Altitude sickness

Joined
Aug 26, 2013
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New Orleans, La.
Wilderness Athlete Altitude Advantage. Start taking it (per directions) 2 days before going to altitude, and entire time at altitude. Also stay well hydrated, avoiding alcohol and caffeine. Drink water with Wilderness Athlete Hydrate & Recover. If your urine is dark, you are not drinking enough water. Use a water hydration system while hunting and try to drink before you feel thirsty. Don't think one plastic 16 oz bottle of water is going to be enough- It's not. Try to arrive several days before hunting to help acclimation to altitude. If you can, try to sleep at a lower altitude than you are hunting to help your body recover.
 

johnhenry

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May 17, 2017
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W CO
Great discussion about all this going on in a thread in the Elk section - Altitude question for fellow flat landers that have headed west
 

AustinL911

Lil-Rokslider
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May 24, 2016
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291
Get some acetazolamide from your doc. It will help ward off any pulmonary edema, should you get to that stage.
 

willidru

WKR
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Jan 12, 2017
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California
One of the guys we hunt with gets sick almost every year. He stays in town for a couple days to acclimate. If I was concerned about getting sick I would go a couple days early without exerting myself to get acclimated to the altitude. Especially if you can stay somewhere off the mountain to get comfortable.
 

jspradley

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Mar 16, 2016
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League City, TX
Wilderness Athlete Altitude Advantage. Start taking it (per directions) 2 days before going to altitude, and entire time at altitude. Also stay well hydrated, avoiding alcohol and caffeine. Drink water with Wilderness Athlete Hydrate & Recover. If your urine is dark, you are not drinking enough water. Use a water hydration system while hunting and try to drink before you feel thirsty. Don't think one plastic 16 oz bottle of water is going to be enough- It's not. Try to arrive several days before hunting to help acclimation to altitude. If you can, try to sleep at a lower altitude than you are hunting to help your body recover.

I took that stuff before my trip to CO last year, I don't know if it actually did anything but I handled the altitude way better than I have before.. could be placebo effect though.

Hydration is a big one though, don't skimp on water!
 

S.Clancy

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Jan 28, 2015
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Montana
I think there is a huge genetic component, some people are just prone to altitude sickness, some are not. I've gone from <1000 ft to >11,000 ft in 24 hours, no effects. My brother and sister both will get it above 9000 ft, not every time, but at least 50%. Obviously, make sure you eat tons and keep hydrated, but at some point it just may be unavoidable and you'll have to gut it out.
 
Joined
Aug 26, 2013
Messages
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Location
New Orleans, La.
I took that stuff before my trip to CO last year, I don't know if it actually did anything but I handled the altitude way better than I have before.. could be placebo effect though.

Hydration is a big one though, don't skimp on water!

It definitely works for me, but everyone is different. I won't go without it. Try the Hydrate & Recover in your water. It replaces electrolytes and makes it taste better too. I found the Berry Flavor to taste the best.
 

HUNTNUT

FNG
Joined
Jan 8, 2018
Messages
51
Agree with Austin. Have gone from 1000ft to 11600 in less than 24 hrs several times. Diamox can be a HUGE help. Before Diamox suffered for several days with headaches and loss of appetite. Get some.
 
Joined
Dec 30, 2017
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NEW JERSEY
Get some acetazolamide from your doc. It will help ward off any pulmonary edema, should you get to that stage.

My doctor just prescribed this for me after discussing my upcoming trip. He told me it is a diuretic too so have a bunch of bananas. With my insurance it cost me $15.00. Seems like cheap insurance vs. home remedies.


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Joined
Jun 3, 2018
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779
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North Carolina
It can kick your tail. My first elk hunt I was so excited and SO SICK. I left sea level at daylight and was headed up the mountain horse back by afternoon to 10,000 ft. I was so sick by the next morning I could not hunt, head POUNDING and nausea. It was a many year dream to be elk hunting and there I was in my sleeping bag just wanting the pounding to stop. I got over it by the 2nd morning and was OK after that. Been 12 times and only the first made me sick. All the rest of the hunts I got there 2 days early. Spent one night at 6000ish before moving on. Made out OK doing that.
 

conhawa

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Apr 7, 2014
Messages
165
Diamox works great. I live in WV, and I used to travel to the Grand Tetons to mountain climb years ago. The first year I had major altitude sickness. I took Diamox the following 2 years and had zero sickness.
 

satchamo

WKR
Joined
Jan 23, 2014
Messages
706
Wilderness Athlete Altitude Advantage. Start taking it (per directions) 2 days before going to altitude, and entire time at altitude. Also stay well hydrated, avoiding alcohol and caffeine. Drink water with Wilderness Athlete Hydrate & Recover. If your urine is dark, you are not drinking enough water. Use a water hydration system while hunting and try to drink before you feel thirsty. Don't think one plastic 16 oz bottle of water is going to be enough- It's not. Try to arrive several days before hunting to help acclimation to altitude. If you can, try to sleep at a lower altitude than you are hunting to help your body recover.
I've taken this prior to 3 different elk hunts and had 0 issues with altitude sickness everytime. It might just be a placebo but if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
 

Jordan Budd

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Aug 8, 2012
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NW Nebraska
I just picked up the mtn ops solitude which is like the stuff WA has. We’ll see, I honestly usually wouldn’t take it but I’ve been completely down and sick for 10 days unable to really eat anything or keep up with my fitness regime. I go to Colorado the 24th so hopefully in the next few days I’ll be cleared to restart backpack training. I figured this time anything will be a help up there.


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stx.dead.I

Lil-Rokslider
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Oct 27, 2016
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I took wilderness athlete last trip and went to 13k feet no issues. I normally get rid bad headaches snowskiing before I knew about wilderness athlete

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Joined
Oct 2, 2016
Messages
2,652
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West Virginia
I have never had it but, I don;t run up to 12,000 feet the first day either. But this year will be my firs year back in a while. So, tomorrow I go see the doc for a diamox RX and I ordered a jug of the wilderness athlete stuff.
 

7Bartman

WKR
Joined
Sep 29, 2017
Messages
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MD
Stay well hydrated and get a script for diamox (acetazolamide). That Mtn Ops product is a scam. I'm a pharmacist btw.
 
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