Visiting Colorado Altitude Sickness should I be concerned?

[Mac4life30]

I come from FL (unfortunately) and I am a drinker.. I am not going to go on vacation to a state full of breweries and not partake.. Should I not bother even going to Colorado and go elsewhere? Im concerned either I or my traveling companion who suffers from motion sickness will end up sick all trip long.

 

[low-key]

Go, and have fun, its breaking up the routine, thats good for all of us

 

[GoofyBaseballMom26]

Drink lots and lots and lots of water while you are there. Start before you go. Then don’t partake very heavily. I have been to Denver twice and never had a problem. Got a little lightheaded when we visited Maroon Bells after a short hike but nothing that made me feel bad. We visited lots of breweries! Colorado is a great place to visit.

 

[Pooh2]

Going from Boston to Colorado Springs, I was light headed the first day.
When we drove up Pikes Peak, I was completely miserable for about 12 hours.
Ask your doc for recommendations before you go.
It is a beautiful place to visit!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Don't be like me--follow the advice and avoid alcohol for at least 24hours after you arrive. That's at least what I had been reading with some saying even 48 hours.

Unfortunately I did not and I was sick the first night after having 1 beer and being hours after landing.

My normal altitude is just over 1,000 feet too but going to a place that was over 9,000 ft where we were staying and over 9,700 ft when going to Copper Mountain--I did not adjust very well at all honestly.

We drove the next time (about a 10 1/2 hour drive) instead of flying and I felt like I could adjust to the change in altitude easier but that's just me; I still had some feeling of stuffiness but it was so much better than the first time around I avoided alcohol honestly the whole time because of how my body handled it no matter how much I wanted to imbibe lol. We stayed the second time in a place that was nearly 7,100ft elevation and 10,800 ft when going to Monarch Mountain. Staying at a lower altitude may have helped too because even driving to Monarch Mountain (which took about 20mins) I didn't feel the change in altitude much other than a slight popping of my ears.

Again that's just like me. All that being said I'd go again but I've been weighing if I would really prefer driving or flying. Driving is 10 1/2+ breaks and flying is an under 2hr flight (includes a 1 hr backwards time change).

FWIW I suffer from motion sickness but the change in altitude felt nothing like my normal motion sickness. I felt more stuffiness, headache and pressure with the pressure reminding me of my allergies just moreso on my ears versus sinuses that I have with my allergies. On the descent of the flight into Denver the first year I felt nauseous and when I landed back home I felt that too but when I was there in Frisco I didn't except for the first night when I woke up and got sick. The altitude hit me in other symptoms.

I'm not trying to discourage you from going just trying to give my experience. You may check the altitudes of the places you plan on visiting too. Each person will react differently. None of my traveling companions had the severe reactions I did but they did still feel the altitude moreso when we stayed in Frisco/Copper Mountain.

ETA: Both of our trips were ski trips so we were in higher altitude for a reason. Like I said I would check where you're going.

 

[snoopy5386]

We traveled to Boulder last summer - out of a group of 12, 2 of us had altitude sickness and I had it the worst - it never fully went away and I was so happy to return to sea level when our trip was over. Like someone else posted, for me it was a horrible pounding headache, lots of pressure in my head and also nausea usually in the evenings. I was taking Advil, Tylenol and aspirin all at once to try and keep the headaches at bay. I drank water like there was no tomorrow and I don’t drink alcohol at all so that wasn’t an issue for me. For those that do - they definitely felt it quicker and stronger than at home. We were staying at 7,000 feet which is supposedly low for altitude sickness but it hit me hard. We still had a great vacation, but it definitely hampered my portion. I would go back - but in a car so I could adjust more gradually.

 

[OhMari]

We stayed in BReckenridge and I stayed hydrated and lived on Tylenol. For me, it was like a pressure headache. Our first day, we drove to Golden CO and then drove to the top of a mountain. We had to pick up our dd at the airport at 8:00 at nite and I was very grateful for a 2 bath room stall at Mc Donald's. The altitude really turned my stomache the first day. After that I was fine.

 

[mamamary]

We were in Colorado earlier this summer and this was the one thing I was concerned about. I guess we were lucky because I think the only time we sort of noticed it was going up Pike's Peak when we were still towards the bottom but were walking around. We did try and drink more water than usual so maybe that helped.

 

[Marchand63]

Going from Boston to Colorado Springs, I was light headed the first day.
When we drove up Pikes Peak, I was completely miserable for about 12 hours.
Ask your doc for recommendations before you go.
It is a beautiful place to visit!

We did the exact same trip, Boston to CS, only a side trip to Denver. ITA with the hydrating thing. If you don't like water - Gatorade or Powerade maybe . I did have one down night but I over did the day hiking early in the trip. You have to acclimate for a day or so.

It was a gorgeous area, would do it again in a heartbeat

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I come from FL (unfortunately) and I am a drinker.. I am not going to go on vacation to a state full of breweries and not partake.. Should I not bother even going to Colorado and go elsewhere? Im concerned either I or my traveling companion who suffers from motion sickness will end up sick all trip long.

