In reply to Orbitolina:
> Don't worry! I'm more annoyed that the professionals aren't either.
huh? Just read the label: peeing is the expected effect. Whatever else it might do in the body, Acetazolamide is surely a diuretic.
Peeing a lot has little effect on your electrolyte balance. Though drinking a lot in response likely will affect it.
Orbitolina wrote:
> Your body reacts by expelling CO2 to fix the pH balance and as a result you kind of breath faster
> and notice the altitude effect less. So.. no idea.
Key missing concept here is that at the altitudes you're considering, low Carbon Dioxide is usually a more important for altitude sickness symptoms than low Oxygen. Low CO2 causes alkalosis. Having the wrong pH screws up lots of biochemical reactions, so it's likely a cause of many AMS symptoms. Acetazolamide helps return the pH of your blood to normal range -- which in itself resolves many of the symptoms.
Breathing more frequently does not solve most altitude problems, otherwise people would just do that (without any need to take Diamox). If anything, breathing faster and deeper makes the low CO2 alkalosis problem worse -- by increasing the exposure and thus the rate of depletion of CO2 from the blood.
I've been taking acetazolamide on every trip I make to 3000 meters, for decades now. Every time I pee more for the first two or three days (one reason it's useful to follow the _instructions_ and start taking it at least two days _before_ going to altitude).
My results make it way worth it to keep on taking it (and enduring the peeing) every time. (like right now I'm starting a trip today).
Ken