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How has your Winter, Summer been for you this year?

rosie26

Senior Member
Messages
2,446
Location
NZ
Wondering how everyone is doing in their part of the World during these Summer and Winter months of the year. What have your temperatures been like? Have your symptoms improved or have your symptoms worsened?

I'm in New Zealand and it's been a very mild winter, I think, lots of rain, warming the temperature up. I can't bear the cold frost-like weather so as far as I am concerned it can rain all winter if it likes.

I think I have held up really well this Winter, for a change. How has the different seasons been for everyone else?
 

Misfit Toy

Senior Member
Messages
4,178
Location
USA
Summer here has been very mild. East Coast. I can't believe that we have hardly had any 90 degree days. Usually, August is the worst. Right now I have my window open and fan blowing. I'll take it. having said that, my health has been worse than ever but that's not from the weather.

I usually go to a pool all summer. it's my vacation. This year I have not joined a pool and I am glad I didn't. Too sick and it's rained a lot. Like so much. Our reservoirs are overflowing here.

I am glad the winter has been good for you!
 

Dechi

Senior Member
Messages
1,454
The winter was very hard for me this year. I started being depressed in march. I started being a little better around june, when summer came. Depression didn't completely go away but comes and goes with the intensity of my symptoms. Anxiety is high.

Our summer is very rainy, not very much sun, but I always do better in summer (so far, I've been sick for 3-4 years). Right now I am not doing well, but it's because of some testing I had.
 
Messages
1,478
Summer where I am in the uk started off very hot in June then got cooler and rainier. Hot and high pollen count was awful. This is the first summer of my illness that I haven't been in a closed air conditioned office ( I got made redundant from my job). It's taken a massive toll on my symptoms and dropped me down to sofa bound for weeks (I'm normally a 30-50% mild/ moderate case). Since the pollen count and temperature dropped I'm doing much better. Seems I like temperatures of around 21 deg C. The winter here is better for me temperature wise as long as I don't get too cold. Main problem is all the viruses floating around at my sons school.
 

Old Bones

Senior Member
Messages
808
In my part of Canada, we have experienced the hottest, driest summer since records started being kept more than a century ago. Smoke from nearby forest fires has adversely affected air quality. Many days, visibility has been poor, and the light has a strange orange colour. It feels like we're on a different planet.

I started the summer season feeling relatively stable, and have been gradually going downhill. I've always been adversely affected by both heat, and cold (in different ways). For more than a month, I've returned to a pattern of frequent nighttime awakenings, and my afternoon naps are shorter. So, the term "chronic fatigue" actually does apply these days, which it hasn't consistently for several years. The sensation that my brain is inflamed has returned, and my eyes are irritated. Pain and stiffness/spasm in my muscles has increased, as have neurological symptoms.

In contrast, last summer was cool and wet. I felt better, and was able to do more without experiencing the same degree of PEM.
 

rosie26

Senior Member
Messages
2,446
Location
NZ
Summer here has been very mild. East Coast. I can't believe that we have hardly had any 90 degree days. Usually, August is the worst. Right now I have my window open and fan blowing. I'll take it. having said that, my health has been worse than ever but that's not from the weather.

I usually go to a pool all summer. it's my vacation. This year I have not joined a pool and I am glad I didn't. Too sick and it's rained a lot. Like so much. Our reservoirs are overflowing here.

I am glad the winter has been good for you!
I could feel your summer when you said you had the window open and the fan blowing. :) Thanks, that was nice. I hope next summer you will be back having a swim again. I was determined to get to the beach last summer. It had been about eight years since I had last been. I ended up having about 8-9 swims over the whole summer. It was good.

My sinus problems that had gotten out of hand for months on end before and during the summer. I was relieved when they eventually settled right down again by March/April. I didn't think at the time that the seawater was helping but about a month after my last swim my sinuses came right. It may have been the orange juice that I had added to my daily routine, I can't remember the timing now.

Here's to next summer and a much better one for you @Misfit Toy :wine: :hug:
 

rosie26

Senior Member
Messages
2,446
Location
NZ
The winter was very hard for me this year. I started being depressed in march. I started being a little better around june, when summer came. Depression didn't completely go away but comes and goes with the intensity of my symptoms. Anxiety is high.

