath. I banged on my tank to get the DMs attention and signaled to him that I need to ascend 10-20 Ft because my head felt like it was going to explode. While communicating to him I was telling myself to calm the hell down and got my breathing undercontrol. I ascended to the top deck and chilled out for a few minutes in relief of the pressure. The DM was very cool and I figure understood everything I was communicating to him. He made me feel more at ease. At this point it was time for everyone (all 3 of us) to ascend anyway. This is were the real trouble started. Up through 100ft. I felt the terrible pain again. I had developed reverse block ?? Long story short, I had to stop every 15ft. or so for a minute or 2 to equalize my pressure. I felt kind of bad because everyone else was on the boat for at least 15 min waiting for me. LOL, thank god I don't use any air. We had a safetly bottle at 30ft. I think it was, but I still surfaced with 700psi.
I guess it seemed a lot more dramatic to me at the time. I am a pretty new diver. I was amazed that I actually got worked up enough to get paniky (spelling??), as stated before I never ( or have never gotten) get nervous in emergency or odd situations. It is not in my nature, but there it was. At least I know I could handle myself. The thought of being down 140ft. and couldn't just bolt up was a little unnerving. I couldn't even imagine the pain if I did a rapid ascent.
IMO I don't think for one a wreck at 140ft for my first was appropriate. All in all I have to say I am pleased that I got to experience something like this to figure out how I would react. Getting snagged was pretty damn freaky. It was my 2nd stage that got hung up. I thought I had it tucked away pretty good. This is what prompted me to get an integrated one also. I don't even know if this story belongs in this part of the forum. For me it was pretty serious.

 

[rockjock3]

That is a perfect example why noobs should gain experience diving before trying more advanced dives. First, you kept diving for several days even with severe congestion. Medicines can wear off, just like they did, or even have different effects on your body due to pressure. Then you go tooling around a wreck at depths beyond those that are within your suggested training level and in addition are beyond recreational limits, with a rig that is like velcro for entanglement hazards. I understand it sounds like you weren't actually inside the wreck, but wrecks don't have hazards just inside. You were also diving on a single tank with air I assume since your profile simply states AOW. Don't get me wrong, 140fsw can be done on air, but for a newer diver you "probably" don't understand or know how to deal with narcosis very well. This just adds to the whole possibility of you offing yourself on a dive with this.

Thankfully you came out of it alive and unhurt, but you are lucky. This is how new divers get killed very easily. Be happy with the diving you are trained for now. Slowly build up by getting good at one level and then slowly moving up to the next either through experience or experience and training.

That stuff down there isn't going anywhere. Do us all a favor so you don't end up taking yourself or someone else out as well. Take your time learning to dive and progress at a speed that is right for you and lets you actually learn and absorb everything.

 

[OnceLoyal]

This med usually lasts me for -8-12 hours. Maybe at that depth for some odd reason it stopped working. A deep dive at this depth a required dive for my Advanced OW cert.??? At least I thought it was. I was just merely stating that a wreck and this should'nt have been combined in my situation. IMO the snagging was mostly related to me not being properly dressed for this event (no gloves to help control myself going through narrow corridor and the pain I think wasn't helping my concentration level.
I can see where you are coming from to an extent. I've done the class work and ground drills on narcosis. I don't think anyone can properly prepare themselves for something like that. What you have to feel it in order to understand it? Or witness someone going through it to realize what is going on? I prefer to never feel this or see it happen. I am quite pleased with classroom discussion when it comes to this.
IMO your answer is a little unjust in jumping to conclusions though I do undestand the point you are trying to get across. It wasn't like a buddy and myself said screw it lets jump in and see how far we can go.... So when would one know when they are ready to recieve additional intruction under the water?? LOL, do I need to log 5000 dives before I can start working on max recreational, night, navigation?? When do you feel someone would be ready??? I think the congestion was a major issue. The problem is I am always somewhat congested. This is something that I have to deal with. If I was scared my meds would wear off I would never dive. I think mixing the wreck and depth was stupid...DM said it was ok, so I figured I guess it is time to give this a shot. I take responsibility for my own actions. As for the panic which is what this is mainly about is what freaked me out the most. Point is just because I am new to the forums wth under 20 dives under my belt, I could put 90% of the people on here through some stuff that would have them freaking out in a minute in various other forms of activities.. Panic can and does happen.

 

[StreetDoctor]

You went to 140' without a gas plan on what I presume to be an AL80
You had sinus problems before hand that you knew about
You penetrated a wreck without the proper training
and your profile says you have 0-24 dives

 

[Seaduced]

Glad to hear you made it okay. If it was me, I probably wouldn't dive that deep with the congestion problems. That would suck, if you had to travel to do cert dives and will miss out.

