Thanks SOC, that would be great. I live at 900 ft and am driving out to the desert to do mold avoidance but i can't even get past 3,000 feet. I'm getting severe altitude sickness and there's no way I can drive around the mountains. The altitude is hitting me very badly
I'm sorry to hear that. Some people are prone to altitude sickness, so it may not be an ME thing. Did you get altitude sickness before you had ME? 3000 ft is awfully low to be getting altitude sickness.
The best suggestion I can give you, and it may not be possible with your plans, is to greatly reduce your rate of ascent. As much trouble as you are having, and at such relatively low altitude, it may take weeks for you to acclimatize enough to get across the mountains. Another option is to give up and fly over the mountains if you just can't acclimatize in a reasonable time.
I lived in Colorado Springs (6000+ ft). Everyone who lived there had some story about visiting family members getting altitude sickness at that altitude. It's only a small proportion of people, but not exceedingly rare. People prone to migraines seemed to be at higher risk of altitude sickness. There was some talk about neuroinflammation being a contributing factor, but I have no idea if that's just people's speculation or based in any science. I remember hearing about kids with shunts for draining excess fluid from the brain having more trouble than most, especially not long after shunt-clearing surgery.
Here are some of the common suggestions (popular, not necessarily scientific) for managing altitude sickness that I was told:
- Increase altitude slowly, over days
- Avoid alcohol
- Limit strenuous activity (nothing new for a PWME )
- Hydrate far beyond what you think is necessary. Make sure you drink electrolyte water, not just straight water.
- Don't hesitate to take migraine meds (if you have them) at the first sign of altitude sickness. Aleve (an OTC analgesic) seems to help some people.
- Eat extra carbs
- Avoid tranquilizers and sleeping pills (I have no idea why)
ETA: Another popular story that may or may not have any scientific validity, was that altitude sickness can be worse when a pressure front is going through, so if you can avoid large elevation changes immediately before, during, or immediately after storms, it might help.