[pct-l] Remedies for loss of appetite

[Clint Kaul]

Hello Reinhold (and Josh) (and Thomas),

On Sun, Jun 21, 2009 at 7:50 AM, Reinhold
Metzger<reinholdmetzger at cox.net> wrote:
> Did you ever consider that perhaps your problem was acute mountain
> sickness ''AMS'' resulting from a lack of acclimatization?
> ''AMS'' can cause any and all the symptoms you described and the fact
> that the symptoms emerged at Wrightwood, at high
> altitude, could point toward ''AMS''.
> Longer acclimatization and or less strenuous activity (less aggressive
> hiking) resulting in lower oxygen demand until acclimatized
> might solve the problem.
> I experienced loss of appetite & stamina on some of my JMT fastpacks due
> to ''AMS''

I never considered it.  I have never had trouble with AMS at low
altitude (< 10,000)
or even at 14,000 when mountain climbing.  I did have AMS when going above
20,000.  You are correct that many of the symptoms sound similar to what I
described.  My PCT symptoms did not seem similar to the AMS symptoms I had.
I didn't have a headache, feel light-headed, have shortness of breath.  While
I felt lethargic/slow it is similar to how I feel when I am hungry in
normal life.
If I managed to eat a reasonable amount of food at once, I felt better
for awhile
after that.

The thing that seems to be confusing is that I wouldn't say I felt nauseous -
definitely not like the nauseousness I felt with AMS.  I guess I'm just poor at
describing my symptoms.  Yes I would typically throw-up my breakfast, but
I immediately felt "fine" after that.  I was hungry and my stomach "hurt" (for
lack of better description) but the "hurt" felt the same as the "hurt" I have in
normal life when I haven't eaten in a couple of hours.  When I was hiking down
the trail I felt "fine" but suddenly I would have to stop and start dry-heaving/
retching by the side of the trail.  Usually 1-2 (rarely 3) stomach heaves,
probably 75-80% of the time without any food regurgitation, and then I felt
"fine" again.  I would stand still another 15-30 seconds and then continue
hiking.  Within a minute I would try to eat a little more food.  I
don't know what
to attribute the retching to - indigestion?, excessive stomach acid? ???
By 11am-12noon the retching would stop.  I would still have the hunger
and stomach "hurt" throughout the entire day though.  The only time the
hunger/stomach-hurt disappeared would be the roughly 2 hours after I ate
a decent meal.  A "decent meal" being Lipton Pasta Side for example, or
a bagel and 4-5 oz of cheese/peanut-butter - basically 600-800 calories.

I will also note that from Three Points (mile 403?) to Tehachapi (566) the
trail rarely goes over 6000 feet.  I had all my symptoms during this entire
stretch as well.  At least when I had AMS within a couple of hours of
descending back to lower altitude I felt fine/normal again - all symptoms
disappeared.  If I only had these problems for 1-2 days - who cares, I
would still be on the trail.  But after 11-14 days (do you count rest days?)
of slowly worsening symptoms the "fun factor" was gone.

> I also would suggest you take food that you really like.
> It is strange how you can loose your taste for food you like normally.
> But, I never lost my taste for cheese, BB chips or Snickers bars.
> Some folks frown on that as junk food......Perhaps, but if you can eat
> it it is better for you than normal healthy food that you can't get it
> down or keep it down.
> If you fastpack at high altitude go for what your body craves and if
> that is high in fat and sweets, so what....more calories  and
> faster release.  Besides, you will burn all the fat anyhow.

I chose food which I like in normal life, but perhaps not in the quantity
that I was forced to eat on the trail.  For example, I like peanut butter
but eating 8 oz a day I quickly grew to dislike it.  I had to spread out
the eating of peanut butter over several breaks to get it down.

So yes, the next time I go out on the PCT I'll be packing more "junk
food".  I need to boost my carb percentage anyways.  I also hope a
wider variety of fats will work; I had relied on olive oil initially but that
didn't work well for me.


For Thomas, I didn't consider Lyme disease.  I was pretty careful
about checking my body each day for ticks.  I never saw any ticks
or their bites.  I never saw the "rash" or felt muscle/joint pain.

I'm a bit surprised no-one suggested giardiasis.  While looking at
the symptom list now I doubt it is giardiasis.  I didn't have diarrhea,
bloating, cramps, fatigue that I think of with giardiasis.


Thank you for the suggestions.  They are certainly worth considering,
clint