We Don't Talk About Altitude Sickness Enough

[pais alto]

Very ironically, though, diamox is a diuretic.

Go figure.

 

[Wolfski]

Altitude hasn't bothered myself much through the years but as I've become older it has a bit.
We start hydrating days before we leave the flatlands and also start taking a Magnesium supplement the week before leaving per a holistic skiing Doctor and it seems to help most all.
My wife last time bought one of the O2 cans as she's aerobically challenged even at home and she would take a hit here and there while skiing or walking around town and that has helped her, I take hits of something else, keeps me from getting a headache
I know everyone says to abstain from alcohol but it is a vacation and I've always not followed that rule but I do continue the hydration for the duration of the trip and always carry 5 or 6 bottles in my pack for us on the chair.

We also have used DoTerra essential oils, there's one called Breath which works well to help breathing and also Peppermint tends to open up your airways to help you utilize more

 

[Tricia]

Things can definitely vary ... I live at about 400 feet, and I've stayed on trips at over 8,000 feet 4 times now, with varying effects :

• First time - Vail, Feb. 2015
  • Flew to Denver, and drove straight to Vail with a lunch stop and a single beer on the way up (did not drink after that)
  • Had pretty severe headache that evening with some nausea
  • Slept very fitfully with occasional mild headache in mornings for the 4 nights I was there
• Second - Aspen, Feb. 2016
  • Flew to Aspen, did not drink alcohol for the first couple of days
  • No major issues, some sleep trouble/easy fatigue
• Third - Mammoth, March 2016
  • Flew to LA and drove to Mammoth
  • No major issues, some sleep trouble
• Fourth - Copper, April 2017
  • Drove up after several days in Colorado Springs
  • No major issues, slept well

Things have generally been better with each trip based on the different circumstances around them. I think my Vail issues may have been more related to lack of sleep which tends to give me headaches anyway. That trip started mid-week after some long work days to get the time off.

So my thinking for myself is start drinking extra fluids a day or two before, and make sure I get enough sleep heading into the trip. (Or have acclimation time like my Copper trip.) Hopefully that will continue to work for me.

So, either you're learning, or you're becoming less likely to suffer from it.

I've heard some people suggest that doing something physical as soon as you get to high altitude can help (a short jog, workout, or even a good walk)... anyone have any experience with that? Does hitting the gym when you arrive help?

I had not heard of that, but maybe

That' interesting Dave. I spent cinco de mayo walking/drinking our way through lodo with my son, then on arrival in summit county took a nice long walk from the Best Western to REI to the dispensary and back. Maybe that does work, didn't hurt

There you have it. Jimmy will be our test dummy.

 

[Olesya C]

If you believe things you read on the internet, caffeine does not seem to be a diuretic:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-l...xpert-answers/caffeinated-drinks/faq-20057965
http://answers.webmd.com/answers/1166858/is-caffeine-a-diuretic

Does this place need a coffee emoticon?

These articles don't say it's not a diuretic, one of the articles says it may be a mild diuretic and the other says that it could be a diuretic at higher doses of caffeine - 360 mg of caffeine or higher. However that particular study didn't not look at long term effects of caffeine consumption, so it has limitations. For reference - a cup of coffee contains about 100 mg of caffeine. Mayo clinic's web-site is a good resource, Mayo clinic is well respected in biomedical research world.

 

[Rainbow Jenny]

Acetazolamide is always categorized in pharmacology textbook as a diuretic. It was originally used as a diuretic before it was discovered to be helpful for AMS.

Probably more than you want to know about th drug below:

http://m.jap.physiology.org/content/102/4/1305

 

[pais alto]

These articles don't say it's not a diuretic, one of the articles says it may be a mild diuretic and the other says that it could be a diuretic at higher doses of caffeine - 360 mg of caffeine or higher. However that particular study didn't not look at long term effects of caffeine consumption, so it has limitations. For reference - a cup of coffee contains about 100 mg of caffeine. Mayo clinic's web-site is a good resource, Mayo clinic is well respected in biomedical research world.

I purposely wrote seem. May be a mild diuretic and could be if you consume 360 mg (around four cups of coffee) in those two articles. My point was, and is, that caffeine's reputation as a diuretic isn't warranted.

I know Mayo is respected, which is why I linked them.

 

[Olesya C]

I purposely wrote seem. May be a mild diuretic and could be if you consume 360 mg (around four cups of coffee) in those two articles. My point was, and is, that caffeine's reputation as a diuretic isn't warranted.

I know Mayo is respected, which is why I linked them.

I agree with you and agree with Mayo clinic being reputable source! I just wanted to clarify it! In my opinion you have provided useful information from reputable sources.

I have a Ph.D. in immunology and over 10 years of research experience in biomedical research, that's why I am a bit of a stickler for details sometimes, so forgive me if I offended you in any way. I didn't mean to, just wanted to clarify your statement as I possibly misinterpreted it!

 

[Chris Walker]

Glad you guys worked that out. Now can we get back to the coffee emoticon? I mean, this is kind of telling. Coffee emoticons: 0 Alcohol emoticons:

People are going to start worrying about us. Just saying...

 

[SBrown]

http://www.postindependent.com/news...aspen-helped-save-her-after-stricken-by-hace/

 

[mdf]

I purposely wrote seem. May be a mild diuretic and could be if you consume 360 mg (around four cups of coffee) in those two articles. My point was, and is, that caffeine's reputation as a diuretic isn't warranted.

