Eydie DeVincenzi on mon 17 aug 98
------------------
Hello Colorado Potters:
I just returned from an =5Bshort-lived=5D meeting in Breckenridge. I was
supposed to return home to Maryland on Monday, but I was among a handful of
people at the meeting who fell victim to Altitude Sickness. Prior to this
trip, I never heard of such a thing. But I can tell you that it was
painfully REAL. I tried extra-strength Tylenol (suggested by the drug
store) and drank water constantly and drank no alcohol. I am in good
physical shape but that has nothing to do with it I am told. I had to
leave Colorado abruptly on Saturday morning. On the shuttle to the
Airport, a lady told me that she takes Fioricet for Altitude Sickness which
she gets every year when she goes to Breckenridge. Since I will be
attending meetings in Colorado every August from now on, I am looking for a
=22cure=22. Next year, I was also considering taking a workshop at Anderson
Ranch after my meeting. But I may have to scrap that plan, sadly.
Does anyone know about this prescription drug? Any other suggestions? I
found no reference to this Sickness in any literature about the Resort.
Yet the Shuttle driver told us about many many people whose vacations were
cut short by this Sickness. Must be a taboo subject =3Cg=3E.
Feeling better at Sea Level,
Eydie DeVincenzi
74647.404=40compuserve.com
LOWELL BAKER on tue 18 aug 98
I am fortunate enough to own land and a cabin in southern Colorado.
The lowest elevation on my land is 10500 feet with three peaks in
excess of 12200 feet.
Over the past forty years I have found that a day or so at between
5000 and 7000 feet is the best way for a healthy person to stand the
high elevation. Your body will acclimate in about three days to the
higher elevations anyway. Be cautious. People die at elevations
higher than 10,000ft from problems associated with the elevation.
The ski areas don't want us flatlanders to know this.
Don't run any races for about a week, eat small meals, no alcohol and
I would stay away from any drugs which might accelerate bleeding,
(thin the blood) like aspirin. I cannot imaging what Tylenol would do
except kill the headache pain; it may make the real problem worse.
As a kid I liked to go above 12000 ft and run a little. You get
instant tunnel vision and if you keep going you lose color vision and
soon black out. Pretty cool if you are ten but not so cool when you
are fifty.
I went to the ocean this summer instead of the mountains. I
certainly miss them.
Lowell
in Alabama
John F. Shampton on tue 18 aug 98
>
> Does anyone know about this prescription drug? Any other suggestions? I
> found no reference to this Sickness in any literature about the Resort.
> Yet the Shuttle driver told us about many many people whose vacations were
> cut short by this Sickness. Must be a taboo subject .
>
> Feeling better at Sea Level,
> Eydie DeVincenzi
Eydie,
The resorts probably don't like to say anything about it, but enter
"altitude sickness" in your search engine and you'll get lots of info
off the net.
Skiers are more familiar with this problem than potters, of course.
Ask your doctor about acetazolamide (trade name "Diamox") I can attest
that it works, although it makes cola drinks taste funny!
John S in Texas
who just got back to the flatlands from Colorado and wants to go back.
Right now.
Regards,
DrJohn
**********************************************************************
John F. Shampton, JD, PhD
Professor of Business and Business Law
Adjunct Professor of Law
Texas Wesleyan University, Fort Worth, Texas
jshampton@sprynet.com shamptonj@txwes.edu (817)531-7593
**********************************************************************
Phyllis E. Tilton on tue 18 aug 98
Eydie: I am a retired pharmacist and do have the information at hand about
Fioricet. If you can go to your pharmacist-she/he can give you the package
insert or if they have the service-a print out giving you what it is and does.
Another source is your public library. They will have a copy of the Physicians
Desk Reference(PDR) that is a compilation of some package inserts. Another
reference is a book called Facts and Comparison. That was our bible!!!! It is
so comprehensive that it tells you more than you really want to know sometimes
but has ALL the info. Your doctor can tell you if the drug will do what you
need also.
Good luck and good health!!
