Altitude / Acclimation / Dizziness / Breathing / Heart (Denver, Colorado Springs: ski resorts, hotel, homes)

[Nea1]

Originally Posted by skyblu

Thanks everyone, for continuing to weigh in. My spouse is still in the interview process. I have immediate family in Texas, so not returning to sea level would not be an option for me. I'm also not a very "adaptive" type person either, so I definitely feel uneasy especially after reading the posts from Mover6, Fuzz and Nea1. Any Docs out there that have professional experience with this issue?

Dont let it get to you, you may notice things for a couple weeks or like me you dont notice anything. I came from sea level. Denver elevation isnt anything like Aspen where I was for awhile, it is almost 9000 ft. It is a wonderful place here in Colorado, I feel lucky to live here.

[Fuzz]

What Nea1 said. Acclimatizing for 3-6 months doesn't mean you'll have headaches and other physical problems for that long. Any explicit physical discomfort will usually go away after a week or so. Beyond that, acclimatization will simply produce more red blood cells and you'll find it easier to do physical activity.

FYI, neither my wife nor I noticed anything other than being out of breath for the first week or two when we moved to Denver from Chicago. When we moved from Denver to 9,000 feet, again, we noticed being out of breath for a few weeks as well. But no headaches or anything.

It's not really that bad.

[skyblu]

Thanks for your encouragement Fuzz and Nea1. I guess we'll just see if my spouse gets the job offer and go from there. It would be really awesome to get to see me nieces and nephews on a regular basis though!

[Charles]

Originally Posted by livecontent

Charles,

Your post about LisaCACO is off the mark.

You are correct. I apologize. My comments were not too funny. My bad.

Now, back to the thread...

I swam 2000 yards three times per week for almost 20 years in LA. Had a set stroke. Moved to Colorado. Jeez, altitude gets to you. Swam 2000 yards today at Butterfield park in Castle Rock. My stroke rate was way down. Not an acclimation issue - been here a year already. There is less O2. Someone on City-Data wrote automobile horsepower is down 3-4% for every one thousand feet of increased altitude. Might be true for humans too??

I was huffin and puffin. Getting old and fat sucks.

Bottom line: While acclimation is a physiological transition, anything aerobic will be more difficult at higher altitude - you just can't overcome altitude (unless you bring your own 02 bottles).

[sorryville]

Its a theory that the further you are from the equator, the less sun exposure you get (leading to Vitamin D defiency) and the greater your risk for getting MS. So you were right about Northern states. I live in Southern Nevada and should be low risk, yet I have it. There is a map and an explanation at this link Multiple sclerosis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A few weeks ago I was in Denver and the first day I was really winded after walking only a short distance, we went all over downtown. The following day we went to a Rockies game (the last game they lost) and I learned a great benefit to the altitude - I'm a cheap drunk! However, the walking didn't bother me anymore.

I feel for you guys that have problems with the low humidity. Coming from Nevada, its higher humidity (ours is usually 4-10%) for me and I loved it. Plus we have extremely hard water here that also dries out your hair and skin. So that was two more items I could add to the list of things I like there.

Wish me luck, I'm moving there in February!

Originally Posted by Nea1

I too have lived at various levels, from sea level ( 30 years) to 9000 ft. I felt tired and had a headache but after a few weeks felt fine. You get used to it. If not there may be other unknown health or mental reasons. My mom has MS and lives in Oregon, her aunt had it lived in Idaho, I think it is the northern states. But I dont think you contract MS from living there. Colorado is great, I have lived in 6 states total, think this is the best I have felt yet.

[katmoney]

I came from Chicago and although I didn't have issues with the altitude, did see that I was having nose problems!! Nosebleeds, etc and my nasal passages just felt dry all the time. I also had issues with chapped lips, so I had to be sure I had my medicated chapstick w/ me at all times. I came here and finished training for a marathon (that I came back to run in Chicago) and had a hard time running 3 miles. I'm okay now, it took about two weeks to adjust. I still get so buzzed off of two drinks though!

[Caramelboo]

When I recently visited Denver, the first thing I noticed was how thirsty I was. Water is a must out there! Also, I had a slight headache that day, but it was gone by the next day. I could definitely feel the effects of the altitude when I went on a hike at Red Rocks Park. I did not consider the fact that I was hiking at over 6000 feet. Talk about tired! I was afraid I was going to pass out! I had to sit down several times along the trail, regardless of the threat of rattlesnakes in the area! My nose was also running like crazy. But also I was not my best physically since I had slacked off on exercising. Well, I got plenty out there!

But I greatly enjoyed my trip. Just be sure to have plenty of water on hand.

[Jester76]

Drink alot of water to avoid altitude sickness.

[FoRuMRideR420]

Glad to say after almost a week i have yet to notice any difference coming from sea level. Even at Loveland i was at 12,120 I hiked up a little to get onto different trail and wasn't even breathing hard. I was so worried about it too

[hw15]

I was 23 and very healthy and active when my husband and I moved from Texas (born and raised in DFW area) to Denver because we love the mountains and also skiing. In the first year, the thing that was the most noticable to us was the dry air. We had to wear a lot of lotion and chapstick and got a humidifier for the bedroom (used in the wintertime only). Also, clothes out of the washing machine dry very quickly and so does your hair after it is washed. Some things we missed were the awesome thunderstorms and good mexican food! But, the mountain views, brilliant colored trees, deep blue sky and sparkling snow make it all worth while. And the 300+ days of sunshine per year is a nice perk. With summertime averaging 70 degrees in Denver, it definitely beats the stiffling heat and humidity in Texas. Now the Texas heat makes me feel like I'm going to die! In the wintertime, it feels less frigid in Denver than in Texas for some reason. Even though the temperature may be slightly colder (say 25 vs. 35 degrees), there is something about the wet cold in Texas that chills you to the bone. Yes, we did get out of breath easier at first. The sun did burn our skin easier too. We also had to adjust the cooking times on food. But, every location has its unique weather and other natural conditions. We are all blessed to have such a variety of locations to chose from in the U.S., from beaches to mountains, wet or dry, hot or cold, city or country, and to have the opportunity to live anywhere we chose. We humans are also very adaptable to our environments. If you are considering moving, be sure it is for the right reasons. If it is, then all the rest falls into place and you will barely notice any brief ill-effects while you are busy enjoying your new surroundings. But, if you don't move because YOU want to (i.e. someone else asks you to or a job forces you to) then each little difference becomes annoyance after annoyance until you finally can't take it anymore. No offense, but it seems like you could be looking for altitude as an excuse to tell your sister why you can't move to her city (so as not to hurt her feelings), when maybe the truth is, you really love being right where you are.