 Poster: A snowHead
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I take Diamox (Acetazolomide) for altitude sickness but on one of my posts someone said they would avoid it having been warned by others who knew more about it.
Would any doctors or pharmacists on here take it for altitude sickness if they weren't sure it was doing them any good ? What I mean is I might be better off drinking more water - I don't know for sure and the AS really weakens me for the first couple of days.
Mike
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I have used diamox without any side affects apart from minor tingling in the hands. I have read about two problems with taking it;
-it may mask AS symtoms.
-it may interact badly with sleeping tablets which are also somtimes used by climbers.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I took it on one trip and it was great but it was a swift up & down having flown in from sea level. I did pee all the time. GP friends warned me against it for masking symptoms etc but given I was not overnighting at high altitude I considered it a risk worth taking.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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micky, Personally I'd get as fit as possible before heading to altitude, drink plenty of fluids (I aim for 3 to 4 litres a day) and minimise your alcohol intake. I'd be very reluctant to take something like Diamox in anything other than an emergency.
Also, have you considered having time to acclimatise a bit at a lower altitude? (Not necessarily practical for a 1 week trip I know, but it could help a lot.)
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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RobMcQ, Diamox isn't a good emergency treatment - doesn't get rid of AMS . Its best use really is prevention. There is little or no evidence I believe that fitness at sea level helps with AMS - which can someitmes strike only the fittest person in a party. Acclimation really is what you need.
As a doc, I would consider taking it if I was going to sleep above 3000 metres.
micky, how high are you going?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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There is little or no evidence I believe that fitness at sea level helps with AMS - which can someitmes strike only the fittest person in a party.
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this is my experience too - I was walking rather slowly up Mount Kenya, not being super fit, and overtook a young Marine, experienced climber at lower altitudes, who was suffering enormously from AS and eventually decided on the advice of his guide to head down. He was hugely fitter than I was, and half my age, but his body just reacted badly. He was very disappointed.
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I have seen very fit people having AMS problems as a direct result of being fit, as it enabled them to gain altitude faster than their body could acclimatise until.....
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stoatsbrother, interestingly, the only person who took Diamox (preventively) before my Nepal trek in October, was the only doctor on the party, a just-retired consultant anaesthetist. The rest of us didn't bother. We had enough time to acclimatise before starting to trek and only one person was afflicted with AS - at about 4,300m - and she was indeed pretty fit. Luckily she wasn't poorly for long. Others alleged they were suffering from AS symptoms at times but, IMO, they simply weren't being sufficiently careful about what and how much they ate and drank. I felt a bit dizzy once, but since that was whilst climbing up a very steep slope under a burning hot noonday sun, I reckoned the altitude was at most a small contributory factor to how I felt!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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stoatsbrother, Hadn't realised Diamox was not a good emergency treatment. Might be useful to know, thanks.
I agree that being fit doesn't seem to make much difference (if any) to the onset of AMS. Like others here, I've seen very fit people heading down with headaches, etc, while considerably less fit folk are still heading up. I do think being fit will let you enjoy your skiing a whole lot more when you're up there though.
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micky, only if I was going on a really high trip, well above a ski resort.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I run a Mt Bike tour guide business in Peru (very compatible with Real Estate, BTW), so I have a good bit of experience at 4000 metres and above.
I don't reccomend Diamox. Coca leaf tea works better, and is far cheaper.
Want to know a great drug for this?
Viagra. It really, really works.
Just choose your tent-mates accordingly.
Last edited by snowHeads are a friendly bunch. on Thu 1-05-08 22:30; edited 1 time in total
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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If you're chewing Viagra all day surely you can make your own tents 
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FenlandSkier, certainly poles to hold up the canvas.
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Flew in from sea level and went directly for four days skiing in Colorado last year. Slept at approx 2800m. I took an inexpensive prescription of Diamox in preparation for the high elevation and tight timelines of this visit. It seemed to work well countering my past history of susceptibility to mild altitude sickness. Although occasionally short of breath, I had no headaches and beat my non-medicated children to the chairlift on many runs during a full first day. By our second day, however, the teenagers were adjusting and I was back in my customary trailing position. A prescription of diamox pills enough to treat four people for one trip cost me only 2 dollars. This was my first use in 40 yrs of skiing. I would use it again in similar circumstances.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Only ever used it in Nepal ie 4000m plus, so can't comment on 'low' altitude use. Thought viagra was used as a cure for altitude sickness - it was the only time I've seen it used.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Kenzie, Used in patients with severe pulmonary hypertension too. Not just useful to stop you rolling out of bed!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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