I have a Harvey/Ken/medical researcher question re: AMS - Is the body's reaction to the effects of altitude similar to its reaction to pain? A couple of years ago while in the BC backcountry I broke a tooth, and found a most capable dentist in a nearby town who extracted it for me. She told me to take an NSAID immediately afterward. When I suggested I thought I'd wait until the anesthetic wore off to see if there would be substantial pain, she explained that given the procedure there would likely be pain, and it was important to stop the body's reaction to the pain before it started. Apparently once that reaction is triggered it's much more difficult to stop it. It occurred to me that perhaps the body's reaction to the effects of altitude might be similar in that once the various processes are triggered they were difficult to slow down. Any thoughts?
