The last 2 dives, When I finish the dive and climb back on board the boat, I have felt like and have barfed. I am either swallowing salt water. Or it could have been just the 3-5 foot seas. I don't know. But after barfing over the side I felt O.K. I'm not sea sick. Maybe just over exerted climbing back on board. Any body else have this issue??
Anytime you have symptoms like this folks are instantly going to jump on sea sickness. I'm not saying that it may not simply be sea sickness but, I'll also tell you that there's a chance it may NOT be sea sickness.
I have experienced similar issues ever since I've recently gotten back into diving. However, mine are much worse. I got sick after my first dive during my pool work. I got sick diving at Jules Verne in Key Largo (protected lagoon) and barfed in my regulator 30 feet down, and I most recently got sick coming out of the water after a quarry dive. In every case there was of course, no current, no surge, and no swells.
As of yet, I have not determined the exact cause of my own diving sickness. I do know that I'm highly prone to sea sickness. But, when I was diving over 30 years ago, diving in calm, protected waters never bothered me.
Normally, the nearly weightless atmosphere of diving doesn't bother folks. However, some folks it does. So, it's possible that diving by itself (even with no current, surge, or swells) is causing sea sickness. In the past, for me, Transderm Scop patches (Scopolamine) are the only thing that has prevented sea sickness. Meclizine (Dramamine II, Bonine) do not normally work for me. However, my next protected water dive, I'll medicate with meclizine prior to diving to see if it helps. And, going forward, I will be using both patches and meclizine prior to a boat dive. I've talked to folks recently who use Scopolamine, Meclizine, and Zofran together while diving and still get sick. But, they make it tolerable.
The other possibility is excess CO2 (carbon dioxide) in your blood. I just became aware of this yesterday via some old posts on Scubaboard. Apparently, if you do not fully exhale when you are breathing, it can cause a buildup of excess CO2 in your blood (Hypercapnia). Now, some folks will tell you that nausea is not a symptom of hypercapnia and others will tell you it is. However, it has long been standard practice in the medical field to induce hypercapnia because in speed recovery from anesthesia. However, it apparently also results in an increase in post operative nausea and vomiting (PONV). I'm not a medical professional. I'm just spewing forth (pun intented) the results of my research thus far.
I know that with my own breathing, I find myself frequently not fully exhaling. Most often this happens if I'm near the bottom and I don't want to become negatively buoyant by fully exhaling. For me, as a test on my next protected water dive, I plan to concentrate on fully exhale with each breath and see if that helps with my post-dive nausea.
And yes, so no one has to say it, I also plan to give DAN a call to see if they can put me in contact with a doctor who specializes in diving nausea.
Hope this helps.
