Tingles all over body after 1st lesson

[It'sThatGuy]

I went for my first scuba lesson and after coming up from practicing retrieving the regulator I got a tingly feeling all over my body. It went away after a few minutes and didn't reoccur the rest of the lesson. Has any else ever experienced this?

 

[jscott099]

That is the feeling you get when you are having fun my friend. It sounds like you are going to enjoy SCUBA. There is a saying in sky-diving...it takes about a month to wipe the smile off your face after you do the first tandem jump.

 

[vladimir]

Either that or you have a pinched nerve in your neck.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

"That tingling feeling" could be a good thing or a bad thing. In the bad thing category are things like a nerve impingement or irritation (pinch), or even an air embolism touching a nerve. Neither is very likely, but I suggest you call Divers Alert Network ( and join if you haven't yet) and get a competent opinion. Anyone reading this post who dives and is not a DAN member should strongly consider joining. I am not on the board there or anything, just a longtime member glad to have the insurance and access to the best source of information to get answers to questions like the one in this post. Go to diversalertnetwork.org.
DivemasterDennis

 

[Midget]

Will start out by saying that I'm not a doctor. Even if I were, I couldn't say for sure what caused your tingles.
Sometimes hyperventilation can cause tingling and numbness, especially in your fingertips and lips.

Enjoy the sport and always dive safe!

 

[Some X Dry]

Your hooked! Same thing happened here after my first try scuba. Private tour dive.

Do agree with jscott099. Want those to last for 48hrs straight?! Jump out of a plane at 11,500ft! Accelerate to 100+ miles an hour in a few seconds, fall through a cloud like in a cartoon and have your privates in your throat from the deceleration of the chute. Soar like an eagle and land like one as well. Good luck driving home over 40mph after. The adrenaline rush is that intense. Hint: Eat a light cheap breakfast.

Oh yea that's right we are talking Diving. Wait until you see your first large shark swimming up to meet you at the surface. Next big adrenaline rush! Adrenaline Junkies don't go to meetings. We join forums..

 

[It'sThatGuy]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I am really enjoying it but I don't think it was a feeling of excitement I was feeling, it felt more like the tingles you get from holding your breath for too long but I wasn't holding my breathe. (the 1st rule of scuba club, you don't hold your breathe) My next confined dive is Tuesday so i'll see if it happens again.

On a side note, I cant wait to go skydiving, that's my next adventure. I've got my fill of coasters, it's time for a real first drop.

 

[Some X Dry]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I am really enjoying it but I don't think it was a feeling of excitement I was feeling, it felt more like the tingles you get from holding your breath for too long but I wasn't holding my breathe. (the 1st rule of scuba club, you don't hold your breathe) My next confined dive is Tuesday so i'll see if it happens again.

On a side note, I cant wait to go skydiving, that's my next adventure. I've got my fill of coasters, it's time for a real first drop.

Reply to OP about skydiving:

If you expect the roller coaster drop (willie effect) from leaving a plane, I've never felt it. It's explained that I was only transitioning from the forward movement of the plane too the fall. Like cracking the throttle on a crotch rocket from a 30 mph roll on and hitting the NOx button. Serious acceleration. If you want the willie effect, base jump or jump out of a hovering helicopter. The sudden acceleration from a dead stop will always give me the willie effect. Of course not saying leaving a plane won't give you the biggest rush. P.S Sign up for jump school and your first jump will be deploying and landing your own chute with 2 instructors holding on to you as you FF and letting go just as you deploy. Much better than the spooning tandem jumps. 1st class 8-10 hrs instruction and paperwork then first jump. Worth the extra money too fly and land your own chute.

 

[kylgod253]

i felt it in my fingertips after my second OW dive and talked to my DM about it. he said it is a sort of DCI symptom and he gets it frequently just doing dives in the pool because he ascends and descends so frequently. he said he has never seeked medical attention for it and it has always gone away for him. the tingling stopped for me after about 30-45 minutes and i was fine ( still a little anxious tho ) i have yet to experience it again, however i suggest just for funsies that you get hooked up with DAN. its cheap, it keeps you insured and you always have someone to consult with who is a professional on the topic and can give you professional advice.

stay safe

 

[TSandM]

kylgod, I must respectfully disagree with your DM. Unless you are in that big European pool that goes to technical depths, it is simply not possible to load enough nitrogen in a pool to get DCS. You CAN get air embolisms, and they are a big deal, but an experienced diver should not experience that, and certainly not on a regular basis.

I highly recommend Mark Powell's Deco for Divers as a very readable reference on nitrogen dynamics as they are currently understood. Knowing how things work makes a lot of stuff make better sense.