Trouble sleeping at elevation - HELP

[JeffB]

Hello -

Day hike 5-6 times a week in hilly terrain - top elevation about 1500-2000 ft.  55 yo, 6'1 230 but in good hiking shape.  Do 15-30 miles on weekends and 3-5mi per hikes during weekdays.

so anyway...

Over the last several years, I have trouble sleeping at higher altitudes.  Like 6000-8000 ft.  Fall asleep no problem, but wake up many, many times a night needing to catch breath.  Not gasping or anything, just not getting enough oxygen.

In the past, after 2-3 evenings, it would gradually get better.  The past couple years, it's the same on day 1 as on day 4.  Very frustrating as I'm exhausted the entire trip and hiking really suffers.

Is there anything I can do short term?  Have Lake Tahoe trip coming 6/30-7/7 and want to really take advantage of all the trails.

Long term I'm in process of getting sleep study done, although at home I have no issues sleeping.

ANY guidance would be appreciated.

Thank you!

[PaulGS]

I have no personal experience with this problem but it may be your body first speeding up breathing to get more O2, and secondly , your body slowing down its breathing rate because  now you’re losing too much CO2.

A drug, Diomax, may help, but may be prescription only (as it appears to be here in Canada).

A drug-free solution could be the Altimate high-altitude mask which helps a person do some CO2 rebreathing. This is supposed to keep your respiratory rate sufficient. 

Good luck and let us know what works for you.

[PaulGS]

Here’s the link to the Altimate website:

https://www.altimatemask.com

[ppine]

You need a couple of days to adjust to the altitude before you get active. 

I went to the Andes and the second day I was in Cusco at 12,800 feet. The mountains go up from there. 

For the first three days it was rest and coca mate, tea made from coca leaves. 

After about 2 weeks I did not feel the elevation much at all. 

I met 2 Swiss climbers around 30 yo. They had just climbed Illimani, that is over 19,000 feet.  They said they would never go that high again without oxygen. 

Edited August 30, 2018 by ppine