[MattS]

Originally Posted by Polyphemus

I get narked, when i first started diving and i didn't understand it very well it was shit. I found that first dive of the day on a liveaboard, just woke up. munch a toast, coffee....Negative entry to 35m in 2 mins is really good for getting me narked. anyone else experience early morning narcosis?

No, not specifically early morning. Any sort of stimulant (like caffiene) is likely to aggrevate narcs so I avoid it before deeper dives. If you need to wake up, try something that will raise the blood pressure, but not too quickly - like gentle exercise. It takes a while for blood pressure to get up in the morning (allegedly slower in blokes). On livaboards I find a walk around the deck a couple times before breakfast can make a big difference.

now i understand it, i have slowed down my decent. even on negatives. slow the breathing right down at depth, relax and concentrate on what your doing, then you can really relax when you rise a touch.

I don't rush any descents these days. A brief stop at 3m to get my crap together and relax, a gentle fin down and a pause on the shot whenever I feel I am working too hard.

once i had it so bad my entire vision flickered so much when i moved my head i had to keep it really still, that made me chuckle. it was like a spinning tv.

Yep, done the tunnel vision thing. It is not so bad, I just stop, breathe and hang on tight until it subsides. The total blackout is what scared the crap out of me. There is 2 minutes, a 10m descent (from 30m ish) and a 20m ascent, completely missing from my life. My computer assures me I was there. I was not very experienced in those days - not enough to know when to stop following a buddy.

i am looking forward to trying Trimix and seeing the difference.

Helium is not a panacea. We often hear of Trimix divers watching Air divers do stupid things. I can assure you I have watched Trimix divers do stupid things while I was diving Air. Helium is a useful tool, but it lacks the magical power to transform you into a better diver than you already are.

i have never understood the ego bullshit, "oh im shy when it comes to admitting the forces of physics also apply to me"

There is more to it than the laws of physics. There is a brain in the way and everyone's is different. Personally I never understand why some divers have so much trouble admitting they have one.