Team-BHP > Shifting gears


Reply
  Search this Thread
15,292 views
Old 10th June 2010, 12:24   #16
Senior - BHPian
 
deky's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Jaipur
Posts: 1,194
Thanked: 1,214 Times

Any idea what is the prescribed dose of Diamox/AVVA for a kid 3 years of age? Would it still be 250mg to start with and increase if required or does body weight have to do something with it??

Regards
deky is offline  
Old 10th June 2010, 13:16   #17
Senior - BHPian
 
kaushik_s's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 1,088
Thanked: 164 Times

I had first hand experience with AMS during my trip to Ladakh and very strangely it attacked me on the last day of the trip. It's strange cause by that time I should've been acclimatize to the altitude after being there for 7 days. But it may be because I actually was not feeling that well previous day(stomach upset) and I didn't take diamox that day. This happened during out night halt at TsoMoriri. And let me tell you this is no joke and it hits you hard. I was down with a very severe headache and nausea for the whole day. Only thing I ate during our downward journey was apricots and water. But by the time we reached Jispa the whole headache is totally vanished and all that experience seemed like a very bad dream. I couldn't take any photos of More plains or any place enroute due to my condition.
So what I feel is that if you are travelling at that altitude it's better to take diamox whenever you are changing altitude again (Leh 10k ft, TsoMoriri 14.5k ft.).
kaushik_s is offline  
Old 10th June 2010, 20:41   #18
Senior - BHPian
 
goandude's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Mysuru
Posts: 1,761
Thanked: 1,275 Times
flying into Leh

We, a group of 20 odd are flying into Leh end of this month. I need some advise.

The trip has been planned by one guy with little experience and this is the itinerary:-

Day 1. Land Leh 7 AM and rest in Leh whole day
Day 2. road trip to Khardungla (5608m) and back to Leh
DAy 3. road trip to Pangong (4350 m) and stay there
Day 4. road trip Tsomoriri and stay there (4600 m)
Day 5 road trip , Sarchu, Stay at camp Goldrop (alt ???)
Day 6 Manali

Question. Day 3 seems to be very AMS inducing? Do you agree?

I plan on diamox 125mg BD on one day prior to flight, 250 mg bd an all other days.

any views? TIA
goandude is offline  
Old 10th June 2010, 21:05   #19
Senior - BHPian
 
deky's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Jaipur
Posts: 1,194
Thanked: 1,214 Times

@ Goandude:- I guess you are flying into Leh, right? When you fly into Leh the ideal time to acclimatise they tell me is 2-3 days. But I dont think we have that much time on hand

I think first day complete rest will do you good. But rest means no strenuous activities. Small easy walks of 15-20 mnts each in the morning and in the evening will do you good.

Day 2 seems fine too because I do not think you would be spending more than 30-45 mnts at Khardung La. Apart from the Diamox also make sure that you wearing sun glasses. The glare from the snow also induces vomiting at heights

By day 3 hopefully u will be better acclimatised and would be able to handle it well.

If AMS hasnt affected you by Day 3, most probably it wont affect you after that.

It is advisable to take 125mg of Diamox 2 times a day one day before you reach Leh. You could increase the dose to 250 mg twice a day if need arises or else just continue with 125mg.

Before taking Diamox make sure no one in your group is allergic to Sulpha drugs. This has to be done before you leave home and not when you have reached Leh or ready to fly to Leh.

Just remember any acetazolamide (Diamox/ AVVA) will only mask the affect of AMS, it will not cure it. So if AMS persists please come down immediately to lower altitudes.

Regards

Last edited by deky : 10th June 2010 at 21:07.
deky is offline  
Old 10th June 2010, 22:36   #20
Senior - BHPian
 
hvkumar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Mumbai
Posts: 7,369
Thanked: 3,454 Times

Pangong Tso (Lukung) has limited accomodation - I hope you are making your bookings in advance, being such a large group. It can be worse in Tso Moriri/Karzok.