Phyllis Tilton
Kenneth Poe on tue 18 aug 98
Hi Eydie,
Altitude Sickness is rela and can be very dangerous, especially the higher
you go and the more streneous your activities. I've spent a fair amount of
time ---all seasons---in the high country in Coloroad and intially, the
only thing that worked for me was aclimating myself to the region----the
first time I was in the Aspen/Breck area the same thing happend---but on
subsequent trips I usually spent a day in Denver before going to the high
country. After about six months of traveling back and forth ---I am out
there about every 4-5 weeks---the symptons did not reoccur. Other things
you can try;
Drink plenty of water
Avoid Alcohol
Avoid Caffeine
If you start to feel the affects, rest and go to a lower elevation. If
symptoins persist, or get worse when you are at the lower altitude, see a
Doctor immediately.
Good Luck
At 11:38 AM 8/17/98 EDT, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>------------------
>Hello Colorado Potters:
>
>I just returned from an [short-lived] meeting in Breckenridge. I was
>supposed to return home to Maryland on Monday, but I was among a handful of
>people at the meeting who fell victim to Altitude Sickness. Prior to this
>trip, I never heard of such a thing. But I can tell you that it was
>painfully REAL. I tried extra-strength Tylenol (suggested by the drug
>store) and drank water constantly and drank no alcohol. I am in good
>physical shape but that has nothing to do with it I am told. I had to
>leave Colorado abruptly on Saturday morning. On the shuttle to the
>Airport, a lady told me that she takes Fioricet for Altitude Sickness which
>she gets every year when she goes to Breckenridge. Since I will be
>attending meetings in Colorado every August from now on, I am looking for a
>"cure". Next year, I was also considering taking a workshop at Anderson
>Ranch after my meeting. But I may have to scrap that plan, sadly.
>
>Does anyone know about this prescription drug? Any other suggestions? I
>found no reference to this Sickness in any literature about the Resort.
>Yet the Shuttle driver told us about many many people whose vacations were
>cut short by this Sickness. Must be a taboo subject .
>
>Feeling better at Sea Level,
>Eydie DeVincenzi
>74647.404@compuserve.com
>
Laura Conley on tue 18 aug 98
Many hiking books have information about altitude sickness. The best
prevention is to approach higher altitudes SLOWLY. Stay several days at a few
thousand feet before venturing into higher terrain. I have heard that it takes
two weeks to adapt well. I understand that aspirin works, but have never heard
about tylenol, for relieving symptoms. The body has altitude sickness because
it can't get enough oxygen when the air is "thinner". The only way to really
relieve symptoms is to go down the mountain.
I don't know what changes in the body during the two weeks. I can imagine that
it might be a change in hemoglobin- the protein inside blood cells that
attaches to oxygen and carries it around our bodies. Embryos have a different
hemoglobin than their mothers. Embryos have a stronger version that can grab
oxygen away from the mothers hemoglobin. I wonder if something similar happens
in high altitude. Of course, it may be something simpler, such as just
producing more of it...
Eydie - I wondered why we didn't hear from you.
Laura Conley
Boulder, CO
Eydie DeVincenzi wrote:
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> ------------------
> Hello Colorado Potters:
>
> I just returned from an [short-lived] meeting in Breckenridge. I was
> supposed to return home to Maryland on Monday, but I was among a handful of
> people at the meeting who fell victim to Altitude Sickness. Prior to this
> trip, I never heard of such a thing. But I can tell you that it was
> painfully REAL. I tried extra-strength Tylenol (suggested by the drug
> store) and drank water constantly and drank no alcohol. I am in good
> physical shape but that has nothing to do with it I am told. I had to
> leave Colorado abruptly on Saturday morning. On the shuttle to the
> Airport, a lady told me that she takes Fioricet for Altitude Sickness which
> she gets every year when she goes to Breckenridge. Since I will be
> attending meetings in Colorado every August from now on, I am looking for a
> "cure". Next year, I was also considering taking a workshop at Anderson
> Ranch after my meeting. But I may have to scrap that plan, sadly.
>
> Does anyone know about this prescription drug? Any other suggestions? I
> found no reference to this Sickness in any literature about the Resort.
> Yet the Shuttle driver told us about many many people whose vacations were
> cut short by this Sickness. Must be a taboo subject .
>
> Feeling better at Sea Level,
> Eydie DeVincenzi
> 74647.404@compuserve.com
| |
|
