Hey, hope you're all well and PF.
I am thinking about my next holiday abroad and considering a motorbike (Royal enfield) trip from New Delhi -India- to the himalaya, in to Nepal and Tibet. Such a trip can only be achieved in june, july, august because of weather conditions. It would include riding the 2nd highest motorable road in the world at over 5000 metres altitude.
I have a question for CH sufferers who have been at high altitude (not in a presurised plane), or for those who might have an opinion on the topic.
Would the thinning of O2 in the air at high altitude trigger attacks?
We all know that O2 is great for stopping attacks so would i be more prone to attacks where there is less O2 available?
I have not made up my mind yet as to wether or not i would do this trip, i'll wait for the info first.
Has anyone here got experience of high altitude and how has it effected your CH?
All the best

Greetings.

Your trip sounds wonderful, and I hope you don't let CH influence your decision. I can only answer as an episodic who normally gets episodes in the spring and autumn. So one summer when I spent a week at 3600 meters, not at the level you're suggesting, I experienced a short (but intense) summer episode which started right at the end of the vacation. This has happened only one time, even though I have made several trips to the area. So I can't say for certain that altitude was the only factor. You can also experience altitude headaches while acclimating, but they are distinctly different and treatable. Again, it sounds like a wonderful trip, and I hope you have the chance to do it.

patti

Sounds like a trip and a half Thierry...just sorry you have to worry about the beast showing his ugly head....

we all different so you really won't know till ya try (ramp up the prevents and bring the aborts!). I don't think a reduced O2 level will be an issue...but atmospheric pressure..as well as travel itself might...

I have vacationed at 7-9000 feet every summer for 30 yrs....never hit on the plane (tho the worry stress is very unpleasant)....and hits on the mountain totally dependent on cycle at the time. IOW...not hit out of the ordinary at elevation....

hoping the best for YOU!

Can't speak for the altitude of the holiday I'm afraid, but you've reminded me of a holiday I took before I'd had my diagnosis when I still didn't know what my CH attacks were.

Had attacks on the plane on my flights to and from Fuerteventura from the UK. Not fun.

Looking back, I was probably triggering them myself with alcohol, unknowingly.

During many years in the Air Force and subsequently as a skydiver I've spent a lot of time at quite high altitudes in unpressurised aircraft. Certainly I got bothered by other types of headaches but CH was never an issue.

Even if it was I'd have continued regardless. It's a lot of fun up there.

I have issues with elevation change. I live at a mile high, going to 10000' usually causes problems, but going to sea level can also have the same effect.

Air travel also causes CH...

Years ago I was bothered by altitude changes. Such as driving over the Rocky Mountains. Flying never bothered me. Neither did the pressure changes while scuba diving down to 60 ft. deep.

Hi all,
thank you so much for your kind and encouaging words as well as sharing your experiences and/or opinions.
I really love having this group of friends and am so grateful to DJ and everyone here. CH.com is a ray of sunshine (badly needed in Ireand lol).
I am an episodic CHer and before D3, I used to get 4 months cycles in spring and 2 months to 10 weeks cycles around november - december - january.
Before D3, I used to get really bad hits when flying, so i would drop a Zomig -sumatripan- before take off.
Then Batch's D3 regimen gave me my life back 3 1/2 years ago. This year i got some shadows and a few hits -max Kip 6- in june but that's all and I can put up with that. While the hits woke me up, O2 took care of them rapidly. I have found that sucking the O2 directly from the end of the pipe works best for me and it is very economical as i can turn off the valve when keping the O2 in my lungs and while exaling.

This trip from New Delhi to Laddakh in Tibet is going to be even better than I thought.
I talked to my son -who is nearly 17- about it and asked him if he would like to do the trip together with 1 motorbike each if he learned to ride one.
To my immense pleasure, he said that he'd love to and he is already looking forward to it.
This is also a gift that life is giving me that i am soooo grateful for. Doing this trip with him should be an amazing experience. My son -Luke- is a good/cool guy, his head and heart are in the right place, he is also very fit as he rows a lot. He is a national Irish champion since his boat won the under 16 all Ireland champonship in 2015.
He also is looking forward to this trip and for me it is the cherry on top of the cake. He makes me a very happy dad indeed.
I will not let CH take this gift away.
I will take all the regimen ingredients with me on the trip as well as plenty of Zomig in case the beast rears its head.
Got to get my son to learn to ride a bike now, which he is looking forward to doing now that he has this goal.
Anyway it's looking like it will be 2017 or 2018 by the time he will have learned to ride a fairly large bike and I will be comfortable enough with his level of motorbike riding skills.

If it is going to be 2018 before we get to head off together, I am looking at doing a tour of Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos with a friend or 2 on motorbikes in 2017 -unless i get offered some big job at the time. I work as a self employed on jobs that last 3 to 5 months at a time. Because i never know when the next job will come, i do not turn down offers of work -though i would turn one down in order to do this trip with my son as some of the roads in the himalayan mountains are only open for 3 months/year because of weather conditions.
All the best and thank you.
:) ;)

Thierry,

That's a great post my friend and I hope that all your dreams come true.

I have 2 daughters, the eldest of which took a year out to travel accross Asia, a few years ago and what memories she has.

The other has gifted us with two beautiful grandchildren, girl and boy.

Maybe in years to come I will do something momentous with my grandchildren, before I fall off the twig. Ya never know!!!!!

We should never fail to appreciate the things we have.

That way the Beast cannot win.!!!!!!!!!

Best,

Peter.

Hi Peter, thank you for your encouragement.
Indeed, kids can bring so much to our lives.
I don't have grandchildren yet but my 20 years ols daughter loves kids so i' m guessing she'll have some at some stage.
My son being a typical teenage boy is saying "no way". Just like I was. lol
All the best to you and yours.