It is a long drive to Tso Moriri, make sure you leave early since the last 20 kms or so is bad road.

Sarchu is at an altitude of around 4200 mtrs. By the time you reach Sarchu, you will be properly acclimatised, so you do not have to worry about AMS.
hvkumar is offline  
Old 11th June 2010, 09:58   #21
Senior - BHPian
 
goandude's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Mysuru
Posts: 1,761
Thanked: 1,275 Times

Thanks HVK and deky, all bookings are done in advance. I agree by day 5 at sarchu we would acclimatised.

But I am asking about day 3. a 750 m change in sleeping level. would that not be AMS inducing ???

AFAIK diamox only increases the rate of acclimitisation. and does not mask ams symptoms.
goandude is offline  
Old 11th June 2010, 10:32   #22
Senior - BHPian
 
hvkumar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Mumbai
Posts: 7,369
Thanked: 3,454 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by goandude View Post
But I am asking about day 3. a 750 m change in sleeping level. would that not be AMS inducing ???
Being acclimatised at Leh (3500 m), the transition to Pangong should not pose any problems.

When we drive to Leh, we seldom have acclimatisation problems as long as we have enough water and Diamox. When you fly down to Leh, the day's rest should help your body adapt to the high altitude.
hvkumar is offline  
Old 11th June 2010, 12:15   #23
BANNED
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Gurugram
Posts: 7,969
Thanked: 4,786 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by deky View Post
Any idea what is the prescribed dose of Diamox/AVVA for a kid 3 years of age? Would it still be 250mg to start with and increase if required or does body weight have to do something with it??
No, definitely lower. Search the web and you will find the dosage which is based on the body weight. The prophylactic dose is half the regular dose.

We are both 55+ and I have had a valve replacement. We were there for 6 days in May. Just started Diamox (1OD) three days earlier, and continued throughout. no problems whatsoever.

Two things more, when going through the high passes (KhardungLa, ChangLa) do not hang around for more than 20 minutes, and make so you do not have a very heavy breakfast/meal before starting.

Last edited by sgiitk : 11th June 2010 at 12:19.
sgiitk is offline  
Old 11th June 2010, 12:50   #24
Senior - BHPian
 
deky's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Jaipur
Posts: 1,194
Thanked: 1,214 Times

Quote:
Originally Posted by sgiitk View Post
No, definitely lower. Search the web and you will find the dosage which is based on the body weight. The prophylactic dose is half the regular dose.
Thanks, I did search the net but did not get any satisfactory answer. The net says the Acetazolamide dose should depend on the weight i.e 2.5-5mg/ kg.

But various sites also suggest that there have been no tests done on kids for acetazolamide, hence I wanted to know if some one has any personal experiences on that.

As suggested by you we also do not plan to stay for long at high passes, a few clicks and then descend.

It was just that should we or shouldnt we administer acetazolamide for the kid, as we do not know the side affects for sure ( as per the net the symptoms are the same as an adult, but very vague) plus we are also not sure if she will be allergic to sulfa drugs.

I think we shall consult a pediatrician. Would not want to experiment on our own kid.

But thanks anyways

Regards
deky is offline  
Old 11th June 2010, 14:20   #25
BANNED
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Gurugram
Posts: 7,969
Thanked: 4,786 Times

@deky: I think you are right. Ask the paed. Only issue is that most of the hills, incl. Uttarakhand are lower so docs do not talk about AMS. Remember quite a few friends, who had problems at Kedarnath. Nobody ever told them about AMS. In the Grand Dragon at Leh there was a leaflet from the Himalayan Club about AMS in our room. May be take a look at Welcome to Himalayanclub and there may be some information
sgiitk is offline  
Old 6th July 2010, 11:04   #26
Senior - BHPian
 
goandude's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Mysuru
Posts: 1,761
Thanked: 1,275 Times

Flew into Leh. Acclimatised at Leh day 1.
Khardung La and Monasteries day 2.
Stay at Pangong lake day 3
Stay at TsoMoriri day 4
Stay at Sarchu Day 5.
Of our group of 25, two of us were on diamox from day -1 to day 5 had ABSOLUTELY no symptoms of AMS. Of the other 23, two had headache and vomiting for 2 days, 15 others had headache for 1/2 days and required crocin.