But, it beats the alternative of a dive career ending injury to an ear or sinuses. I have a friend who blew her ear drum and has been told she should have surgery before diving again. She was descending and having a little trouble clearing her ears. Finally, they cleared, she thought, but it appears one was damaged. She didn't feel any pain. Right now her medical insurance won't cover the surgery, but she is working on it. She also has significant hearing loss in that ear. Hopefully, once she has the surgery, she will recover her hearing in that ear.

Darell

 

[DCBC]

Glad you were able to live though the experience. I agree with the others; too deep, too soon. Slow down and enjoy the journey...

 

[OnceLoyal]

You went to 140' without a gas plan on what I presume to be an AL80
You had sinus problems before hand that you knew about
You penetrated a wreck without the proper training
and your profile says you have 0-24 dives

NO GAS PLAN!!!! OMG your right I did put that in there? Oh wait did I? ****


Let me know your best way of training for a wreck....I would love to hear what you have to say for that. I am sure your just full of useful info.
Although I openly admit lol, this wasn't the time to do it....
I always have sinus issues. I try to deal with them properly. The descent went on with no problems at all. I think reverse blockag is pretty uncommon. I would assume you will usually know if your having sinus issues before you get to 30ft. I can usually tell at about 10ft.
SSoooooo thanks a lot for responding. Oh btw what if my profile said I have 1000 dives?? I think it is tools like you that make it difficult to believe wether or not one is being honst or bumping up their experience a little to show others how much knowledge they have.

 

[OnceLoyal]

Seaduced andDCBC I agree. The bigest problem was this was somewhat of a training dive. SO after a few hours of schooling on land what else can you do to prepare yourself for a deep dive???
I think the wreck with it was insane and shoud've declined the dive..maybe time for a different instructor?

Also I am looking into surgery for my nose to straighten things out, but I get so many different responses about this Some say awesome it will change your life others say the worst thing you could ever do. My ears never have a problem clearing. Just my frontal cavity behinf forehead.

 

[Bazooka Joe]

You went to 140' without a gas plan on what I presume to be an AL80
You had sinus problems before hand that you knew about
You penetrated a wreck without the proper training
and your profile says you have 0-24 dives

Flaming and Trashing newbie posters and divers seems to become sport as of late.
Street doctor, your profile is not filled out, how many dives do you have? What certifications do you hold? Don't call someone out on thier profile if you have not taken the time to fill out your own.

Although the OP is a person new to diving, I do not think they are troll.



The OP was making dives with a DM, now it seems to me OW divers are allowed to excede the "Recommended Limits" while diving with a DM. I have done this without a DM at my side and I'll bet you have too, if you tell me you have not then I am sorry you believe what you're selling.

The DM should have called the dive for the OP, the OP should see a doctor that has some knowledge of diving to help control the constaint and cronic congestion problem.

I am glad everyone including the OP made it through the dive and returned to the boat safely. Spending a little extra time on the line is better than not and if your dive partners know you are on the line equalizing there should be no problem when you arrive at the boat. I used to be the first back on the boat because I blew through all my air, now I am one of the last.

To the origianl OP, yes sometimes taking meds will get you through a dive, but you just learned one of the hard lessons taught in OW class. "MEDS wear off, don't dive congested"

Diving wrecks are cool and fun, get the training you need , AOW, deep diver, wreck diver, plan your dive, don't allow someone else too. When diving with a group, agree to a plan and stick to it.

You now know what panic feels like and you lived through it there are several divers that have not. When diving look at everything as a potential problem or entanglement, think though your dive, visualize what you will swim through and if you cannot see your exit...DO NOT GO!

New divers need encouragment and direction from this board not be told they are a troll or an idiot. At the minimum level new people coming into the sport, keep prices for equipment affortable levels, keep instructors in business, keep dive boats running and keep this board thriving.


I am glad your safe, yeah and based on the fact that you were honest and open in your post I would dive with you.


Joe

 

[DCBC]

OnceLoyal: I forgot to thank you for your honesty. It's all too easy for any of us to point a finger or throw stones. You've acknowledged your error in the near misses & lessons area. It takes courage to do that; I for one would like to thank you. I certainly can't say that I've never screwed-up. All too often I've had to learn through my mistakes (and the mistakes of others).

As far as wreck diving is concerned, build up your depth over time and take a course. Alternatively, you can gain experience by diving with an experienced wreck diver. Just make sure your already ready to operate safely at the dive depth before you consider wreck penetration.