Delayed altitude sickness?

[schur7559]

I’ve hunted in the Colorado the last 4 years between 9-10k feet. The first two years I didn’t experience any sort of altitude sickness but the last 2 years I have. The odd part is it hasn’t really hit me until about day 3. I’ve become pretty disoriented and feel really foggy mentally and feel weak physically. It’s been pretty bad on the third day but gets progressively better after that. Up until that third day I don’t have any symptoms (no headache, sleep fine, no nausea). Has anyone ever had this happen and anything you’ve done to successfully combat it? It’s a pretty unsettling feeling, especially when I’m solo.

I stay hydrated year round (drink a gallon of water a day) and I don’t drink alcohol. I’m in pretty good shape and never really feel winded while hiking- relatively speaking. I’m coming from sea level but stay a night at about 6k feet before heading into the mountains then hike 3-5 miles to my spot. I would really like to avoid this in the future because it really brings me down.

 

[HairyScandinavian]

Are you eating enough? I discovered a while back, though not hungry in the evenings when I get back to camp I need to force feed the carbs to keep from draining out about day 3. Once I started doing that my body does much better.

 

[schur7559]

Are you eating enough? I discovered a while back, though not hungry in the evenings when I get back to camp I need to force feed the carbs to keep from draining out about day 3. Once I started doing that my body does much better.

I feel like I am but maybe that’s something I need to reassess. I don’t remember how many calories I’ve been packing but I think 2,500-3000 calories a day, but I could be light in the carb department. That’s something I’ll look into. Thanks.

 

[conhawa]

Get a prescription for Diamox. Years ago i would drive from WV to Wyoming to mountain climb. The first year I got altitude sickness. After that I had my Dr prescribe Diamox and never had any more problems.

 

[chizelhead]

It’s more dehydrating than one realizes at that elevation. You could try drinking more water than usual. Eat if you don’t have an appetite. You can also try diamox.

 

[schur7559]

Get a prescription for Diamox. Years ago i would drive from WV to Wyoming to mountain climb. The first year I got altitude sickness. After that I had my Dr prescribe Diamox and never had any more problems.

I’m going to bring that up again when I meet with my Dr in the spring for my annual physical. I asked him for a prescription before the first year I went and he was apprehensive about prescribing it.

 

[Bulldawg]

You're going through Colorado, stop at a dispensary on the way and you'll have no problem getting some carbs down at the end of the day.

 

[LaHunter]

Count your calories / day. May need to increase intake. Also, you may want to add some type of electrolyte supplement. 1 gallon / day may not be enough fluid intake on a physically demanding hunt when moving for hours / day

 

[schur7559]

Thanks for all of the feedback. Maybe it is a hydration issue. The first couple of years it was hot and I felt like I was slugging water constantly and didn’t have any issues. The last couple years it’s been much cooler so I’ve been drinking maybe 2-3 liters a day because I didn’t feel like I “needed” it. I’ll definitely keep that in mind.

 

[kpk]

Get a prescription for Diamox. Years ago i would drive from WV to Wyoming to mountain climb. The first year I got altitude sickness. After that I had my Dr prescribe Diamox and never had any more problems.

I’m going to bring that up again when I meet with my Dr in the spring for my annual physical. I asked him for a prescription before the first year I went and he was apprehensive about prescribing it.

My buddy and I both took Diamox 2 trips ago. We're close to sea level and were planning to camp at 10k our first night after a 13 hour drive. It made me so tired I blacked out at the wheel for a split second - crazy because I've never been able to sleep in a vehicle or plane whatsoever. Shook me up. Had a terrible headache after that and I quit taking it. My buddy had pain and tingling on one entire side of his body and quit taking it. ymmv, but it was awful in both of our experiences with it.

From what I know, altitude sickness can vary every time you go out. Sometimes you'll get sick, sometimes nothing. It happens almost every year that someone "isn't feeling good" a couple days into a trip and they stay behind at camp to rest, only to go missing or die due to altitude sickness coming on. I don't know what the solution is, but I know it's nothing to mess with.

 

[Turkeygetpwnd38]

It’s hit my dad like that twice, on day 3 or 4 of hunting. I think it’s a “tipping point” issue. You might not of initially had issues but then you get run down, dehydrated, nutrition slips and it all snowballs and then hits. Ease into it, take care to have good nutrition/hydration, eliminate those contributing factors.

 

[HairyScandinavian]

Thanks for all of the feedback. Maybe it is a hydration issue. The first couple of years it was hot and I felt like I was slugging water constantly and didn’t have any issues. The last couple years it’s been much cooler so I’ve been drinking maybe 2-3 liters a day because I didn’t feel like I “needed” it. I’ll definitely keep that in mind.

Yep, nailed it. It's dry as heck up there cold or hot, betting 2-3 liters isn't enough.

