UKC

Ive done a few 5-6ooometer treks. My stats are always good but I get extreme nausea. I want to try some more trips but this is flooring me. I'd consider Diamox but dont think it'll be any good for nausea. Anyone suggest anything? J.

In reply to jpmci1:

Diamox will help.

In reply to jpmci1:

Hi Mate,

I used to be the same. how much time have you had at altitude? my 3rd high altitude expedition i was over 4000 for almost 3 weeks. The first week was horrific tent bound and vomiting daily. Eventually I acclimatised and was one of the only team members to get to the highest point on the mountain.

The guides advised me that next time I was at altitude I should see a marked improvement. I did a trip to the Alps this summer and sure enough- no nausea, for the first time in 4 trips. You still need to acclimatise but my advice is just go for it bud, you might have a few days of awfulness but eventually you will acclimatise!

In reply to jpmci1:

Don't expect Diamox in itself to help, may even make it worse, drugs on the stomach and all. However if your not sleeping due to the altitude and finding it difficult to get a good breathing rithem at rest, then I would take it as prescribed, you should never underestimate the benefits of a good nights sleep! Leaving Diamox aside, remember on any high altitude endeavor, trek or mountaineering, you should spend at least 1 day and night at a lower altitude after going high in order to Acclimatize. Did your previous itinerary allow for this, how were the rest of the group? If they were all fine and the itinerary was good, then it might just be the case that you need more time to acclimatize. From a medical point of view might be a good idea to get your blood pressure checked, at rest and after exercise, just in case! most Doctors surgery's have a walk in machine you can use yourself! Of course it could just be a case of MTFU and get on with it. For me when I'm not mountaineering or climbing I'm usually drinking so feeling Nauseous in the morning feels normal, you could try this as part of your training regime!!!!

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In reply to jpmci1:

I often get nauseated relatively low down, say around 3000m, when others don't. Nowadays I let myself throw up as soon as I feel like it and always immediately feel better. Have you let yourself do that? Don't fight it. You don't need your digestion process competing with the acclimatisation process for blood.

Because of that I often no longer eat dinner after arriving at a new, higher village/camp and just drink as much fluid as I can. I always feel better the next morning - if I didn't, I'd go down.

Most commercial treks and climbs don't really allow enough time for *everybody* to properly acclimatise well enough. Try to allow a little more time in the earlier stages, a couple of extra days around 3000-4000m when most start to feel the altitude, and you might be in better shape to go higher.

And of course try to drink at least 3l of water a day, in addition to tea or soft drinks with meals.

By all means try Diamox, assuming you're not allergic to sulphur drugs, but I'm not sure it will particularly help the nausea, if it's really that bad.

If the nausea is a symptom of Acute Mountain Sickness (as it often is), then
(at least at lower altitudes around 2500-4500 meters),
acetazolamide / Diamox should help.

It's not that acetazolamide acts directly on your stomach or intestines. Rather it helps to you to more quickly stabilize the alkaline / acid pH balance in your bloodstream. It's the alkalosis of the blood that is the main cause of Acute Mountain Sickness.

Ken

P.S. My non-expert guess about A.M.S. is that the blood pH getting too high somehow confuses your nervous system's interpretation of signals from gastro-intestinal tract. Or maybe the feeling of nausea is just a method of your unconscious brain's to force you to slow down your exercise rate, so you don't breathe to exchange such a large volume of low-pressure air -- and so your brain forestalls the dropping of the CO2 concentration in your blood even lower.

In reply to jpmci1:

Sildenafil citrate...




...aka Viagra

In reply to GarethSL:



Gareth,
It appears you may be recommending Sildenafil (Viagra) for prevention of possible Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). Sildenafil is a member of the 5PDES inhibitor group of drugs and both sildenafil and tadalafil from this group of drugs have been studied for prevention or treatment of High Altitude Pulmonary Oedema. There is some evidence that they may help with both prevention and treatment. There is no current evidence that they have role in the management of AMS.
David Hillebrandt

In reply to jpmci1:

jpmci1,
People differ in their reaction to altitude and the time and ability to acclimatise. Advice needs to be tailored to each person. Your problem may be a form of Acute Mountain sickness (AMS), or there may be another cause. Oxygen saturation readings are not a good indicator of your clinical condition.
It is possible that Diamox (acetazolamide) may help but again it needs to be a personal prescription based on a personal assessment. It is safer not to rely on vague internet advice.
I would suggest you contact an active mountaineering doctor with specific altitude medicine experience. He/She may want to work with your own GP. You will find a list of doctors qualified in mountain medicine at: www.medex.org.uk .
I hope your plans go well.
David Hillebrandt

In reply to jpmci1:

Don't ignore the other advice given, I just want to give a different perspective.

Summit days or anything else where I'm 'out of my comfort zone' always make me nauseous (a bit like the basic instinct to evacuate bowels, just comes up the other way).

If your stats are ok, take a bit of time to consider whether you are 'just' worrying about what is ahead - might be enough to sort the problem.