Diamox Side Effects - The Guide to Altitude Sickness Prevention 

I took Diamox on the Andes to prevent altitude sickness. I started the day before climbing from 600 to 2400 mt a.s.l., 125 mg twice a day. Stopped on day 3 after I reached 5000 mt a.s.l. Only inconvenience was peeing more frequently (and I mean MORE frequently) but I was also drinking lot more than usual (you get dehydrated quickly at altitude). One day I experienced numbness on my fingertips for 30 min. That was about it. No headaches, no vomiting, nothing else. No altitude sickness! I have met people being sick and was not nice. Glad I took it, I would recommend it

I took Diamox on Kilimanjaro and had no problems with altitude or side effects. I tried to NOT take it on Everest Base Camp Trek. I was fine hiking but somewhere near the end I couldn't sleep (because my heart rate drops so much). I ended up taking it and slept much better. Again NO side effect. In my mid 60s I pee every two hours at night so Diamox didn't affect me there. Love your videos. Keep it up.

Thanks for this video! We are doing our first hike at altitude and have been super on the fence about whether or not to take Diamox. Really appreciate your perspective!

I got height sickness at 3500m, then took diamox and got back to normal. My own expericence. Went from 3500 to 5500 with no problems.

Excellent video, thank you!

Very helpful man - I think I’ll just force myself to breath when stopped as you mentioned 👍

Excellent advice 😊

Hi, thanks for great info!! What song did u use in intro? Loved it! :-) Thanks!!

I agree with your cautious approach, though i didn't take it myself as seems to be the current on-mountain advice. Last 2 times in Nepal I didn't take it but had it in my pack and once over 6 weeks got a slight headache (Island Peak/crampon point) so took a ibuprofen and was good to go. You will be drinking 4-5 litres so consequently peeing 2.5/3 litres anyways, so adding to that by using a durectic as Diamox will further more interrupt your 12 hour night's sleeping which your body needs to recover from your hard days. I previously used half a tab on Kili for Chain-Stokes breathing issues overnight though. On the peeing I rec you take a 2 litre plastic milk bottle so you can stand by your bed in your jacket and easily use it and get back to bed, and its non-obvious to empty the next morning if you dont have an ensuite.

I just started taking Diamox before my Everest BC trek. I am trying to be cautious with the altitude but I am experiencing some of the symptoms others have mentioned. My dr recommended it as well as many others, however I do wish I felt a little more like myself on it. In Kathmandu currently and just not feeling great overall.

thanks for showing pics from nepal.

Thank you for the good information! I once got quite bad AMS with puking etc. on 5000m. I hadn't been taking Diamox. On another climb later on I took half a pill of Diamox every morning I was feeling great at 6000m. It's hard to know if the Diamox actually helped or if the second climb had a better schedule for the acclimatization. I'll be going on my next expedition to 6700m soon and I think I'll take the same dose as last time.

I’ve been taking diamox for about 3.5 years for a condition called idiopathic intracranial hypertension and I currently take 1000mg 2x a day. it took me a while to adjust but I’m just used to it now. I have to drink a TON of water every day since I’m on quite a high dosage and I pee a lot which in turn interrupts my sleep a lot. I also get the tingly pins and needles in my hands but it doesn’t bother me all that much cause I also get phantom pains in my left hand which are a kinda similar sensation from when my 4 fingers were amputated in a car accident in 2011. Not that I’m a climber or mountaineering expert but as someone who takes this medication I would suggest talking to a doctor to make that call as it’s a very personal decision that could have life threatening consequences.

I will be hiking Pike's Peak in July. We will be staying in Manitou Springs for a couple of days to have a better feel for the elevation. We will be only going to Barr Camp the first day instead of the whole way, getting up early and trying to summit the following day. If I am going to take this, should I start them when I get to Manitou Springs, or is it best to wait until the day we start up Barr Trail. Thank you for this information - great job :)

To test to see what reaction you may have and get used to it, would you take it for a few days a few months before your trip?

