A physician has already weighed in on this thread (not me!). And I don't see anyone suggesting taking Diamox without consulting a physician.
I, for example, consulted two physicians before getting Diamox, including a doctor at Stanford who specializes in wilderness, emergency, and high altitude medicine. He recommended a lower dose than would your average general practitioner (based on my weight and sex, he recommended 62.5 mg twice a day). Even so, over time, as I've done more high altitude, and based in part on information gained here, I've experimented with lower doses and come up with dosing that works for me (62.5 mg once a day right before bed at sleeping altitudes of about 11k-13k, up to about 1.5 times that at sleeping altitudes of 16-17k). I get Cheyenne stokes at higher altitudes and Diamox stops it cold. Your experience may differ.
Now the fact that I share this does not mean I think people should adopt anecdotal experience as dogma for themselves. People should consult their doctors for sure. But it has also been my (non medically informed) perception that Diamox is often way over prescribed (one GP prescribed my friend a dose for treating glaucoma, which was way too high), and that this drug may not be one-size-fits-all in terms of dosing.
So if this thread puts it into people's minds that, yes, you should work with your physician, but consider taking an active rather than passive role on working with your physician to find out what is best for you, then that may be a good thing.
