How to get diamox?

Planning on taking a trip to the high Andes this season. I have eyes on some 60000m peaks including Aconcagua. I will be traveling alone as these peaks are non-technical. Given that I will be solo, I would like to carry Diamox as a risk-management measure. That being said, I am looking for input on people who have climbed over 6000m before. Do you carry diamox? How did you get it?

Try Ibuprofen. Or at least research to see if it might work for you...

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30419226/

Here's an excellent article from the CDC about acetazolamide (Diamox) and other medications for preventing or treating AMS: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2020/noninfectious-health-risks/high-altitude-travel-and-altitude-illness. The main side-effects of Diamox are that it's a diuretic; it can make your fingertips tingle; and it makes beer (and other carbonated beverages) taste funny.

If you want to get it in the US you'll need to ask an MD for a prescription. The CDC article has detailed recommendations about doses. Last time I looked the cost was very low.

drug stores in south american countries have everything just go in and ask for whatever you want

Nathan Williams wrote:

Planning on taking a trip to the high Andes this season. I have eyes on some 60000m peaks including Aconcagua. I will be traveling alone as these peaks are non-technical. Given that I will be solo, I would like to carry Diamox as a risk-management measure. That being said, I am looking for input on people who have climbed over 6000m before. Do you carry diamox? How did you get it?

FYI, if you're planning the standard route on acon, you will definitely not be alone :)

edit: i've also never used or carried diamox on any peak

How long is the expiration date for that stuff?

I got an RX from my Dr.  It cost about $6 for 60 pills after insurance.  I just asked for it during a regular annual exam.

Edit: it appears that diamox is good for at least 48 months if stored below 25C.

Nick Goldsmith wrote:

How long is the expiration date for that stuff?

Pretty much no medication actually expires (exceptions to that include certain antibiotics) if properly stored. So no worries on using super-old Diamox...

I prefer dexamethasone, has the added effect of being a super antiinflammatory (joints won't get sore) Doesn't make sense to me to take a diuretic if you plan on exertion at altitude...AMS study subjects seemed to be sedentary tourist type primarily 

I have used diamox when going to altitude quickly from lower elevations. When given time to acclimate there is no need (never used it when going over 5000-6000 meters). As for getting it, as said above I just asked my doc for an Rx explaining what I would be using it for. Have also carried dexamethasone for emergency use. I would take it over diamox but not prophylactically.

Diamox is for the 14ers.com crowd - clueless, unfit, generally freaked out on 4th class and everything else too.  You’re living at 5k - take your time acclimating and you’ll be fine.

Ask your Dr. they will write you a script.

James W wrote:

Diamox is for the 14ers.com crowd - clueless, unfit, generally freaked out on 4th class and everything else too.  

 Last time I went to the Tetons (in 2017) I was 73 years old and had only been climbing for 60 years in all kinds of crag and alpine environments. Of course, we're always the last to know we're cluesless, but I've come to believe I know a thing or two. As for fitness, I like to think I'm fit, although having gaggles of chattering teenage girls blow by me does put a bit of a kink in that belief.  After some conditioning hikes, I soloed a few 4th to easy 5th class routes (in under guidebook times) and climbed some roped routes up to 5.9 without freaking out even a little.  As for freaking out on "everything else" I had a large brown dog rush at me from the underbrush and thought, for a moment, that it was a bear attack.  A bit of a freak-out did happen in that case, so I can't claim to have been utterly panic-free.

I hadn't been much above 5,000 feet for quite a few years, so figured a prophylactic course of Diamox for a few days at the beginning of the trip couldn't hurt.  (I never had any altitude issues as a younger person).  So I did that, but also spent several days hiking with each hike going 1,000 feet higher.  I had no altitude issues, slept fine, etc.  Did the Diamox help?  I have no idea.  It certainly didn't hurt, and if it somehow made my trip a little better, well then I'm just fine with that.

Oh---nothing in the Tetons is 14k, so I plead innocent to that charge too.

Yeah rgold - I once popped a Viagra too - you know, just to try it.

The problem I have with Diamox is that it’s generally taken by noobs who really need to learn how their body responds and feels at altitude, unmasked by drugs.  It doesn’t prevent the truly dangerous HAPE either - so if not, then really what is the point?  Spend that time you’re about to waste getting the drug and read up how others are acclimating to your objective - ie, the time schedule.  Sitting on your ass, staying hydrated and getting sleep - not rocket science.

Had no problem getting a Diamox prescription from a telehealth appointment with a doctor through ZocDoc. I just looked for someone who talked about travel medicine in their bio, and also picked up the other altitude meds as well. I used it on Denali earlier this year, summited 5 days from sea level with no AMS symptoms at all, so maybe it worked? But then again, its a diuretic, and I was drinking / carrying a lot more water than my partner, so it has its disadvantages as well. 

On a Mera Peak climbing trip  ,I used Diamox for the week we were camping and climbing above 16,000 feet so I could sleep and it worked . I was able to sleep at our 19,000 ft. camp & had no side effects then & after I stopped . 

I have had HACE and HAPE on separate trips.  The HACE episode was effectively mitigated by descending a couple of thousand feet very quickly.  

The HAPE did not resolve after descending and the doctor gave me Diamox (Acetazolamide) which did the trick over the course of a couple of days and the doctor cleared me to return to the mountains and continue the climb which we completed without further incident while continuing the meds.  The HAPE episode was during a trip with explicit, generous, and planned acclimatization periods.  I guess I am just susceptible and I will be using the Acetazolamide on future trips to high altitude.  Our doctor was in contact with the doctor who pioneered the use of Acetazolamide for HAPE/HACE and I asked about the diuretic issues.  We decided as an experiment to use 1/2 the recommended dose which was effective for me.  A paper was submitted to some medical journal detailing the experiment.

I have used Diamox several times on various high altitude objectives.  Sometimes it obviously helped, other times it was hard to tell, but it didn't hurt any.  Side effects were manageable.  I know how acclimatization works and didn't use Diamox as a substitute for following those principles, but sometimes practical, logistical issues interfere with ideal acclimatization schedules and you have to manage the situation.  Sometimes you do everything right, and you still get some altitude symptoms (usually periodic breathing disrupting sleep, for me).  Listen to a dismissive purist troll if you like, but I'd put more credence in the testimony of those who have actual experience rather than an attitude.  Plus one on the half dose being effective.

Diamox is OTC in Peru and Bolivia. But If you can, get a hold of it in the US and try it out before you go to see how you react.

As I've aged, I've become more affected by altitude--I now start to feel it above 13,000 feet and feel a little dopey at 14,000 ft. However, I've been to 17,000 feet with coca tea on board without feeling any effect from altitude effect. YMMV.

rose lives in Colorado and feels a difference in altitude with ageing. imagine us folks who live in the north east and are ageing. its really hard for me at 60 but was a complete non issue at 19... 

You might check out Altitude Adjustment. Have had amazing results with it vs Diamox for prevention. Although, Diamox is nice to have on hand for treatment.