At 5,328ft, Boulder isn't a high risk for altitude sickness. Not that you can't get altitude sick there. You can. It's just not a high risk. Of course that won't help if you're one of the unlucky ones to get it.
8,000-12,000 feet is considered high altitude. Note that 12,000-18,000 feet is considered very high altitude and anything above 18,000 is extremely high altitude. The best thing to do is stay in Denver or Boulder for a couple of days before doing anything strenuous such as hiking or skiing and don't drink on the plane or for your first 24 hours there. And if you're going from there, don't immediately go to the higher elevations in the mountains and go on a long strenuous hike or go drinking up there. The problem is in Colorado, is you can drive right up up over 14,000 feet in that very high altitude range in a car. So if you fly in then immediately go do that, you most likely will get altitude sickness and there is a real chance you'll get a serious case of it, especially if you take a hike or something up there. So do yourself a favor. Don't consume alcohol that first day and make sure you spend some time in Colorado springs or Denver or Ft. Collins or the like before venturing into the higher mountains.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

My son had horrible altitude sickness on his first and only trip to Colorado. He had headaches, nausea, and his most alarming symptom was the chest pain. In hindsight I guess it was just a problem with his lungs not getting enough oxygen (probably similar to the chest pain I feel during an asthma flare), but he had a heart murmur when he was younger and I was terrified that something was going on with his heart.

I have family that live in the Denver area and when people visit them they recommend taking it easy and drinking lots of water. I wish I had consulted a doctor before my son's visit, I'd recommend doing that and following the doctor's orders.

 

[mmouse37]

We went to CO 2 years ago from NY and were fine. We stayed hydrated with water. We stayed in Denver and then drove over Independence Pass (gorgeous) and stayed in Basalt. We were in CO for two weeks and none of us got sick. We didn't drink alcohol for the first day and half and as long as we drank lots of water the alcohol was no problem. CO is so beautiful....we also visited Red Rocks, Golden, Vail, The Stanley Hotel (Stephen King's impetus for writing the Shining)...all of it was awesome!

Go and have fun!!!

MJ

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

Like everyone has already said, when you come, make sure you drink lots of water and take it easy for the first day or so. We're high desert here, which most people don't think of, so dehydration is a major factor in altitude sickness. If you have one, or have time stop at a Walmart and pick up a humidifier, that will help with the stuffiness that people experience, it's because your sinus tissues are swelling due to the dry air.

Remember when you're drinking at altitude, it's like drinking everything through a straw at home multiplied by about 1.5. You won't be able to drink anywhere near as much as you can at home before you feel the effects, and drink lots more water while you're drinking to avoid dehydration there as well. People come and think they're drinking a lot of water, but honestly, it's really not that much, I can easily go through 5 bottles of water (refills, just giving you an idea of quantity) in a couple of hours.

 

[Jaya]

I took Diamox (prescription medication) as a preventative for altitude sickness when I was up in the Andes (over 14,000 feet) a few years ago. I started two days before leaving the US, but stopped after three days because of the side effects. My hands were tingling and anything carbonated (colas, beer or even just plan carbonated water) had a bad bitter taste to it.

I didn't have any altitude problems after I stopped the pills. Only a little shortness of breath on exertion.

You might want to ask your doctor for a prescription (they're not expensive), but since you mention your plans to hit the breweries, you might have a problem with the taste of beer.

 

[luvsvacation]

Colorado is absolutely beautiful and not to be missed. Some do get altitude sickness. Best advice is to drink plenty of water and take a baby asprin every day. We’ve never had any problems. On our first trip we drove (11 hour drive). I had been warned to drink LOTS of water. So I chugged about 7-8 bottles of water in an hours time, not a good plan on a road trip...stopped at every rest area... my family was not amused...

 

[neverlandsky]

My advice with altitude sickness besides lots of water, lots Gatorade and/or smart water too. Definitely have aspirin. I waited until 3 days in to adult drink due to the head pressure. Definitely plan some afternoon nap/down times as well as sleeping in. Expect the 1st day to be the worst. According to DH who's been to Denver, CO. several times, I haven't been, he said Tahoe was way worse. What hit us bad was indeed the exhaustion.

 

[DawnAurora]

We stayed in a location that was around 9,000 feet in Colorado and I had severe altitude sickness the first two days. I had been hydrating in the week leading up to the trip and was definitely not dehydrated. I had a headache, was nauseous and the worst for me was problems breathing. I felt like someone was sitting on my chest the whole time we were there. I live in a humid environment and it was so dry there, my poor skin and lips were begging for moisture after three days.

 

[Imzadi]

Are you driving over or flying? It might make a difference. We drove to Park City, Utah, elevation 7,000. We spent a couple days working our way up, going to Zion & Bryce Canyon national parks first. And we got acclimated to the altitude on the way. Didn't even notice it until our friends, who flew in, were the ones who had some altitude problems.

 

[GreatLakes]

I landed on a Thursday, ran a 5K on Friday and ran a half marathon on Saturday (both at 7,000+ feet). Other than making sure I was as hydrated as I could be and knowing I would have to slow down a bit it wasn't that big of a deal. I can't imaging that just wandering around would really affect anyone but I also don't really drink and didn't have any alcohol at all during that vacation.

I think hydration is key and heard about the aspirin but never took any.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We stayed in a location that was around 9,000 feet in Colorado and I had severe altitude sickness the first two days. I had been hydrating in the week leading up to the trip and was definitely not dehydrated. I had a headache, was nauseous and the worst for me was problems breathing. I felt like someone was sitting on my chest the whole time we were there. I live in a humid environment and it was so dry there, my poor skin and lips were begging for moisture after three days.

Ugh we all had the breathing issue the first year too. Getting up to go to the bathroom and out of breath and not from being out of shape lol.

Second year we went so much better. Don't have any proof but I feel like driving helped us all out and likely staying at a lower altitude even if the place we skied at was a good difference to where we were staying at.