Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Best headache drug for daytrip

I'm dayhiking the hill with my Mom next Wednesday and was wondering what the best pain reliever to bring for altitude related headaches is? Advil...tylenol...etc. I did the hike a few years ago and was fine, but think I'm going to do a preemptive pill pop on the way up just in case.

Thanks

There is no one right answer. Everyone is different and chemicaly responds differently to medication.What works best for you when you have a headache is part of the answer for what will work best for you if you develope a headache at altitude.
One thing that works well for me is Excedrine Headache formula. It is Aspirin,Acetaminophen, and caffine.

I recommend a 1982 Leoville-Las Cases.

Ibuprofen. General treatment for all my aches and pains. I keep a max daily dose times the length of trip, in case something happens. Great to reduce swelling as well. I used to take aspirin but can't share with a lot of people.

Also good when you get to the car to take a dose for the expected swelling and discomfort you might have from sitting for the next few hours.

If the headache gets worse with medication or won't go away, its time to call it a day and head down to an altitude where it quits hurting. Spend 24 hours there, then see if you can go back up.

Excedrin Migraine with caffeine. It does miracles. Head can be pounding but 10 minutes after popping one at Trail Camp you will be singing and dancing your way up the switchbacks.

It has worked every time for me.

Second vote for Excedrin Migraine...works fast

i have never gotten altitude headaches but i must say that Execerdin has worked like a charm for all my other headaches. i dont take it anymore because of the caffeine but that stuff does work.

I'm a nurse and work with clinical pharmacists. Before I climbed Rainier this August, I asked two of them if they knew of any pharmacological basis that would make ibuprofen, aspirin, or Tylenol a better choice for altitude headaches. Both thought about it and said no, whatever you're used to taking for a headache.

I carry ibuprofen in my first aid kit but am reluctant to use it while on the mountain. This is how I approach pain: pain is a warning sign and needs to be heeded. As I'm gaining in altitude if I start to feel a twinge I stop for a few moments and take a swig of water. If the twinge continues I slow my pace. During the last 1000' of an ascent such as Whitney, I pay a bit less attention to it (unless it's severe), knowing that I'll be summiting soon and heading back down.

I take a similar approach to joint and muscle pain. Ibuprofen is quite effective for me, and get relief in 20 minutes. However, I've found that if I mask the pain I may get careless and push too hard. I may not realize I've pushed too hard until that evening or the next day. Having said that, I will take ibuprofen if the pain has caused me to shift my gait enough so that I'm overcompensating. From past experience I've found that may cause me to hurt in 2 places rather than 1 the following day if I over-compensate.

To each his own, and am not advocating anyone follow what I've chosen for myself. This method works for me.

You are exactly right KevinR. Pain is a warning something is wrong and can be dangerous to mask over.

Something that people need to be aware of is that over the counter NSAIDs(Non-Steroidal-Anti-Inflamatories) have serious side effects.There are 16,000 deaths per year due to GI bleeding from taking Advil(ibuprofen)and Alleve (Naproxen).This is in addition to serious kidney and liver damage.

So pick your poison carefully.There is nothing that is absolutely safe to take for pain

"medicines" kill alot of people every year. in fact, they kill lots more than guns do.

Sheeesh. And I pop those things like M&Ms.

It is definetly NOT Johnny Walker Black Label. Last month while on a break on the Whitney summit, my partner and i each drank about 80-100 mls of Black Label as a celebration toast, an hour into our decent we both got hit with the worst headache/migraine I have ever in my life.

What works for me usually is 81 mg of Aspirin, or Ibuprofen 400 mg. Dipping or washing my head with ice cold water.

Lightweight.

You need to practice more.

You sure about the aspirin dose? Normally, one "adult" tablet is 325 mg, and most people take two. 81 mg is a baby dose, or a prophylactic for platelet suppression.

I have a high tolerance usually, and i have had high altitude shots before with no issues. I don't know why this happened that day and since it happened to both of us, i blamed the alcohol. Although dehydration, heat, and pushing ourselves too hard that day could have been just as well the underlying problem and the alcohol made it worse obviously.

That's what i usually take a day or 2 before any high altitude trip, prophylactically that is and it's always worked for me. Or at least minimized altitude effects. What you have to watch for with aspirin or course is increased risk of bleeding in the stomach and any wound or cut you might incure on ur climb.

Yes you are right the adult dose is 325mg. But that's what works for me.

OH yeah, that's for after. I'd bring a nice 18 year-old to the summit (preferable Highland, as the peat intensity of lowland scotch is a bit much at 14K).



Or just the champagne route: bubbly gets burped out as you acclimate...

Oh come on! Break that piggy bank open and get the Blue Label. Just make sure you save some for me.