I know Mayo is respected, which is why I linked them.

Not motivated enough to do the homework, but I thought the consensus was that coffee was diuretic for non-coffee drinkers, but stops being one once you get habituated.

 

[bbinder]

Acetazolamide is always categorized in pharmacology textbook as a diuretic. It was originally used as a diuretic before it was discovered to be helpful for AMS.

Probably more than you want to know about th drug below:

http://m.jap.physiology.org/content/102/4/1305

It is also an old school drug for glaucoma. When Marcia used to take it, she found that her contact lenses would keep popping off her eyes. They no longer fir b/c of the presumably decreased pressure in her eyes.

 

[Tricia]

It is also an old school drug for glaucoma. When Marcia used to take it, she found that her contact lenses would keep popping off her eyes. They no longer fir b/c of the presumably decreased pressure in her eyes.

Do dogs experience AMS?

 

[Monique]

Do dogs experience AMS?

The first night we arrive in Breck for the weekend, my dogs drink a ton of water, and they are also clearly restless and unable to sleep well the first night. I've always suspected they're affected .... (Or, you know, just assholes.)

 

[bbinder]

Do dogs experience AMS?

Good question! I've never looked into that -- but I may need to look into that!

 

[TonyC]

Do you see lots of HACE or HAPE among ski resort visitors? Or is what we call altitude sickness something else?

http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1888&p=10069#p10069 (scroll to second post in thread)
The above story is the only one I've witnessed personally. And Alta is not a resort that bothers me much personally altitude wise.

My observation is that the more sensitive people are affected enough to have significant discomfort with sleep altitudes around 8,000 feet, perhaps a quarter of people at 9,000, and it goes up from there.

The magic number at which there seems to be no substitute for substantial acclimatization time is 12,000 feet, at least for me and my far more fit accomplished skier son Adam.
http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9741

Adam and I shuffled our way up Mt. Whitney in 1999 after two nights at Mammoth and one at Trail Camp at 12,000. Adam (then age 14) threw up his dinner there and I rested but could not sleep all night. We took Diamox which did prevent headaches effectively.

We also had a trip to Peru in 2007. Most of us tourists fly from sea level at Lima to Cusco at 11,000 then head out for a visit to the Sacsayhuaman Inca palace ruins at 12,000, which is very tough on most people. They gave us the coca tea when we checked into our hotels and we also started taking Diamox the day before in Lima. For whatever reasons we all slept well the first night in Cusco and thus stopped the Diamox the next day. We had 3 days in Cusco before hiking the Inca Trail to aid the acclimatization there. The second day of the Inca Trail has a mountain pass at 13,800 and an overnight at 12,000.

FYI package deals to Chile in ski season will usually send you on an overnight flight to Santiago, then straight up to Portillo at 9,400 feet or Valle Nevado at 9,900. You might want to consider Diamox for that one too. We skied Chile immediately following the 10 days in Peru, which made that a non-issue for us.

I've hiked Highlands Bowl 3x, all after sleeping a full week at 8,000+. I also went to Silverton once after a week in Aspen and Telluride. A woman from Michigan who does cross country ski marathons was slower than I was on the hike at Silverton due to only half as much time in Colorado before skiing Silverton.

Most SoCal skiers sleep at home near sea level and are weekend warriors at Mammoth, sleeping at 8,000+ and skiing up to 11,000. So I am fortunate to be less altitude sensitive than average. I do notice with age that the first day at Mammoth can be a bit slower than it used to be. Also, I have only twice arisen early at home, driven the 5 hours to Mammoth and skied the same day. Both times I skied like crap, so I think getting that first night's sleep at 8,000 is important.

 

[Blue Streak]

Do dogs experience AMS?

Ask the Zigster. Duh!

 

[Steve Turner]

I agree. We don't think about it enough or appreciate how much it impacts some of our mountain guests.I live at 250 ft. 8 months a year and 7,500-11,000 the other four. My spouse moves easily from one house to the other but I find as much as I'd like to take a break from winter it's just not worth the 3-4 day acclimation. I've tried diamox and fluids and only found I spent more time in the restroom without sleeping or feeling better.

 

[Tricia]

Hi @Steve Turner Its been a while. (if you're the same Steve Turner I'm thinking about)

 

[markojp]

Getting a cold or flu on a ski trip is most likely due to the hours spent in the a̶l̶u̶m̶i̶n̶u̶m̶ ̶t̶u̶b̶e̶ ̶g̶e̶r̶m̶ ̶i̶n̶c̶u̶b̶a̶t̶o̶r̶ aircraft.

Caffeine and alcohol are both diuretics. Skip them to help your hydration.

No.

 

[Old boot]

I suffer bad above 5000 ft. Im just too stupid to take it easy the first few days (usually 3 or 4 days and Im OK) I get above 7000 and I have trouble exhaling so taking in deep breaths aint gunna happen, I get extremely dizzy and almost to a point of disorientation some days head ach full time.
I drove up past A Basin last week and was reminded (I had already spent a week in Denver so 5000 does not help get ready much for higher elevations )
I don't drink much at all if any the first few days. Whistler was nice to me last winter ,Utah this winter will be tuffer.