Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Diamox - Needed or not ?

Here you go: the "macho pee-shooter"
(I had to use that name -- It's in the first review on REI's customer review. Read em!)
With that thing, any bottle would do.



And there is this book, too.

Hi,
This is my feeling from my experiences which, in part, follow along with a lot of you fellow adventurers.

My thougts are that taking 125mg twice a day is much better than taking one 250mg a day. I can't follow the logic of giving you body a massive shot then letting it run out then giving it another shot. Surely you want to keep an even balance within your body.
So, if you are going to take it I think small dosage but at 8 or 12 hour intervals.
By the way my Dr said the now recommended dosage was 250mg 2 to 3 times a day for 48 hrs before going to altitude.
I have never taken that much.

As for side effects....
Why the hell doesn't anyone tell you about the taste thing. They give you a whole list of possible side effects but no mention of destroying your beer taste buds.....to an Englishman that is cause for legal action.
We had a Dr with us last wekend and he explained it is to do with the carbonation, evidently affects your taste of Coke etc too, then who drinks that?

Maybe my lungs are just shot from living downwind of a steel mill the first 17 years of my life.

About the pee bottle thing, just be careful when you need to take a sip of water in the night!

My friends and I did the Main Trail hike on Monday. I plan to post a report later today, but one of my friends did take Diamox, twice a day starting two days prior (Sat AM), and she regretted it. She told me to include it in my trip report/trip tips! It made her have to urinate very frequently, and it detracted from her experience having to wonder where she'd be able to pee next. That was especially a concern from the Trail Crest to the summit, which offers little privacy. We'd hiked as high as 11,500 (San Gorgonio) in prep of this hike, and she hadn't had any problems then, so she probably was just being overly cautious taking Diamox for Whitney. So if you haven't had altitude problems at somewhat lower elevations and can take some time to acclimate before embarking on the Whitney hike, you may be better foregoing the Diamox.

Neither I nor my other girlfriend took any Diamox and we were fine. We both took gingko biloba for a few weeks beforehand, since that didn't seem to have any downsides and was worth the small expense to try. I was particularly surprised as how good I felt even at 13600 (Trail Crest) and higher. And I spent a lot of time at 14,000+ feet because I waited for about a 1/2 hour at a point about 10 minutes shy of the summit for my friends to catch up and reach the summit with me, plus we were at the actual summit for an hour.

Laura

> but one of my friends did take Diamox, twice a day starting two days prior (Sat AM), and she regretted it.

At some point, especially two days after starting the medication, the amount of liquid being expelled is equal to the amount being consumed. It would be my conclusion that your friend was drinking more water than she needed. Ask her how much she carried and drank during the hike.

I have taken the 125 mg twice a day dose before and during a hike, and did not notice a need to go more often.

Just to clarify, she took 5 125 mg doses - Sat AM, Sat PM, Sun AM, Sun PM, and Mon AM (hike day).

I think she drank about as much as I did, maybe less because she was weary of needing to go the bathroom so much. So on hike day, that meant about 4 quarts over 16 hours.

Went up may 29th "day hike". Went from sea level to portal(there 6 hrs)and then went straight up to the top without any problems. Took diamox SR day before and day of. Felt as if I could have kept going!(ran out of mountain). I'm 55y/o... total time = 17hrs.(snow/ice slowed me down). This was my 2nd hike(half dome was my first). Did not notice excessive peeing but did have "the tingle" for a couple of days after.
Going again in Aug. with my wife (a 3 day). Will go slower and take a lower dose...probably 250mg short acting once a day...and see how it goes (wife too). Feel that it is safe to use. Agree to a trial dose before you go to check for side effects. Good luck! Robert D. (internal med.)