Acetazolamide and Nausea: What Users Say

• tir...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 14, 2020

Acetazolamide for Pseudotumor Cerebri "I have been on the medication for about 3 weeks, taking 1 pill - 125 mg every night. It did not help, I still had episodes. Last week I started taking 2 pills (one in the a.m. and one in the p.m.). While it seems to be holding off the episodes so far, I feel awful. My ears were already ringing, and this has just turned it up. I have nausea and a general feeling of 'I just don't feel well.' I experience weakness and fatigue. It feels like I'm breathing in air but getting no oxygen, like I'm getting no benefit from it (does that make sense?). I slept for about 8.5-9 hours last night and still woke up completely exhausted."

• Jan...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 16, 2016

Acetazolamide for Pseudotumor Cerebri "This drug has not helped relieve pressure, headaches, or visual impairments in my case. My vision continues to go in and out without notice, waking up every day with a headache and continuing to have one well into the late evening before bedtime. The side effects are awful! I have lost 29 lbs in three weeks! I am unable to hold anything down, everything tastes nasty or like I'm eating pennies. Constant fatigue and restlessness. The prickling in the hands and toes, not to mention the constant nausea. Every case is different. It's not working for me but could for someone else. I cannot tell anyone to not take a drug or to take a drug for IIH. Because every case is different, everyone will see different results."

• mat...
• December 4, 2017

Acetazolamide for Pseudotumor Cerebri "I have been on Diamox since 2004 when I was first diagnosed with pseudotumor cerebri. I was hospitalized for 5 days after experiencing paralysis in my legs, severe headaches, nausea, and visual impairment. I have tried to stop taking the medication but had to return to it due to the severe headaches and cranial swelling. I have constant problems with electrolyte deficiencies and have to take additional medications to alleviate other problems. This is still the best treatment I have experienced. In addition to this condition, I also have lupus, HBP, hypothyroidism, and I am bipolar."

• Em7...
• November 12, 2017

Acetazolamide for Pseudotumor Cerebri "Side effects far worse than idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) itself. Constantly nauseous, made no difference to headaches/pressure, suffered with slight breathing difficulties and palpitations, the tingling in hands and feet was more like cramp than tingling in the end... the list goes on.."

• And...
• June 11, 2020

Acetazolamide for Mountain Sickness / Altitude Sickness "At age 37, I decided to take my 1st ever mountain camping trip. We found a beautiful spot at 12,497 ft. I had been to Denver as a teenager with no reaction to altitude, so I wasn’t expecting to get sick. I hydrated, but evidently not enough. Within 4 hours of making camp, I began feeling nauseous. After 6 hours, diarrhea. By 10 hours, around midnight, I was going in and out of consciousness. We thought I had severe food poisoning. Due to the dangerous location, we could not get down from the mountain. Long story short, when I returned home to Dallas, Texas, I had had a mild edema. My doctor prescribed Diamox and portable oxygen for my next mountain trip. It really gets the job done. I have played around with the dosing, starting at half doses & add more up to the full dose as needed. I begin Diamox 48 hours before ascending over 9.5k. I find smaller dosing decreases the drowsiness. I hope this information helps others. Be safe and well."

• Sar...
• June 9, 2015

Acetazolamide for Pseudotumor Cerebri "I was diagnosed in 2014, and I can honestly say it has been a very difficult disease to handle... though I know there are much worse out there. I was put on Diamox, and my headaches or vision problems did not improve, in fact, they got worse. I have had more migraines since starting this than I ever did before. The side effects are awful... no appetite, foggy head (I am barely able to function day to day), nausea, everything you try to eat tastes awful. I am glad this has worked for some, but I cannot continue taking it."

• Sha...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 4, 2021

For Pseudotumor Cerebri "I've been taking this medication for about a month so far. My opening pressure was 36, but I also was throwing up and flopping from an anxiety attack with a needle in my back, and that caused me to be laid up for 2 months alone. When I first started this medication, it was miserable to say the least. I had tingles in my hands, feet, and face, felt nauseous and weak, lightheaded, had chest pain, also skin peeling. Most of it went away after 2 weeks with a little help of lemonade for nausea and walks as much as I could. I went to see my neuro-ophthalmologist, and in 18 days I'm done, my swelling is gone and my eyesight is wonderful. It definitely is a struggle to get on this bandwagon of a med, but it works-I can vouch for that. Just remember, lots of potassium and protein really help too. Hope this helps for others, there is a light in the tunnel, and there are other medications if this isn't a suitable one for you. A shunt should be the last option due to all the risk factors that happen with it."

