I had altitude sickness at 8000 feet (or a little higher) which I had never had before. I got a severe headache, some nausea, just felt awful. This happened pretty quickly within several hours of arriving. I don't remember how long we were there.
I later learned that B12 might help with altitude sickness and realizing all the problems people with ME/CFS have with B12 metabolism and utilization, it makes sense. If I were going to a high elevation (which I have not done for many years), I would take extra B12 and see if that helped.
Interesting about B12. I follow Fredd's B12 protocol and perhaps that'll help should I chose to go through with the trip. May I ask if the altitude made your condition worse, lingering even after reaching sea level again?
I'm not sure what you are looking for with this question. I don't think the altitude was a problem per se. But I think that the exertion of climbing at above the heights mentioned was seriously harmful.
The reason for me asking is because I've a chance, at long last, to follow on a trip in about a year. We will mostly travel long distances by bus and the altitudes will shift between sea-level up to 12500 feet. I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to approach this trip and I have my doubts about it since the high altitudes are making me seriously worried.
We'll be pretty inactive otherwise (due to my ME), but we'll remain at the higher altitudes for days at times. Absolutely no climbing or walking long distances.
I suspected people with ME would do worse on high altitudes due to the low pressure with the resulting lower oxygen-level. People that's been at altitudes higher than 8000 feet report symptoms which sounds eerily familiar to ME such as slow recovery, breathlessness after trivial exertions, weakness, a lower tolerance for physical activity (not counting PEM), migraines, gastrointestinal issues and so on. I assume the symptoms for a ME sick individual would be much worse.
I understand that climbing and possibly walking uphill for a ME sick individual would prove harmful on such an altitude (or any altitude for that matter), but what if the altitude is reached by bus and that the physical activity is minimal?
I would like to thank you all for your answers by the way
