I've been diving now for about six years. In that time I've been narked only twice, but I'm a bit puzzled about the circumstances. Both times narcosis set in at about 120 feet. Both times were while diving Gilboa Stone Quarry. The puzzling thing is that I've been past 120 numerous times at other places without problems. I know narcosis doesn't follow very well defined rules, but is this normal? It concerns me because I'm not one of those who gets happy or euphoric. I get pretty paranoid, and my buoyancy control goes right out the window. This last occurance was just this past weekend. I was fine right up to 120 feet. Or at least that's when I recognized it. I realized that I was very nervous, and decided to head for the down line. By the time I hit the line, only a few feet away, I had ascended 17 feet and set off the ascent alarm on my computer. I am normally a VERY cool headed diver. I have been in at least two emergency situations. One involving a buddy and one myself. Both times I coolly handled the problem and calmly made a safe ascent, including a safety stop. Both were near out of air situations. That's why my loss of nerve, and more critically control, bothers me so bad. What kinds of things contribute to Narcosis? Are there any steps I can take to reduce my risk of Narcosis? Is it normal to hit it at 120 one day and not at 140 the next? Incidentally, I'm planning on taking courses next year in Technical Nitrox and Trimix. Will trimix help solve the narcosis problem at depths beyond Nitrox's shallower limits? Any advice would be readily welcomed. Thanks, Eric Mieczkowski
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