Diamox does help.
goandude is offline  
Old 26th September 2019, 22:32   #27
Senior - BHPian
 
Urban_Nomad's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Delhi
Posts: 1,631
Thanked: 2,388 Times
Re: R.I.P. Yogesh Sarkar of BCMTouring.com

Quote:
Originally Posted by fine69 View Post
HAPE - High Altitude Pulmonary Edema.

Those small portable cylinders are a gimmick and just don't work the way people think they would.

Now a 300 ltr oxygen cylinder is part of my mountain kit because having experienced AMS first hand, I can tell you that it can turn into HAPE/HACE if left untreated.
Super helpful post, thank you so much for sharing. Were can you buy one of these 300 ltr cylinders? Online or did you go to a medical facility?

Hope more people read this post. Knowledge is power
Urban_Nomad is offline  
Old 26th September 2019, 22:40   #28
Team-BHP Support
 
Jaggu's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 20,207
Thanked: 15,848 Times
Re: All About AMS (acute mountain sickness) Prevention and Cure

The smaller cans are stop gap to get help. It works well for that. Larger cylinder would need to be purchased locally. Carrying it, esp in aircraft’s am not sure if it’s practical.
Jaggu is offline  
Old 27th September 2019, 01:17   #29
Senior - BHPian
 
Jaguar's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 1,198
Thanked: 2,491 Times
Re: All About AMS (acute mountain sickness) Prevention and Cure

A friend of mine from Denver (which is a mile above sea level) and is home to many high altititude ski resorts was telling me that self-medication using cannister oxygen is now being discouraged. Apparently, self administration was leading to more complications. So, the suggested course of action is to seek medical help and descend asap.
Jaguar is offline  
Old 30th September 2019, 10:59   #30
Senior - BHPian
 
fine69's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: New Delhi
Posts: 1,591
Thanked: 1,467 Times
Re: R.I.P. Yogesh Sarkar of BCMTouring.com

Quote:
Originally Posted by Urban_Nomad View Post
Super helpful post, thank you so much for sharing. Were can you buy one of these 300 ltr cylinders? Online or did you go to a medical facility?

Hope more people read this post. Knowledge is power
I had one of my friends get it when he was buying one for himself.

https://www.oxygo.in/products/details/oxygolite-1

This one is available on amazon also, I just checked. However, an acquaintance had trouble getting his oxygen cylinder refilled because he didn't have the right adapter that most use to refill cylinders.

I'd suggest you write to these guys or check locally to ensure that the cylinder you buy can be refilled with ease.

To add, aluminium cylinders are going to be lightweight whereas steel ones would be heavy, so decide accordingly.

Lastly, there are a lot of self-proclaimed experts who have gone to the extent of telling me to stay hydrated and not think too much about AMS else it'll hit me for sure. Then there's the diamox theory (acetazolamide) which works great until it doesn't. Acclimatization is indeed key but still not a foolproof way of preventing AMS.

Now coming back to Ladakh, its great that you spend 2 or 3 days acclimatizing but what happens when you hit a pass which is 6000 or 7000 ft higher than Leh?

The medical attendant I spoke to told me that even in Sakti (not really the most popular place out there), there are at least one or two casualties each year due to HAPE.

So to conclude, my advise would be to prep well, spend time acclimatizing but those steep ascent to the likes of Khardung la, Wari la can catch anybody offguard so in those cases, best bet would be take a few puffs of oxygen before ascent, take few when up top and few while descending.
fine69 is offline  
Reply

Most Viewed
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Team-BHP.com
Proudly powered by E2E Networks