Our summer is very rainy, not very much sun, but I always do better in summer (so far, I've been sick for 3-4 years). Right now I am not doing well, but it's because of some testing I had.
Hi Dechi, I can so relate to all you said about the depression when symptoms intensify. Yes and the anxiety ramps up with it. Hang in there, rest and ride it out, over and over. :hug: I had many years like that and only get it when I have a severe bout now. Thanks for posting, will be thinking of you. xx
 
Last edited:

Dechi

Senior Member
Messages
1,454
@rosie26 thank you ! :)

It's reassuring to know there's a good chance depression might go away. I guess once you're accepted the illness a little more, it gets better.
 

rosie26

Senior Member
Messages
2,446
Location
NZ
@rosie26 thank you ! :)

It's reassuring to know there's a good chance depression might go away. I guess once you're accepted the illness a little more, it gets better.
@Dechi Looking back I can see clearly that the depression and anxiety came with the severity of symptoms. I did also recognise it at the time, I think, but I had difficulty processing it with a brain overwhelmed and not functioning properly and with severe symptoms of it's own. It was time and rest mainly that helped, improvements were subtle though each year. :)
 

rosie26

Senior Member
Messages
2,446
Location
NZ
Summer where I am in the uk started off very hot in June then got cooler and rainier. Hot and high pollen count was awful. This is the first summer of my illness that I haven't been in a closed air conditioned office ( I got made redundant from my job). It's taken a massive toll on my symptoms and dropped me down to sofa bound for weeks (I'm normally a 30-50% mild/ moderate case). Since the pollen count and temperature dropped I'm doing much better. Seems I like temperatures of around 21 deg C. The winter here is better for me temperature wise as long as I don't get too cold. Main problem is all the viruses floating around at my sons school.
Sorry to hear about the redundancy @arewenearlythereyet I just learned the other day of a place I worked when in my teens will be closing down, hundreds losing their jobs. I can imagine you missing the air conditioned office. I miss working in a warm building in the winter.

21 deg C is a good temperature. I think 24 deg C with a gentle breeze is even better for me. I'll have to recheck this next summer.

I know what you mean about catching viruses off others. I had to go to the pharmacy a couple of days ago and a lady who looked very sick and heavy of a flu came right up close to stand by me. I couldn't get out of there quick enough. I felt for her but just wanted to get away. The funny thing was, on my way home on the bus I sneezed about five times. They were the kind of sneezes you get with a cold. I wondered whether it was some of the virus the lady had. :eek: Probably doesn't work that quick though.
 

rosie26

Senior Member
Messages
2,446
Location
NZ
In my part of Canada, we have experienced the hottest, driest summer since records started being kept more than a century ago. Smoke from nearby forest fires has adversely affected air quality. Many days, visibility has been poor, and the light has a strange orange colour. It feels like we're on a different planet.

I started the summer season feeling relatively stable, and have been gradually going downhill. I've always been adversely affected by both heat, and cold (in different ways). For more than a month, I've returned to a pattern of frequent nighttime awakenings, and my afternoon naps are shorter. So, the term "chronic fatigue" actually does apply these days, which it hasn't consistently for several years. The sensation that my brain is inflamed has returned, and my eyes are irritated. Pain and stiffness/spasm in my muscles has increased, as have neurological symptoms.

In contrast, last summer was cool and wet. I felt better, and was able to do more without experiencing the same degree of PEM.
Hi @Old Bones , I hope some rain comes soon to you all and cooler weather with it. Hopefully that will be the last record summer for over another 100 years. We had a strange summer last in that it was cool til around mid-Feb. Normally the coolness subsides around mid-Jan at the latest.

Sounds like you need to do some major resting until you get some improvement. I get the same sleep patterns too when deteriorating. I often wonder the number of deterioration relapses I have been through - it must be in the hundreds to thousands now? You never really get used to them. Thanks for posting Oldbones, nice to chat to you again.:hug:





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purrsian

Senior Member
Messages
344
Our winter in QLD Australia has been very mild too, so it's been nice to not be still freezing even under blankets and in jumpers and trackies and more. Our weather has been more up and down than usual though - we had two days this week up to 30 degrees celsius (a little early for that yet) and then today was chilly again, plus crazy winds out of nowhere. It's been a bit like that for weeks now, which I think is bad for everyone's immune systems.

