Acetazolamide

Kristen_Olson

Does anyone have any experience with acetazolamide?  I'm going to Crested Butte, Colorado in a few weeks for a long weekend.  I usually get a little sick from the altitude the first few days, and, since this trip only lasts a few days, I don't want to feel bad.  I've heard you can start taking it a few days before you go to altitude.  My questions are:

1) Is it safe to take and still work out?

2) Would it really help?

3) Can I take it and still have a drink or two?  It is a vacation, after all. 

Thanks for any information!

gina

Posted By Kristen Olson on 29 Aug 2010 05:54 PM

Does anyone have any experience with acetazolamide?  I'm going to Crested Butte, Colorado in a few weeks for a long weekend.  I usually get a little sick from the altitude the first few days, and, since this trip only lasts a few days, I don't want to feel bad.  I've heard you can start taking it a few days before you go to altitude.  My questions are:

1) Is it safe to take and still work out?

2) Would it really help?

3) Can I take it and still have a drink or two?  It is a vacation, after all. 

Thanks for any information!

 

Kristin- I also suffer from altitude issues and have taken Diamo* (aceta*olamide) many times for ski trips. Really, no big deal. From a diuretic standpoint, it is pretty mild. If I remember correctly, because you hyperventilate @ ;altitude, your csf becomes alkalotic. The Diamo* helps you hold onto to H+, thus counteracting the alkalosis. Yes, start taking 24-48 hrs prior to reaching altitude.

I have skied, run, etc. while taking. The only drawback is that it makes carbonated beverages(beer!) taste weird. But you are a vino drinker, so not big deal!

 

Kitboo

I took Diamox (acetazolamide) for 8 days when I hiked up Mt Kilimanjaro. As Gina said, it's a diuretic so with the extra hydration that you're supposed to do at altitude it made for a couple of trips to the bathroom at night. Otherwise, no other effects. I think it really helped. I also took Ginko Biloba and ate alot of ginger candy too. When I've been to Vail, Beaver Creek CO without any of those meds, I felt like CRAP: nausea, headache.
Yes, you can work out with it. Just remember to hydrate really well. Same thing goes with the EtOH.

Kristen_Olson

Thanks, ladies! That helps a lot!

sleighcastle

I've taken Diamox/acetazolamide a few times, also for Kili as referenced above... a couple more things to add while a lot of people will give you an rx for 250 mg a day, I did great with just 125 a day. Other than the obvious diuresis, the most common side effect, which is the one that bothered me at higher doses, is paresthesias, or, in non-medical lingo, a tingly/numb feeling in your hands/feet/around your mouth. Totally freaked me out the first time it happened. And x3 on the hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.