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’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 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.

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.

Sleeping at high altitude when you are not acclimated is absolutely distressing. you wake up gasping for air. I didn't get headache, but I turned yellow, had rapid heart beat, was feeling dizzy and like i was suffocating. as bad as that sounds, those are not serious side effects. Coca instantly stops symptoms of altitude sickness w no side effects if used correctly, (if you can find it. )

It made me unable to urinate until it wore off.

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 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!

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

Have read that old timer mountaineers took Asprin.
Don’t know if it is any good ?

Perhaps you already know this, but some people take Diamox to save their eyesight from spinal fluid pressure (and blindness) , even following neurosurgery, for a condition known as Intracranial hypertension, We how less of a choice, though it is always good to know more about sise effects.

Researched a fair but. 1st trip to EBC took 125mg by twice day. Read that studies may suggest 62.5 gm twice a day has same effect ( but less side effects) - did that last year  to ebc. no side effects on both occasions and no AMS... but who knows - maybe I would not need it in any event ( a good acclimatisation schedule).

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.

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.

Excellent video, thank you!

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  :)

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

Hi! Me and my wife are going to Colorado in December (Denver, Breckenridge, Denver, Estes Park/RMNP, in that order, spending 2 or 3 days on each city) and we are a bit concerned about AMS… we’re from Brazil and live at sea level. From the video I was thinking about not taking Diamox, but at the end you recommended it for 1st timers (our case). From your experience, what do you think? 😅 we will not do huge climbs, just snowshoeing

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.

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?