Mercibeacoup pour enseigner monsieur

Wondering if anyone has thoughts/recommendations about extended release vs. regular release options? Hard to find info on this :(

I have no experience of summiting large mountains, but I will attempt to summit Mt. Whitney in early November. I'm going with a friend who has summited a lot of large mountains including Whitney. He recommended me Diamox but I am nervous with drugs. Maybe beforehand it would be useful to take a Diamox pill where I live at sea level to see what symptoms I get from it?

So I'm going to Colorado for the first time in three weeks. The first day we are staying in Denver which is 5400 ft just to get acclimated. Then after that we will be in Breckenridge for 6 days which is 9,600 ft. I've never been to the mountains before as I live by Chicago. I was planning on starting it 2 days before since we are driving there and it's 15 hours and don't want to have to pee in the car a lot. I'm not planning on doing any climbing or hiking really more to just get away and go out west. Do you think i should take it? I should add I've always been prone to headaches.

Headed to Copper Moutnain for the first time in 5 years. We are leaving tomorrow morning and will arrive the afternoon of the 27th. We were originally planning to stay in Denver to help acclimate, but we cannot make it all the way there in one day. We live in Arkansas at about 250-300ft above sea level. Every time we have been skiing, I have experienced sickness very badly from altitude. There was one year where I threw up 7 times in 2.5hours, and I was sleeping most of that. I took my first Acetazolamide pill this morning. Haven't experienced any effects yet, other than my nose being a little more stopped up than usual. Really hoping it works, as I love skiing and I've never used this before. I will report back (if I remember) in a few days once I've been out there for a day or two. Till then, ✌

Hope this is useful for someone considering diamox: I've been taking diamox for years and my first few months taking the drug were rough. It took a long time to adjust to the side effects and how your body now functions with diamox. From my experience, the toughest adjustments were: The fluid intake and excretion: you have to drink a lot more to prevent dehydration, and constantly need to pee. The altered taste sensations: which impacted appetite and often accompanied by nausea. Pins and needles/numbness: Constant and responsive to temp change. pins and needles sensation is unrelieved by anything, and painful. Everyone responds to diamox differently, but I caution the stress diamox puts your body under. Particularly if you are considering using diamox as a preventative for altitude sickness as opposed to treatment.

Just curious...do you know if trekkers take Diamox at the same time as ibuprofen?

Surly better to avoid if you can't tell the difference between AMS and its side effects. Very interesting to hear about this though.

Couldn't get above 4,000m without it :(

It made me unable to urinate until it wore off.

Can i use it for running at high altitude plz reply

Anyone use while pregnant?

Its better you people learn breathing exercices where you can learn the continuos and depth of the breathing.

I’ve read some info on web md sites and they talk about analgesics ! I assume it’s taking ibuprofen type meds ? I can’t imagine taking a pain killer ( ie Vicodin ) ! Pain meds w/narcotics can cause respiratory depression ! Anyway , this video was helpful! Thanks Much

Yep dont eat me

If you have to take diamox to climb then don't climb. I use it for stopping myself going blind from glaucoma its fucking horrendous and the side affects for me a suicidal tendencies and very dark thoughts. These side affects are far more prevalent then the hospital and pharmacists would ever tell you. my eye surgeon who was practising for 40 years was the only person that understood and fully accepted these side affects happen and told me they are a reasonably common occurrence. Just be careful this medication can be a death sentence on prolonged use but you will probably only get the basic side affects on the first few weeks. certainly don't take these if you suffer from anxiety disorder as you may have the mother of all panic attacks and with only thin air to breathe id imagine that wouldn't be a ideal scenario. I always feel lethargy on both eye drop and slow release capsule eat many bananas as this can and does from my experience deplete potassium levels rather quickly. I smoke cigarettes so if your super healthy I don't think the lethargy will affect you greatly.

Breathing out through the mouth!!?? Isn't that a bad thing to do? and the worst thing to do on a mountain?

you dont know to tell us you're not a physician. Literally, no one would ever think that about you. ;)