On the food thing, we eat whatever normally planned dinner we have in the evenings and then I'll eat spaghetti until I feel like I'm gonna puke. Next day I'm always ready to go and start grazing on faster carbs first thing in the morning as we're walking, bars and such. It's foreign to me because I do a lot of hard keto stretches and my body works great with zero carbs, but when I'm in the mountains it's really helped when I keep carbs in the forefront and pound them. You mentioned 3kcal/day but you're probably burning 7k daily if you're like us depending on the day and your body can only strip it's fat off so fast to make up for it.

 

[RockAndSage]

I’ve hunted in the Colorado the last 4 years between 9-10k feet. The first two years I didn’t experience any sort of altitude sickness but the last 2 years I have. The odd part is it hasn’t really hit me until about day 3. I’ve become pretty disoriented and feel really foggy mentally and feel weak physically. It’s been pretty bad on the third day but gets progressively better after that. Up until that third day I don’t have any symptoms (no headache, sleep fine, no nausea). Has anyone ever had this happen and anything you’ve done to successfully combat it? It’s a pretty unsettling feeling, especially when I’m solo.

I stay hydrated year round (drink a gallon of water a day) and I don’t drink alcohol. I’m in pretty good shape and never really feel winded while hiking- relatively speaking. I’m coming from sea level but stay a night at about 6k feet before heading into the mountains then hike 3-5 miles to my spot. I would really like to avoid this in the future because it really brings me down.

I've heard hikers (non-hunters) call it "getting bonked" or hitting the wall. Happens when your body hasn't spent time adapting to whatever you're doing, while doing whatever that is really hard. Plan on scheduling in a day of just resting and doing other stuff when the bonk hits, and let your body recover and adapt. It shouldn't last more than a day or so, providing that's what it actually is and not something more serious. I think about it like the body's way to telling you to chill the hell out for a day or two.

 

[Skerhunter]

You drinking electrolytes daily and eating plenty of food on top of extra water? It doesn’t matter how healthy/good of shape you are in/where you live, it will get you if you get ran down.

Day 3-4 is usually the most difficult for me after that I am adjusted and feel a lot better.

 

[realunlucky]

Here's a great Rokcast on altitude sickness- https://www.rokslide.com/tipsy-tues...-draw-news-gear-reviews-western-hunting-news/

Sent from my SM-S926U using Tapatalk

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

I go through an easy 6 liters a day in early season high country hunts. Mind you, I don’t have a colon, but I drink 3-4 liters back home in Texas if I’m not out in the heat.

 

[TaperPin]

I doubt it’s a hydration issue.

The hiking group I was a part of in Colorado tried to have a 14,000’ peak each weekend, so as a group we were going 8,000’ to 9,000’ above what we were used to and it affected us all differently. Many people consider the distance above normal sleeping elevation as the key factor. I can go above 7,000’ for two hours and get symptoms like yours, and it goes away when dropping below that 7,000’. A friend has a much harder time and he gets puking sick when above 5,000’ climb, and is ok when below that elevation, but does it every weekend. Others have very mild symptoms, some have none on a one day trip.

If I were to spend the night up high I’d get symptoms at 6,000’ gain that continue to get worse the next day. The time at elevation, total elevation gain, and then maybe the other things made a difference. We did this all summer, so even one day up high each week didn’t seem to make any difference to any of us.

Time at elevation is a sure fire way to deal with it, but how many days at how high is very much an individual thing. Where ever you’re from, if it’s possible to spend as much time the week before at as high an elevation as possible, that will help. Of course that depends on local topography.

Hard core skiers who go to Colorado each winter have a lot of experience with a few days up high, so maybe find a doctor who skis?

 

[BCDJR]

Had a heart check lately?

 

[Speaks]

Last summer I went to a work conf near Vail and then stayed on to hike for a few days. Just around the resort when I went for a walk my HR was way higher than normal. I slept ok as in stayed asleep but my HRV was total crap so I was getting run down.

Hiked the first day after (had been at elevation 3 nights) and it was fine but heart rate again was way higher than normal for the effort level. Rested ate some food and went out the next day to do a 14er. I was fine on the hike, HR high but overall better but by the time I was done I was just toasted. Drive back to Denver my HR never went below 100 and was often between 110 and 120. Next day was still run down for the flight home. Took me two good nights sleep at home to be normal again.

Actual effort and even elevation gain on the hike would have been a non-issue but a few nights in a row of sleep with crappy HRV did me in.

 

[2buffalo]

From what I know, altitude sickness can vary every time you go out.

This is fact. I was out there for two weeks in September to call and help a friend who had an archery tag this year and no issues at all. Went back two weeks later for first rifle and had headache and dizziness for a couple days. I have been going to high altitudes hiking, skiing, snowmobiling, and hunting for a long time and this was the first time I ever had an issue.