JoshuaJ
Registered
Okay, they're not gurgling anymore and it only lasted for an hour or two! But I wanted to share my certification experience and see what others have to say.
Our PADI OW dives were at Sund Rock in Hoodsport, WA back in January. My first two dives on Saturday were flawless, and I felt great! Well, okay my buoyancy skills were typical of the average beginner diver but not "bad". However, my first dive on Sunday I seemed to be exhausted trying to keep up during the tour on the bottom. I remember coughing a lot, feeling like there was water in my throat/sinus. I noticed after a while that when I coughed it felt like the kind of cough you get with bronchitis, a very deep rough vibration in the chest.
I didn't realize how bad it was while I was under, and instead of thumbing the dive I just kept following the group. BTW, I was asked if I was OK twice and I responded that I was. I was keeping an eye on my air and started wondering when we would surface as I was starting to get a chill. When I was at 750PSI it didn't seem like anyone was considering surfacing any time soon. At 500 PSI I chased down the instructer, grabbed his fin and thumbed the dive.
When we surfaced, I was completely exhausted and about 100ft from the exit. I was breathing fast and shallow. There was no panic, I kept my mask on, and the instructor asked me if I was OK. I said that I was, but I needed help (obviously I wasn't OK then).
Every exhale made a gurgling sound and it didn't feel like I could fill my lungs enough. I was concious of the fact that I should be taking very long, deep full breaths in and out, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get the satisfaction of a full breath.
The instructor helped me with my fins, and I was able to carry myself out of the water and doff my gear. Once I got the wetsuit jacket off, I felt like I could breathe a bit better but the gurgling remained. I decided not to attempt a second dive that day, and instead packed up, let the instructor know I'd be in touch with him later, and left for home.
Somewhere on the way home the gurgling cleared up and I felt just fine. I was even a bit dissapointed that I wouldn't be making my final certification dive, but I knew I made the right decision (in fact a trip to the emergency room would have been a good idea).
I still don't know exactly why this happened, or what it was really. I did have a slight runny nose prior to the dive, so I thought maybe it was running down my throat into my lungs. I also did a mask removal and replace, so I could have had excess water in my sinus. The coughing itself was a bit tiring, so that could have been part of it. Perhaps the wetsuit was restricting, adding discomfort to everything else, and anxiety on top of that. Obviously my breathing was poor since I ran out of air about 25 minutes into the dive at 25-30ft.
I joined the next OW class in February and completed my OW training without a problem, and did an extra recreational dive with a DM. Everything felt great, and he said I looked like a natural! I've done 15 more dives since then without any trouble like that again. I'd be curious to know if anyone else has experienced something similar?
Our PADI OW dives were at Sund Rock in Hoodsport, WA back in January. My first two dives on Saturday were flawless, and I felt great! Well, okay my buoyancy skills were typical of the average beginner diver but not "bad". However, my first dive on Sunday I seemed to be exhausted trying to keep up during the tour on the bottom. I remember coughing a lot, feeling like there was water in my throat/sinus. I noticed after a while that when I coughed it felt like the kind of cough you get with bronchitis, a very deep rough vibration in the chest.
I didn't realize how bad it was while I was under, and instead of thumbing the dive I just kept following the group. BTW, I was asked if I was OK twice and I responded that I was. I was keeping an eye on my air and started wondering when we would surface as I was starting to get a chill. When I was at 750PSI it didn't seem like anyone was considering surfacing any time soon. At 500 PSI I chased down the instructer, grabbed his fin and thumbed the dive.
When we surfaced, I was completely exhausted and about 100ft from the exit. I was breathing fast and shallow. There was no panic, I kept my mask on, and the instructor asked me if I was OK. I said that I was, but I needed help (obviously I wasn't OK then).
Every exhale made a gurgling sound and it didn't feel like I could fill my lungs enough. I was concious of the fact that I should be taking very long, deep full breaths in and out, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get the satisfaction of a full breath.
The instructor helped me with my fins, and I was able to carry myself out of the water and doff my gear. Once I got the wetsuit jacket off, I felt like I could breathe a bit better but the gurgling remained. I decided not to attempt a second dive that day, and instead packed up, let the instructor know I'd be in touch with him later, and left for home.
Somewhere on the way home the gurgling cleared up and I felt just fine. I was even a bit dissapointed that I wouldn't be making my final certification dive, but I knew I made the right decision (in fact a trip to the emergency room would have been a good idea).
I still don't know exactly why this happened, or what it was really. I did have a slight runny nose prior to the dive, so I thought maybe it was running down my throat into my lungs. I also did a mask removal and replace, so I could have had excess water in my sinus. The coughing itself was a bit tiring, so that could have been part of it. Perhaps the wetsuit was restricting, adding discomfort to everything else, and anxiety on top of that. Obviously my breathing was poor since I ran out of air about 25 minutes into the dive at 25-30ft.
I joined the next OW class in February and completed my OW training without a problem, and did an extra recreational dive with a DM. Everything felt great, and he said I looked like a natural! I've done 15 more dives since then without any trouble like that again. I'd be curious to know if anyone else has experienced something similar?