In order to gain entry into Tanzania, a validated yellow fever International Certificate of Vaccination is required. The CDC has a page detailing this requirement. In addition, I was given shots for typhoid fever, hepatitis C, tetanus, and rabies. I was also prescribed Mefloquine (brand name Lariam) for malaria, fluoroquinolones (Cipro) for diarrhea, antibiotic eye drops for eye infections, and I also brought advil, and acetazolamide (Diamox) for altitude.
 
Diamox controls fluid secretion, and is typically used to treat glaucoma. It's considered to be a sulfa drug, so if you're allergic to sulfa, you probably shouldn't take it. Diamox's side effects are listed as: change in taste, diarrhea, increase in amount or frequency of urination, loss of appetite, nausea, ringing in the ears, tingling or pins and needles in hands or feet, vomiting... and, (more rare): anemia, black or bloody stools, blood in urine, confusion, convulsions, drowsiness, fever, hives, liver dysfunction, nearsightedness, paralysis, rash, sensitivity to light, severe allergic reaction, skin peeling (!).
 
It sounds like a crazy drug, but in practice, I only noticed an increase in breathing rate and deepness, an increase in the amount and frequency of urination, a loss of appetite, and tingling and pins and needles in my hands and feet. It made me feel strange -- like I was slightly out of breath all the time, except that I didn't feel like it was from oxygen starvation.
 
Mefloquine is taken weekly, and has the following side effects: nausea, dizziness, difficulty sleeping, and vivid dreams. I experienced all of these up on the mountain, and had vivid dreams and nausea as soon as I started taking it (a week before the trip).
 
It's strange, because the side effects of extreme altitude are commonly listed as: headaches, hyperventilation, shortness of breath during exertion, increased urination, irregular breathing patterns at night, and insomnia. Symptoms of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) include loss of appetite, nausea, or vomiting, fatigue or weakness, dizziness or light-headedness, difficulty sleeping, confusion, and staggering gait.
 
See a trend here? Between the altitude, Lariam, and Diamox, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to properly diagnose AMS if I had nausea and started throwing up. But, you can pretty much expect to have mild-to-severe headaches, shortness of breath during exertion, hyperventilation, loss of appetite, and insomnia. Everyone in our group exhibited all of those symptoms, but they became less severe as the days went on because we acclimitized at 4000 meters for three nights. By the evening of our summit ascent, I felt fantastic (i.e. healthy), and only was exhibiting loss of appetite, and shortness of breath during exertion.
 
I timed taking Mefloquine with my climb so I didn't have to take it while I was actually on the mountain. For the 7-day Machame route climb, this means that I took one dose the the evening before the climb, and one on the evening after the descent.
 
My Diamox prescription recommended that I should take 500mg, twice a day, for no more than four days (two days before being at altitude, and two days at altitude). I took 250mg of Diamox, twice a day, starting the evening of the second day of the climb. I continued taking it until the evening of the final summit ascent on day 6. When I returned from the mountain, I had residual tingling in my extremites and in my back, just to the left of my spine. I'm not sure if the tingling in my back was a result of Diamox, or something else. [next section]