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[jojoroo56]

My husband and I are climbing Kilimanjaro in December, and I'm curious, has any one ever tried altitude sickness pills, and if so, do they work?

[ScottWoz]

Hi,

Altitude sickness can affect different people for different reasons. I've taken altitude sickness pills and they didn't work for me, not at all, though I wonder if it'd have been much worse if I hadn't taken them. None of this means they won't work for you of course. Might be worth sitting down with the doctor and going through the options, as Malaria pills will be high on the agenda for you too, certainly until you get to Arusha and above.. Which route are you taking up Kili?

[Paul]

Hi.

Firstly before talking about pills you and other readers should know that slowly ascending, drinking lots and lots of fluids and when possible, sleeping lower than your highest altitude that day are the best methods of avoiding AMS. Make sure you use that advice as the first preventative measure / treatment.

Pills - Diamox is probably what you are after. You take it 1 or 2 days before getting up into altitude and it basically kicks off your own bodies coping abilities. Does it work? I think so. I have used it and used it with groups of students and it has enabled most of them to gain high altitudes with little or no effects. But some still get AMS. And Woz did. Unfortunately doctors and scientists working for Pharma companies are greedy and some of the least trustworthy people in the world, so we can't be sure the stuff they sell works. But I feel Diamox does, or at least it helps. (Oh - it is a sulphur based drug so don't take it if you have a sulphur allergy.

The only other drug that you'd need to consider taking (but probably don't need) is Dexamethsone. This is for emergency use. If you are high up, get sick and need to descend quickly. Dexamethasone is a powerful steriod that reduces the swelling of the brain and gives you the necessary energy and boost to get down off a mountain. Have used it on 2 very AMS sick clients and it worked magic. But do you need it on Kili? I think some doctors might try to sell that as a preventative measure - it'd probably work, but it is expensive and prolonged use of it seems to be anti your good health, so I wouldn't recommend that (but I am not a doctor and don't drive a BMW, so what would I know).

[jojoroo56]

Hi,
Thanks for the info. I guess I just assumed that because I tend to get very motion sick, I would also be more prone to altitude sickness. I'm going to be using the Machame Route, I think. I'm up for a little bit of challenge, and it sounds like the most scenic way up, so I'd like to do that one, but part of me is wondering if the Marangu route would be better as far as staving of the altitude sickness. [

name='ScottWoz' date='May 25 2007, 06:48 PM' post='27391']
Hi,

Altitude sickness can affect different people for different reasons. I've taken altitude sickness pills and they didn't work for me, not at all, though I wonder if it'd have been much worse if I hadn't taken them. None of this means they won't work for you of course. Might be worth sitting down with the doctor and going through the options, as Malaria pills will be high on the agenda for you too, certainly until you get to Arusha and above.. Which route are you taking up Kili?

[ScottWoz]

Hi,

It's not about the route, it's about the altitude. Chances are you'll be sleeping in wooden huts on the Marangu, tents on the Machame. Apart from that and a different route through to the summit there isn't all that much between them. Altitude 'sickness' is nothing like motion sickness (sickness meaning illness) and is very serious.

Paul's right: the basic common sense actions like ascending slowly, drinking plenty of fluids and sleeping lower than your highest altitude that day is a must. I'd say minimum five litres per day and don't ascend more than 1000m before sleeping, to acclimatise safely. It might be worth reading up on AMS so you know what you're up against. Check out: ISMM|Travel Doctor|Wiki for a start.

Out of interest, how many of you guys are headed up there in December?

[jojoroo56]

Yeah, I had heard that the main differnece between the two routes was the huts. I've also heard that the Machame is a little more scenic, that's why we were thinking that one.

Thanks for the link, I'll check out the info. As of right now, it'll be just myself and my husband going. We're planning on using a group called Good Earth Tours. I've been looking into them a little, and they seem like a good choice, plus they give some of their profits back to the communities in Tanzania, which I like. Their itineraries for trips up the mountain are 6 or 7 days long. I was planning on doing the 7 day, just to give us a little more acclimate. We're also doing a safari. The group normally does the climb first and then the safari, but I was thinking about doing the safari first, so that we have a few days to get used to 5 thousand feet before we start climbing further (we live in MN, and the elevation here is only 800 feet)

Thanks for all the great help, I really appreciate it!

[rbisset]

It's all about acclimatisation! When I went to Tibet they advise you to stay in Lhasa for a week to acclimatise to the altitude (3400 metres). I had slight altitude sickness symptoms on the first day but it was fine the next day. 3 days later I was at Everest Base camp at 5300 metres having the worst night of my life, and I didn't even have it bad!

Take your time.