• Jil...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 31, 2019

For Hydrocephalus "I was diagnosed with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) a week ago and have been on the Diamox for a week. It’s been a week of awfulness. Hands, feet, and full face are numb and tingling. I also feel thumping in my face. I’m so tired and just sick. I’m nauseous, major anxiety, I feel like I have the flu. I’m trying to get through this, but I don’t know how much more I can take. I don’t know if there’s a different kind of medicine I can take for IIH. [If you check the internet, there is an article in Medscape about idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH)]"

• Tor...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 6, 2020

For Pseudotumor Cerebri "This medication acetazolamide was horrific at first! I had to take off work a month just to take it. I started taking a dose of 125 mg a night for a week, then 125 x 2 a day for a week, then 250 x 2 a day for a week. Now I take 500 mg ER once a day. Next week I go to 500 mg ER 2 x a day. I was so sick I couldn’t get out of bed the first two weeks. Food and drinks still taste strange, still very sick just not as bad, but sadly trying to adjust as my new normal. Still tingling in hands/feet. Sharp headaches, nausea, breathing issues, tired, eyes look weak, dizzy, always in a haze. Eating anything seems to enhance my nausea. I had trouble walking one week and had to have an epidural steroid shot in my back. I have lived with ringing in both ears for over a year now. The medicine has made my ringing worse! I can’t stop the medicine. So I don’t have a choice. I have to take the medicine or risk going blind. However, I am pretty miserable!"

• Dia...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 1, 2020

For Pseudotumor Cerebri "It made my headaches and vision considerably worse at a low dose (250 mg b.i.d.). Caused a number of other side effects: horrible numbness and tingling in hands, feet, arms, legs, and face; fatigue; loss of appetite; nausea; vomiting; diarrhea; tons of kidney stones; muscle weakness; severe muscle cramping; loss of bladder control; loss of muscle control (unable to move fingers, face twitching); loss of feeling in hands and feet; cyanosis of extremities."

• Jas...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 7, 2020

For Glaucoma "I was only prescribed this medication for 3 days following an eye procedure. I generally steer away from any prescription meds as much as possible. I experienced horrible tingling hands and feet, mild nausea, a little lightheaded. The worst symptom was extreme fatigue. Very relieved when the 3-day course was up."

• Mar...
• March 2, 2014

Acetazolamide for Glaucoma "I am taking Diamox, this is the 3rd time I have been prescribed this. It definitely works, but the side effects this time are the worst of all. I am dizzy and fell, with pins and needles in my hands, feet, and face. A headache, I don't know if it's from the medication or from the fall. Nausea."

• Jaz...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 4, 2020

"Man, so I just was going to my eye doctor for a check-up about my left eye having pressure, having headaches, but I started a green smoothie diet and started feeling better. But she sent me to the ER to have an emergency cat scan as she had seen something. So I had an MRI of my brain and spinal cord because I had so much pressure on it (Idiopathic intracranial hypertension - IIH). But I feel I could have gone without all of this, including the medication. I hate taking it, sometimes I don't want to take it. I can't eat, & I feel like I will throw up, & I feel spaced out. I don't feel normal."

• bab...
• April 7, 2011

For Glaucoma "I have a lot of fluid in my optic nerve, blurred vision. I have a couple of days taking this medication twice daily, and it gives me some side effects ...gives me tingling in my fingers and toes, nausea, and I also experienced dizziness, but my doctor says it will go away in two weeks."

• Ton...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 2, 2021

For Glaucoma "First of all, oh my god, the taste of soda is godawful. It started the first day I was on it. I'm on day 14. I get the tingle in my fingertips. I feel nausea and a bit dizzy, but then it goes away and comes back. Last but not least, the most explosive diarrhea I have ever experienced in my life, and I had a really bad stomach bug. The diarrhea from this stuff is so much crazier. The bowel sounds and stomach and intestine gurgles are insane, they're so loud. As soon as I hear them, I have to go destroy the toilet bowl with my diarrhea all over it. Oh my god, it does help with eye pressure, though I will say that, but oh my god, I wish I knew how to get rid of these side effects."

