Hi all,

I'll be starting a trip in La Paz, Bolivia and I'm wondering if I should just go ahead and take Diamox.

My question specifically, is has anyone taken it, what are your thoughts, and did you experience side effects? also, if anyone has been to La Paz and had no problems?

I'm inclined to just live it out to get the "full" experience of La Paz, but I'm wavering since my time my Bolivia will be quite short, and I don't want to lose a few days by being anything less than fully functional.

I took Diamox while in Ladakh India and I had no problems. Following someone's advice, I also took garlic pills. Although at the time I couldn't find any info on the subject, once in Ladakh, the locals confirmed that when someone has altitude sickness, they make them eat lots of garlic...

Good luck!

hmm this is something i need ot think about since i'll be in cusco this winter and my past blood clots in my lungs might be an issue.

anyway, the most noticeable side effect is that diamox makes you pee a lot. i don't think it's that big of a problem in the city, but hiking on kilimanjaro on the other hand, was very annoying. it also made my hands and face feel tingly, but it wasn't that big of a deal.

also, i think you're supposed to start taking it a day before you'll be at altitude. if you decide agaisnt taking diamox, i hear coca tea is supposed to help with altitude too. oh and don't forget, your body readjusts itself each time you sleep.

Xoom,

This is a link to a tip I put on this forum a couple of years ago. In a nutshell it says fly into Cuzco, head for a place lower in the Sacred Valley and end your trip in Cuzco after giving yourself a chance to acclimate to the high altitude.

http://boards.bootsnall.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/59109875...=975109742#975109742

After exploring the Sacred Valley at a comfortable elevation we headed up to Cuzco for our last few days in Peru.

We still felt the Soroche a little but our guide gave us glucosamine tablets and that helped. You could probably start taking over-the-counter glucosamine before your trip and not be as breathless in the Cuzco airport as we were upon arrival.

Be sure to visit the Koricancha(Sun Temple)and stroll through the Hotel Libratador. You'll see Incan foundations and the Cuzco home of Pizzaro. Both provide a cross section of Cuzco's history.

My daughter and I were at the Libratador during a power failure and wandered around Pizarro's courtyard with our little travel flashlights. Funny -- what would be a nuisance at home is an adventure abroad.

Enjoy the Sacred Valley,
Jane
www.latintravel.com

thanks!

my friends and i are in a huge time crunch, but we have allotted a day to hang out in cusco to acclimatize. i think we're flying there from lima in the morning.

glucosamine.. hmm i'll keep that in mind. where do you pick those up at? drug stores?

Xoom,

It's sold as Glucosamine/Chondroitin and is usually in the vitamin section at drug stores and supermarkets. It's sold to reduce joint pain so, if nothing else, you'll be able to walk comfortably. I would ask a pharmacist about dosage.

Enjoy Cuzco,
Jane

(Try to get a window seat on the flight to Cuzco -- it's so pretty!)

You're likely to be short of breath regardless of whether you're on Diamox or not. So, I wouldn't expect full, active days either way.

Your best bet is to spend the weekend before you leave at altitude so your body starts making adjustments before you go. Somewhere you could sleep in the 8,000-10,000 ft range would be good. Although, this is probably easier to do out of Seattle than Toronto.

My best friend took Diamox - but still got sick... a lot. It didn't take it, and other than having a hard time walking up hill for a couple days, I was fine. The altitude affects people differently. So, uh, I guess this is really a non answer.

I take Diamox for all high-altitude travel, including Cusco and the Himalayas. Other than more frequent urination you sometimes will get a slight pins and needles sensation in fingers or toes.

It works by causing the kidneys to secrete base elements to match the excess acid excreted by more rapid respiration, thus keeping blood PH in the normal zone. I got this explanation at the Himalayan Rescue Clinic in Pheriche.

I flew into La Paz couple times, the first time was with my daugther, whom I adopted in Los Angeles of Bolivian heritage. I thought it appropriate to show her her tribe, which I am guessing is Quechuan. (I think I am spelling that wrong) So, we get into the airport and at the customs desk, my daughter, nine at the time, starts to wilt and is carried away by two uniformed rifle-slinging dudes to a rest room as she is throwing up. Great. I get our papers in order and find her in the worst shit hole of a bathroom on the floor with her head in the bowl. I think the floor was worse than the toilet. Anyway, we get a cab to our hotel where she pretty much passes out while I am trying futilely trying to find a pharmacy open on Sunday. Forget it. Everything is closed on Sunday. So, La Paz is like a big steep bowl of a city and a steep one at that.
Going downhill was okay but the uphills killed me that first day. What really killed me was the fact that my Bolivian daughter is out for 10 hours and Sea-level-raised Surfer-Chick here is running up and down streets looking frantically for some medication.
I get back to the hotel to check on her and the front desk lady passes me a nice pot of hot tea. Matte de Coca.
Long story short, that was all we needed. We went even futher up to about 15,000 ft. and I quickly followed my guide's advice.
Chew the fresh leaves (mixed with ash) and there you have the perfect remedy, HELLO! That's what the Bolivians do. It relieves headache, takes away nausea, and oxygenates the bloodstream. It is very mild. You don't get wired at all.
A whole different animal. After a couple days we were pretty much acclimitized.
Oh if you have the chance, see if they are still doing the prison tours. There is a book out about it called Marching Powder, a biography of a smuggler that gave tours of the cells to make a little cash. Wild story.
La Paz is wild. And a 4 hour bus ride gets you to Copacabana on Lake Titicaka. Great place. Over 12,000ft. so best to be a little acclimated first if you want to hike around Isla del Sol. So............drink the tea!

Oh, one more thing. The garlic caps and also Grapefruit seed extract are both good to kill bacteria. We never got sick, I take both those to every 3rd world country.

Not to add more hoo-ha to the above herbal remedies, but my first experience with Diamox was in the Himalayas when I took part in a double-blind study between nothing, Diamox, Gingko Biloba, and both. I quit after the first night - there is no way I'd opt to leave a warm sleeping bag and pee in the freezing cold more than 25 times in one night...again. That said, perhaps take a look through Google and see if that test ever amounted to something...

We spent over a week in La Paz and didn't struggle with the altitude too much - the usual lack of breath when walking up hills and all that, but a few cups of coca tea did the trick!

If you can, try to make the journey to altitude in stages. We headed from sea-level to Arequipa (in Peru, about 2500m), then up to Cuzco and finally to La Paz. Just taking an extra few days to acclimatize definitely helps!

We were at high altitude for a few weeks with no problem. At Machu Picchu we climbed to Wayna Picchu, and pretty much ran up the (nearly) 1,000 foot climbing trail. We got winded when we were first at altitude (in La Paz), but got acclimated quickly. Coca tea didn't really seem to effect us, but we ate coca-nola (granola with coca in it) before the climb at Machu Picchu, which may have contributed to our sprightly take on a steep trail.

I don't think drugs are needed for the elevation, but you may want to bring some just in case.