Long-term shortness of breath at high altitude

[freyasam]

Hi everyone,

I spent two months last year in New Mexico at 7000 ft, and I always felt out of breath. It seemed to worsen over the two months. I'm back in New Mexico, and after two days the breathlessness is back. I'm thinking of moving here, but I don't know if it's wise since I could never seem to adjust to the elevation. I've been warned that this can lead to chronic hypoxemia, which can cause heart failure. Any thoughts?

Thanks

 

[Blossom]

I'm curious about your age and lung condition. People usually acclimate to high altitude within several days at most. There are ways to help the body along with this process if it is difficult for you. The only reason I can think of that would be severely impairing is an advanced case of emphysema, otherwise you should be able to find several Peat inspired ways to assist your body. I'm envious of your move! If you have a doctor or other healthcare provider that is willing to work with you, you could ask for diamox, so perhaps researching that medicine would be helpful. It is used for altitude sickness.

 

[freyasam]

I'm 34. I don't have lung problems, but I have thalassemia minor, an inherited form of anemia that impairs the red blood cells' ability to transport oxygen. Of course, I've had that all my life, and when I was 24 I lived at 8000 ft without this shortness of breath that I now have.

 

[Blossom]

I suppose if it were me I would research how this form of anemia might effect living at a high altitude since your oxygen carrying capacity is somewhat impaired. You may still be able to do it with careful attention to increasing your CO2 to help with oxygenation. Most medical workers do not appreciate CO2 as Peat does. Diamox helps altitude sickness by increasing CO2 for better oxygen absorption.

 

[Mittir]

Welcome to the forum

As Blossom pointed out, RP has mentioned that most health issues gets better
at higher elevation except for asthma. Though people living at high altitude have
lower rate of asthma than people at sea level, but once asthma is there then
moving to high altitude place is problematic.
There is a big difference in health status of a 24 yr old vs 34 yr old.
RP has mentioned that by age 30-40 most people are
saturated with polyunsaturated fatty acids
(PUFA) and accumulate a lot of toxins and heavy metals.
PUFA lowers body's ability to handle stress of all kind and contributes
to hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism ( especially high serotonin)
increases breathing problem. Are you allowed to donate blood to lower iron level?
Here are links to RP interviews on Altitude and CO2
Altitude: viewtopic.php?f=41&t=332
CO2 ( Video): viewtopic.php?f=21&t=31

 

[freyasam]

Thanks for the replies.

Mittir, are you saying I might have asthma?

As a thalassemiac, I cannot donate blood.

Not eating PUFAs now but I understand they may have accumulated in my body.

Working through video now; already listened to podcast.

Blossom, from what I've read, altitude shouldn't be much of a problem for thalassemiacs--maybe a bit of acute shortness of breath but not chronic like what I'm experiencing.

 

[Mittir]

I do not know if you have " regular asthma" or not. But now almost any kind of breathing
difficulty has a asthma label " Exercise Induced Asthma", " Aspirin Induced asthma",
"work place related asthma" etc. May be they have a category for " high altitude asthma".
All these category show that something causing stress in the body.
RP has mentioned that serotonin plays a big role in asthma along with
other the stress hormones. PUFA increases inflammation and stress hormones
like estrogen, cortisol, serotonin etc. It takes about 3-4 years for body
to achieve a good ratio of saturated fat to PUFA after restricting PUFA.
RP commented that PUFA intake below 4 grams daily is protective against cancer.
RP has an article on danger of iron. He possibly has written something about
Thalassemia or you can also ask him about his views on this.
http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/iron-dangers.shtml

 

[freyasam]

Is it still possible to contact RP? I don't see any way to contact him on his website.

I'm just not sure whether I should try to live in New Mexico or plan to return to lower elevation. I haven't seen much written about chronic hypoxemia, except that it's dangerous. I guess I could try to get my lungs checked out to get an idea whether staying at altitude would be detrimental.

Thanks for the iron article.

 

[Mittir]

He removed his web contact page long time ago.
But his P.O. Box address was there recently.
I just checked, it is gone too. In this month's ELUV interview
on stress, the host mentioned that RP does private
nutritional counselling. I hope someone else has his old
P.O. Box address. It is a good idea to get your lungs tested.
If i were you i would be a very careful about X-rays.
RP has written a lot about hypoxia. You can search his website
for Hypoxemia. Link to all of his audio interviews
http://www.functionalps.com/blog/2011/0 ... nterviews/

 

[Blossom]

You can get a Pulmonary Function Test that involves no radiation. It is simply breathing maneuvers through a tube and the lung capacity is analyzed. There should be no reason at all for a chest x-ray and if recommended I personally would refuse. Any pertinent data can be obtained by measuring lung capacity and air flow. I wouldn't give up on the idea of moving completely just yet. Perhaps we can find his address for you to write him a letter about an appointment or there is a scientist on his links page that does consultation as well. Obviously she is highly recommended by Peat or he would not have listed her on his web site so that may be an option too. Best of luck to you. I still think you may be able to gradually increase your CO2 for better oxygenation.

 

[freyasam]

Blossom, I don't see a link to the woman who does consultations. That would be great if someone could provide Ray's address and maybe I could do a consultation with him. Thanks for the advice on lung testing.

 

[Mittir]

Here is a link to a peatarian thread on contact address.
http://peatarian.com/37971/where-to-contact-ray-peat
This page has link to biochemnordic.com
http://raypeat.com/links.shtml

 

[freyasam]

Thank you!

 

[Blossom]

Blossom, I don't see a link to the woman who does consultations. That would be great if someone could provide Ray's address and maybe I could do a consultation with him. Thanks for the advice on lung testing.

I see Mittir linked you up which is great! I did want to clarify that I'm not necessarily saying you need tested only that if you want testing I feel that would be the safest and most informative test to have. Good luck in your endeavors!

 

[CellularIconoclast]

Have you tried aspirin? Asprin is an effective antidote to altitude sickness: http://www.bmj.com/content/316/7137/1057

It prevents breathlessness, headaches, and high heart rate in non-altitude adapted people. This is a short term study in non-adapted people, I don't know what it's effects would be longer term.

 

[lexis]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24564599

Riboflavin supplementation improves energy metabolism in mice exposed to acute hypoxia.

 

[freyasam]

Thanks everyone!

 

[lexis]

B2 maybe helpful for Thalassaemia

http://www.thalassemiapatientsandfriend ... l#msg39228

This is extremely bad for business.A patient cured is a lost customer.

 

[freyasam]

Interesting, I hadn't seen that B2-thalassemia link.

I recently did a Urine Amino Acids test by Genova, which showed I had high levels of B2. But my new naturopath says that urine tests are not a good indicator of actual levels in the body, so maybe I am deficient in it after all. He recommends hair mineral analysis--measures minerals but he claims it will give info about vitamins too.