• Ano...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 11, 2016

For Pseudotumor Cerebri "I am almost 20 years old and was diagnosed about 3.5-4 weeks ago. I got a lumbar puncture and then started Diamox, and it has been an awful experience. The first week and a half, I was severely exhausted, had nausea, and the taste issue, and basically wasn't functional. Then, for about a week or so, I seemed to be getting better until a few days ago when I've been very rapidly getting new symptoms/side effects like severe joint pain, itchy scalp, and waking up with my eyelids swollen half shut, and then this morning my lips were extremely swollen. I had to go to the ER to make sure it wasn't an allergic reaction, but it seems to be just a weird reaction to the meds (not allergic). I hate it. If I didn't have to take it, I wouldn't."

• Cat...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 3, 2019

Acetazolamide for Mountain Sickness / Altitude Sickness "I took one of these pills (125 mg) to try it before my vacation, and I haven't felt so sick in a long time. OMG, it was horrible!! It started with mild dizziness and tiredness. Not so bad, but by the 12th hour, I just wanted to check out. A lot of dizziness, very tired but couldn't sleep, nausea, and headache. Generally, I felt awful but couldn't put my finger on how else it made me feel this awfulness. I took a meclizine and some Advil and felt a bit better. The next day, I still felt a bit weird but not so awful. That stuff lasts a long time, and if you take it on vacation and have my reaction, you'll waste a lot of hours being miserable."

• Bru...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 20, 2019

For Glaucoma "I've been taking this for almost a month now at 500 mg a day. Made me terribly sleepy at first, and I slept almost all day on the first Sunday (4 days in), terrible abdominal pains, woolly head, and nausea, plus more frequent urination. Sleepiness has passed, and I've been taking the tablets before a meal, and that has helped with the abdominal pain. Still waking in the night to visit the loo, but daytime urination has normalized. Nausea is a constant, though, and I have to force myself to eat. The consultant has given me another month's supply, oh joy."

• Cat...
• December 12, 2016

For Seizure Prevention "I have been on this drug for a month or so now because of daily/chronic headaches that started after I was in a motorcycle accident. Eight years of my life spent every moment with a headache, and I have been everywhere for help, even to the Mayo Clinic, and no one could find a medication to help me. Finally, this was prescribed as a last attempt since it is not FDA approved to treat headaches, and since I have had at least two weeks with a headache that is much more improved than before, I can actually function most days now. This medication causes me to have severe muscle aches, weakness, fatigue, tingling in hands, feet, and face, along with nausea, but it's still better than how I was before."

• Cin...
• December 16, 2010

For Seizure Prevention "I am taking carbamazepine for seizures but found that I was gaining a lot of weight (22 pounds in 2 months). After doing much search on the web, I found an article where a doctor did research on 15 patients that had weight gain on carbamazepine and found that by taking acetazolamide, the patients were able to lose the weight they had gained and maintained the weight lost. Today is day 2 on the acetazolamide, and I am sick to my stomach, feeling a bit dizzy and withdrawn. I would love to lose the weight that many of you have mentioned but not sure if I want to deal with the side effects to achieve this."

• Ano...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 17, 2025

For Glaucoma "I have been taking this medication after an SLT laser procedure. About 6 days after the procedure, my eye pressure was at 47, then went up to 50. The doctor prescribed acetazolamide, and I have experienced nausea, diarrhea, chills, and some tingling in my fingers. My vision was very blurry before taking the medicine, and now it seems to have cleared up a bit. My appetite has come back, and I'm no longer nauseous, but I am still having headaches or pressure on the temples. Not sure if these are all good signs that my eye pressure is getting better, but I want to get my vision back and resume normal activities."

• Uni...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 10, 2022

Acetazolamide for Pseudotumor Cerebri "So I was started with 250 mg twice a day with Diamox, and I absolutely could not tolerate this medication. I even went down to 125 mg twice a day, still couldn't do it. To me, this medication is awful, the side effects are horrendous, and please do not believe the doctors that this is just a diuretic. Diamox breaks down your CFS, and I'm just not comfortable with taking a medicine that does that. It caused intense nausea, vomiting, anxiety, depleted my electrolytes, which is very dangerous, and gave me kidney infections, and I was only on it for 2 weeks. It can also cause kidney stones and failure... so that's awesome. Please, please look into this medication before taking it. I've gone with more alternative methods like acupuncture and lymphatic massage and had much better results and no nasty side effects."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 2, 2017

Acetazolamide for Pseudotumor Cerebri "Confusion, lethargy, diarrhea, hyperchloremia, CO2 16, nausea, dizziness."

• Mar...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 6, 2022

Acetazolamide for Glaucoma "It's made me extremely dizzy and nauseous. No appetite at all. My one hand was occasionally tingly but livable. I stopped it after 3 days."