[Everwilde]

I wanted to check in here, and share my updated experiences with this ongoing personal study of how weather affects my PCS. You could read former posts to see my history, but in short I have dealt with debilitating PCS symptoms for over 7 years, but have recently made a lot of improvement.

I was in WI for the first 5 years, and finally came to the end of my rope, being unable to go on, even with a overly-optimistic personality, and strong support from family and friends. I kept a log of symptoms, and after some years, a seasonal pattern emerged. I have a "points" system for symptoms and was averaging 180 points/month in WI. I began to investigate the relationship between weather and health. Finally, one day I lined up my head data with the local weather data, and found there was a lot of correlation with barometric pressure change.

Two years ago, I moved to central WA state, and did a lot better in the drier climate and fewer weather changes, averaging around 70 points/month (much better in summer). This past fall we had a lot of unstable weather, and my health almost reverted back to WI levels in October, since the pressure was a rollercoaster just like WI had been. I was pretty much dysfunctional for part of Sept, all of Oct and Nov.

We left WA after Thanksgiving, and traveled to AZ for the winter. It was raining when we left, and we drove through a lot of rain down into CA. I still had a lot of head pressure and other symptoms as we traveled. Once we got into southern CA, the symptoms evaporated, and I felt REALLY GOOD! I had not felt good like this for months.

We got to southern AZ, and the good health continued. I had a some issues when a rain storm came through in Dec, and a stumble (fall), but outside of that have done really well. Most of my days are "perfect" days without symptoms, and I still thank God every morning that I wake up without head pressure and think - "Praise GOD, it's still gone!". This is the third winter in AZ, and I have averaged a score of 30/month with some months in the teens. Needless to say this is really life-changing for me. According to my pressure change map, I should do even better in southern CA (actually almost any tropical place near the ocean - but who wouldn't do better there?).

I have tried to take into account any other factors that could be affecting me like stress, drinking water, sunshine levels, Vit D, dietary deficiencies, air quality, different foods, sleeping arrangements, exercise levels, temperature, chemical off-gassing in the house, etc. With all the varied places and conditions I have stayed, it seems that the pressure change causing problems shines through.

Last week, I met with Dr Freidman in Los Angeles to look into possible damage to the hypothalamus and pituitary glands. It seems that there is not much he can do for me, as my issues come and go. He said that if he were me, he would be looking to move to San Diego. Since he is a research doctor, I told him that I wished that someone could take my data and make it into a study. He said he did not have time, but would put one of his students on it. She is now requesting the data, and is hoping to publish it in a medical journal in the near future. Hoping that this can be of use to finding more answers to PCS.

One disclaimer - every head injury is different, and what is a help to me, will not necessarily be a help to you. I am VERY grateful to have found something that helps, and if this info can help even a few other people get relief, it will be worth the years taken to discover it.

[Lara]

Thanks for your update.

It's interesting you're feeling better after moving to a less humid climate. There would be so many different environmental factors involved in doing such a study. Look at the prevalence of Seasonal Affective Disorder in certain climates too.

I was looking in barometric pressure changes and migraine triggers recently. Your story is almost the opposite.

In the study about migraines below, they found that not only did higher temps lead to more severe headaches but that lower barometric pressure triggered migraines.

http://www.neurology.org/content/72/10/922.abstract
Weather and air pollution as triggers of severe headaches
Kenneth J. Mukamal, MD, Gregory A. Wellenius, ScD, Helen H. Suh, ScD and Murray A. Mittleman, MD, DrPH

http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...ere-headaches/
Harvard Gazette

edited to add: I also found this interesting. It mentions something called a MediClim
http://www.cmaj.ca/content/180/8/809.full.pdf
Meteorology of the human body.

Anyway, sorry to go off on a migraine tangent but I do find it interesting that you're feeling so much better.

Thanks for your update and I hope you continue to get well.

[Everwilde]

These are interesting articles, and underscore that every brain is different. This is why it seems difficult for researchers to find a common weather cause, because it varies so much among people. Some are affected by hot weather, some by humid, some by low pressure. Some are even opposite - affected by cold, or by dry conditions. When researchers lump these people into a study group, the triggers cancel each other out, and the conclusions are unclear. For me the culprit is changing pressure, either up or down. Since this is more stable in the summer, I do a lot better, where someone affected by heat or humidity might do more poorly in the same season.

I am submitting my 5 years of data to a research student this week, and am hoping that it can lead to more answers in this area.

[Everwilde]

I am now most of the way through Feb, and am still dong really well! I have never done nearly this well since the accident. I did really well in AZ other winters, but was not here this long, and am finding that the longer I am here the better I do! In an earlier post I mentioned how I track a symptom score for each day, and add them up for each month. I said how in WI, I averaged 180 points per month, and WA was something like 70.

Well, here in AZ my December score was 44, January was 17, and it looks like Feb will be in the single digits! Most of the points came from half-days of some head pressure that correlate exactly to the few relatively minor barometric pressure changes we get here. I bought a local bumper sticker the other day with palm trees that says "No Bad Days" to celebrate.

It has been an amazing winter! We are now planning on spending March around San Diego, to see how I do with the moisture over there. We have decided to put sell our farms in WI and WA, and move South. Depending how things go in CA, we are looking at places here in AZ and in CA. I am still sensitive to bumps, but am very grateful to think that there may be some long-term relief after the 7 years of suffering!

[clandestine]

Does sunshine affect anyone else? Personally I'm not good with it.

[Lara]

How do you mean exactly?

I have a lot of difficulties with really bright sunny days but I also have blue eyes so my eyes are super sensitive to our harsh light here where I live anyway. I tend to hold onto the brightness even when I go inside and it's difficult to describe, but I see trails and spots of light for a very long time afterwards. I need to wear good sunglasses outside all the time on sunny days. I quite like the dark.

[Everwilde]

OK, here is a continuation of our weather experiment. We spent the month of March and early April in coastal San Diego County, and I had a total whopping score of 4! Virtually no issues, even when it rained (because there was very little pressure change). I found that it also diminished my other triggers like little bumps, loud noises, salty food, little sleep, etc, because I was not always fighting the weather. I got my life back and it was amazing!

Here is another interesting bit of data from this week. Our time in the South came to an end, and we needed to travel back home to WA (to sell our place). As soon as I got past Bakersfield, and into the Central Valley of CA, I started to have mild issues again. As we went up through CA and into central Oregon I had a lot of head pressure, headaches, dizziness, everything was loud, and it all came back. There was a weather front moving through just then. Now that I am home in central WA, things are just about like they were when I was here before. It is more than chance that I have not had symptoms like this since mid-Dec, and they all came back as I went North.

Some would tell me that it is "all in my head" or that it just came back because of anxiety. I am a very laid back person, and always overly optimistic, and was not worried about what would happen upon my return. I really had hoped that somehow I would do better in the North, and that I would not have to move again, but the data and experience is very clear.