In Chinese medicine, they view viruses/bacteria etc infecting us as being due to climatic factors, and you get sick depending on the relative strength of the external pathogenic factor (the climatic factor) and your body's defences. If you body is weak, even a weak pathogen can make you sick, but a strong pathogen can make even healthier people sick. So when you are exposed to too much heat, cold, dry, damp or wind, you are more likely to get sick. I've found it beneficial to avoid too much of these, as my body is obviously so weak. I often use the dehumidify setting on my air con so I can get rid of the horrible QLD humidity without making it super cold, really helps the sinuses compared to normal air con.

While I find cold hard to deal with, heat is worse and humidity is the devil. A dry heat is hard for me to deal with, but humidity at any temperature makes me feel faint and like I can't get enough air. So I'm not looking forward to summer :oops:
 

rosie26

Senior Member
Messages
2,446
Location
NZ
In Chinese medicine, they view viruses/bacteria etc infecting us as being due to climatic factors, and you get sick depending on the relative strength of the external pathogenic factor (the climatic factor) and your body's defences. If you body is weak, even a weak pathogen can make you sick, but a strong pathogen can make even healthier people sick. So when you are exposed to too much heat, cold, dry, damp or wind, you are more likely to get sick. I've found it beneficial to avoid too much of these, as my body is obviously so weak. I often use the dehumidify setting on my air con so I can get rid of the horrible QLD humidity without making it super cold, really helps the sinuses compared to normal air con.
Yes, I often think of all the years I lived in a cold drafty house in winter with louver windows that never closed properly causing me to get sick with ME a lot quicker than I would have. Just another one of those things that can speed an illness up. The louver windows have now been replaced, finally.
 

purrsian

Senior Member
Messages
344
Yes, I often think of all the years I lived in a cold drafty house in winter with louver windows that never closed properly causing me to get sick with ME a lot quicker than I would have. Just another one of those things that can speed an illness up. The louver windows have now been replaced, finally.
I think it's important for us to stay warm, as our bodies have such little energy that it would be a waste for too much to be spent on it trying to maintain correct body temperature! I figure the easier it is for my body to maintain homeostasis, the less energy I expend by simply existing and the more energy I have to actually use :p
 

blueberry

Senior Member
Messages
103
Location
west yorkshire
I think 24 deg C with a gentle breeze is even better for me. I'll have to recheck this next summer.
Wow, that is my ideal climate too! My profile pic was taken in southern germany where we went for a week in August. The weather was ideal for me and for 3 days I experienced an almost total reduction in symptoms. Sheer heaven. Now with the rainy UK autumn weather, I'm a lot worse. I'm like a human weather vane these days.....wet weather makes leg pains and swollen glands worse. I wonder what mechanism is going on there?
 

rosie26

Senior Member
Messages
2,446
Location
NZ
Wow, that is my ideal climate too! My profile pic was taken in southern germany where we went for a week in August. The weather was ideal for me and for 3 days I experienced an almost total reduction in symptoms. Sheer heaven. Now with the rainy UK autumn weather, I'm a lot worse. I'm like a human weather vane these days.....wet weather makes leg pains and swollen glands worse. I wonder what mechanism is going on there?
You'll be hanging out for and daydreaming about another trip back there I imagine! There definitely is a perfect day. I often when out on a day like this think to myself how great it feels to be alive and just soak it up and wish we had more days like this. I'm going to try and record how many days like that we get this summer.

Winter is hard on the immune system, I find. I just feel worse. Fortunately where I am the summer heat rarely goes over 30 degrees C, so it's doesn't get extreme as other countries.

I hope you get a mild winter this year. Let us know how it goes for you.
 

blueberry

Senior Member
Messages
103
Location
west yorkshire
Thanks, Rosie. Many years ago I took myself of to southern Spain for several weeks in winter with a friend who also had ME. We basically lived outdoors under canvas for 6 weeks in a kind of alternative community and the climate helped a great deal, even though it was cold at night. My friend never moved back to the UK and still lives where the sunshine is.