Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board diamox

anybody ever use this stuff for alltitude sickness.....any side effects? pros and cons

thanks
peter

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Hi Peter,
I used Diamox for the first time before my last hike (up Whitney, over to Kearsarge in a day and a half). I started the dosage three days before my trip. I didn't have any hand swelling or the symptoms of altitude sickness.
I have suffered from symptoms in the past during extended exertion (over two days and 50 60 miles at altitude) kinda like exercise induced asthma. I did use an inhaler this year and that seemend to help me too.
I don't think it can hurt and I suffered from no ill effects. Good luck to you.

I prefer the side effects of AMS to the illusion of pills.

Please do it right or don't do it at all.

I use it when traveling over 9,000'. I don't recommend it until you have problems. The side effects can be tingling in the extremities, lack of appetite, the inability to drink carbonated beverages and a few more that I can't remember. The side effects can be minimized by taking half doses twice a day, breakfast and diner.

The lack of appetite is the trip killer.

Bill

I used it past 19,000 in Africa. No problems. No side effects. Many of the other's I was traveling with, who didn't take diamox, had a rough time at elevation. I suspect my 4-5 liters of water intake a day might have been the difference. My Sierra travels have taught me to drink alot of water.

Couple of issues, Peter.

First, unlike one poster implied, Diamox actually speeds acclimatization, it does not simply cover up the symptoms, as some other things do, like aspirin.

Second, the side effects are generally well tolerated......but the trend has been to go with lower and lower dosages, which has resulted in much less side effect issues. Many people are now using a single bedtime dose of 1/2 tablet, instead of the 2 tabs/three times daily used for glaucoma, and often prescribed. The side effect issue at this dosage seems to virtually a non-issue, except for cabonated beverages, generally not available on the top of mountains.

Third, one of the spectrum of AMS is a disruption of the normal breathing process, generally believed to have a lot to do with people's difficulty sleeping well at altitude. It turns out that Diamox is very effective at preventing this problem, as well. Inasmuch as poor sleep is a major problem with both physical performance, as well as clear thinking, this may be it's most useful property in multi-day climbs.

Ken you appear to be an advocate of treating symptoms

I am an advocate of accurate information. People need to make their own minds up about what they will do, and they should do so on the basis of accurate information, not individual people's biases, or what one person feels it the "right way" to do an activity......don't you?

And Hike Of Your Life - you appear to be Vince D. Your registered name already gushes.. Hike Of Your Life?? Gimme a break, that could only be someone who is gushing as to: Isn't Whitney the HIKE OF YOUR LIFE??

Or, I'm getting ready for the "HIKE OF MY LIFE" - what's your HIKE OF YOUR LIFE??

The Diamox issue gave you away.. Now please just go away... Eh??

As you read the previous posts, you will notice that some are in favor of Diamox, some are not. That certainly is OK. It is a personal choice. I prefer to spend as much time acclimating as I can. I also always carry Diamox and have used low concentrations (125 mg) from time to time. My last trip we spent 2 days/nights at 8000+ feet but still experienced some altitude problems on our one day hike above 12000 feet. Do your homework, learn what you can about the medicine (talk to your Doctor about Diamox), and then try it out if you want. Nothing is worse then altitude sickness to ruin your trip. Keep well hydrated and eat continuously. Otherwise you might feel bad and think you have altitude sickness...early symptoms are similiar between dehydration and altitude sickness.

You should do your own homework and decide what, if any, drugs/supplements you should/should not use. Also, talk to a doctor that really knows something about high altitude medicine or read one of the good books or publications about it before taking anything. Finally, you should recognize that different things work for different people. The thing that works best for most people (and better than any drug/supplement) is altitude acclimitization.

You should also look at Ginko Biloba - there was a clinical trial published in a medical journal, excerpted below:

Ginko Biloba for the prevention of AMS

More work is being done in the use of herbal preparations to prevent AMS. In a recent double-blind, placebo-controlled study study, 40 volunteers who lived at 1400m (4,597 ft) were taken rapidly to 4300m (14,110 ft) and spent the night. Compared to those taking placebo, subjects taking ginko had half the incidence of AMS symptoms, and those on ginko who did become ill had far milder symptoms.
Protocol: ginko biloba 120 mg orally twice a day, starting 5 days prior to the ascent, and continuing at altitude.
Results: AMS defined as ESQ-III score > 0.7 and Lake Louise Score > 3
Subjects with AMS: 7 of 21 on ginko vs. 13 of 19 on placebo
Mean Lake Louise Scores 3.9±0.6 on ginko vs. 6.2±0.9 on placebo; mean ESQ-III scores 0.77±0.20 on ginko vs. 1.59±0.32 on placebo
Conclusion: Ginko biloba was effective at preventing AMS symptoms.

References
Maakestad K, Leadbetter G, Olson S, Hackett P. Ginko biloba reduces incidence and severity of acute mountain sickness.(Abstract) Proceedings Wilderness Medical Society Summer Conference, Park City, Utah. August 9-12, 2000.

thank you all for your info; hike of your life i understand what your saying about going it without any pills...we plan to acclimate for a few days before we attempt the summit..we are from the east and can,t train for the alltitude back here....so cut us a little slack....we just want to be able to enjoy the beauty of your mountains....to all again thanks

peter

Peter, I am glad you are going to spend a few days at altitude first. Beats going to the doctor first, your personal doctor probably doesn't have a clue. Tank up on water and dont' overexpend yourself and you will be fine. Pills shouldn't be needed.

I learned a lesson with my nephew last month. While I was cruising along above 10k feet NP he was getting sick mainly because he would not drink water. I mean, not at all, he thinks straight water is "icky."

Again, just don't over-extend yourself and don't do wierd stuff like the stuff the NPS is trying to irradicate from Sequoia NP.

National Geo Adventure earlier this year said a good rememdy for AMS is chewing coca leaves. But they are illegal in the USA...

C Ya Up There