Weird dive "panic attack"

[wheezy]

Well guys, just took a trip to Kauai for some hiking, some diving and some relaxation on the beach. I took my own regs, computer, bc and fins but I did have to pick up a new mask. Old one kinda gave up the ghost after nearly 20 years and was leaking just snorkeling. Pretty comfortable setup for me.

So, head to the shop for 7:30 check in. Meet some of the people that will be on the boat and the DM and I already knew the captain. This was looking to be a great little day on the water. We get down to the boat and it looks a little rough, certainly didn't cause me any stress. Once we were on the water, it was even rougher than it looked and the exhaust was getting to me. I wasn't feeling "great" but no big deal. We get to the first dive site, I suited up quick to get into the water asap as to not get seasick.

There were 2 DM's and my group would have 5 divers including myself. The site was a familiar site that I've been diving for 13 years. Water felt GREAT! Like 82 degrees, nice and clear, just a little rough on the surface. I hadn't dived in about 6 months and decided to use the line to get down. But as soon as I hit the water I realized how much current there was and missed the line resulting in a bit more of an effort that I bargained for to get back to it. Still in my mind, not a big deal. I start making my way down, equalize no problem. The bottom is about 70' and I start to feel like I'm short of breath. DM sees me and gives the OK signal and I signal back ok. First mistake, I wasn't ok, I was mildly stressed about my breathing. Well, I've never had a panic attack before that I can remember. I got hyper focused on the breathing and it got worse, I was breathing really hard and it felt labored. I was only about 10' feet away from the DM as he started swimming and it REALLY started to hit me. Went from hard breathing to panic that something was wrong with me, that I couldn't catch my breath.

I swam hard to catch him, full panic, wide eyed, grabbed his fin. He was my face and put a hand on my shoulder and made eye contact and led me back to the line. I sat there for about a minute, actually closed my eyes and focused on my breathing and told myself RELAX. It worked, one HUGE breath in and I had caught my breath. Another minute of focused breathing and I was totally fine. I probably should have just gone up the line but I felt ok at this point and continued the dive with no issues. SHORT dive at about 30 minutes I clearly sucked down quite a bit of air in my panic zone.

Very strange experience for me and I wanted to share it here. Even with nearly 20 years experience diving, it's not quite like riding a bike. Hind sight, pretty idiotic move on my part to have a long time off and then jump into 70 feet of water in rough seas. I let the number of years I'd been diving fool me into thinking I was better than I am. So, if anybody out there can learn from this, awesome. Think about a mellow shore dive or two before you make a similar mistake. It could have been worse.

Speaking of worse. The topside break was brutal. Another girl decided to feed the fish and that's all it took for me to join in the "fun". Blah. Of all my time in Kauai, worst dive day ever for me personally. Lessons learned. If you've got any candid feedback, let me have it. I've got thick skin and I know I screwed up. :shocked2:

 

[kevindsingleton]

A guy I work with is a private pilot. He keeps telling me that his hobby is better than mine. It's out little joke. He does have one saying that I think we should adopt: "Any (landing) dive you walk away from is a good one".

 

[g1138]

First dive after a hiatus will do that to you. Changing environments will to; put the 2 together and it's a lot of "fun".

I've had similar experiences. I did non-stop diving and training for a period of 1.5years before changing environments for a scientific field op in the Mediterranean Sea.
Another constant month of diving before I returned back to Monterey Bay and tagged along on a science dive for one of my TA's graduate project. I sucked a ton of air and just could not keep my breathing normal. Luckily we were doing bottom surveys, so I just fin tipped off the bottom and held the meter tape still in the surge.

Fast forward I had a 2 month hiatus of diving completely before pulling off my first checkout dive in a 40ft aquarium tank. It took a couple minutes to get back into the full swing of things; my breathing once again was very "new diver-ish" if that makes sense; and I felt apprehensive. Took a couple dives before I was jumping in without having that not come up for even a second.


I wouldn't give yourself too hard a time. Those 20 years of experience made your DM's response a lot easier than what it could have been.

 

[Searcaigh]

Primary objective of any dive is to come back alive, second is have a good time.

Sounds like your 6 month recess threw you out a bit.

Make sure you carry something to signal underwater with like banging a knife or double ender on you tank to get your buddy or DM's attention save your energy and get your breath back at the same time. Swimming after somebody just causes extra stress, however I think you realised this as you managed to calm yourself down.

Perhaps choose a more benign dive next time after a hiatus, glad you managed to get it together

 

[Russoft]

I had that out of breath experience on a drift dive, except we were swimming against the current. In hindsight, I assume it was CO2 buildup caused by overexertion. It was a terrible experience. This was followed shortly by a headache and then unreasonable rage/anger. I'm sure I was feeling a bit of narc at about 27-29 m (90-100 ft), too. It was not pleasant! I also felt especially seasick that day, whereas I normally only feel a little off when I'm on a boat. That day made me almost give up diving forever. The next dive was WAY better and got me back into it.

 

[iamrushman]

thanks for sharing........glad all worked out for you.

 

[Steve_C]

and the exhaust was getting to me. I wasn't feeling "great"

That can be a major contributing factor. I have not had that diving but have had it happen while trolling downwind offshore. It can really screw up how you feel and how you think. Like a dark nauseating narc.

Only thing I would say is once you splash and get under the water stop for a bit. Breath slow and deep. Get comfortable and then go down. A few deep breaths while not moving at an earlier stage or maybe at a couple points might have helped. Sounds like you might have keep pushing on rather than getting square with the world. Just my guess.

 

[phoenix31tt]

you didn't bolt to the surface, and you did what you were supposed to do (get the DM's attention and calm yourself down)...

i'd say your years of diving did help a bit

 

[redacted]

I work very hard at not working very hard. Overexertion on scuba can be a big problem.

 

[seeker242]

I got hyper focused on the breathing and it got worse, I was breathing really hard and it felt labored. I was only about 10' feet away from the DM as he started swimming and it REALLY started to hit me. Went from hard breathing to panic that something was wrong with me, that I couldn't catch my breath.

Do you think you were hyperventilating? Sounds like hyperventilation.