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Figure out what causes Relapses (Fall)

Seven7

Seven
Messages
3,444
Location
USA
I FIGURE IT OUT. :balloons: 100% Sure, I have had 3 relapses and everytime they happen in the fall season :eek: . I just remember every time I got sick I went home, so I can look back and they all coincide with the fall allergies which is when I react the worse!!!

So I started to be more diligent w the nose spray (AH1) and see if I can do better this season and avoid relapse.:thumbsup:
 

justy

Donate Advocate Demonstrate
Messages
5,524
Location
U.K
Hey Inester, i know that the autumn is a very common time for relapses in PWME. I dont know if anyone knows why. I figure its damp - so mold spores around, also darker. But i dont really know why.
Take care, Justy
 

Tammy

Senior Member
Messages
2,181
Location
New Mexico
Hi Inester..............just curious........how long does your relapse in the Fall generally last?
 

Sallysblooms

P.O.T.S. now SO MUCH BETTER!
Messages
1,768
Location
Southern USA
I get MUCH better in fall, winter and spring. It is the cool temps for me, heat is not my friend. I hope you get relief with the med. I am able to go out and walk now with cooler temperatures. Great for POTS/Dysautonomia.
 

Tally

Senior Member
Messages
367
I get severe relapse every fall. Unfortunately there can be many reasons, different diet, sunlight, alergies. Maybe even virus becomes more active. No one knows for sure why there is almost no flu in the summer.

Maybe it could be an easy way to separate CFS/ME subsets.
 

Seven7

Seven
Messages
3,444
Location
USA
Hi Inester..............just curious........how long does your relapse in the Fall generally last?
First year 6 months, second year 6 months, Third year 1 year and counting (I am on my 3rd Major relapse but getting better per the day).

I think is another stressor (allergies) that your body has to deal with and it taxes your immune system. That is just my personal opinion.
 

ukxmrv

Senior Member
Messages
4,413
Location
London
Does anyone else notice that the flu season starts in the Fall/Autumn? People around me start getting the flu before the yearly flu vaccine is released.

Not sure if it would help you but EPD helped me with some of my pollen allergies

(I don't relapse or are any worse in the Fall though)
 

SOC

Senior Member
Messages
7,849
I have often relapsed in the fall, but mostly due to contracting a virus -- H1N1 was the worst.

Fall has a lot things going that are probably bad for us -- allergens, flu, less sunlight (less vit D), kids back in school bringing more stuff home, and probably more. Fall is like an immune system obstacle course. :ill:
 

ukxmrv

Senior Member
Messages
4,413
Location
London
I've noticed that "day light saving" changes to the clock (both ways) seem to have an effect on PWCFS and ME as well.
 
Messages
445
Location
Georgia
I get really sick in the days leading up to the autumnal equinox. I suspect my deepest body clock doesn't like the days shortening. And conversely when the winter equinox hits (the exact midpoint between the shortest and longest day of the year) I instantly start feeling a little better. It's uncanny. This means part of our illness is very deep in the HPA axis. Which means it's much more complex than we thought. Kinda depressing. Besides that, exercise, allergies, stress make me worse. Oh yeah, and flying past three or more time zones triggers an intense crash.
 

GracieJ

Senior Member
Messages
772
Location
Utah
My body clock checks out on me every September, and I forget every time... it was easier to remember in Alaska, because I always did it in August, which just felt REALLY odd. Back in the "lower 48" for seven years, and just can't seem to remind myself early enough to start working hard on sleep hygiene, light exposure, all that. Back to the old game of insomnia I played for 30 years... the good news is that I probably will pull out within a month or so, instead of staying in the mess all winter. Add other stress to this mix, and it is official this week that I am in a flare or relapse of some kind. :( Sleep is my most important coping tool!

I can fly west and be fine... if I fly east, forget it! It usually takes me a full day to recuperate for every time zone passed.

Daylight savings time changes get me every time for several weeks.

What has been called seasonal affective disorder takes on a whole new meaning... and often has little to do with mood.
 

Shell

Senior Member
Messages
477
Location
England
Autumn starts it for me too. Spring is the best and then Summer gets me hacking and then as Autumn rolls in the infections start.
 

Tammy

Senior Member
Messages
2,181
Location
New Mexico
I get really sick in the days leading up to the autumnal equinox. I suspect my deepest body clock doesn't like the days shortening. And conversely when the winter equinox hits (the exact midpoint between the shortest and longest day of the year) I instantly start feeling a little better. It's uncanny. This means part of our illness is very deep in the HPA axis. Which means it's much more complex than we thought. Kinda depressing. Besides that, exercise, allergies, stress make me worse. Oh yeah, and flying past three or more time zones triggers an intense crash.
Alex, could you explain if you can how the change is related to the HPA axis? This is very interesting to me.
 

Tammy

Senior Member
Messages
2,181
Location
New Mexico
TCM (traditional chinese medicine) has some interesting views on how the changes of the seasons affect the body. You would need to be somewhat familiar with chinese medicine to understand it all though. I feel pretty bad this Fall.....worse than I have felt in awhile.....it's kind of scaring me a bit......don't want to be back in the Abyss.
 
Messages
12
Location
brooklyn
i have had CFS for 12 years. my relapses seem to occur during the change of seasons, either autumn or spring. i also usually go into remission in the summer. i'm considering leaving nyc for california, to see if the gentler climate might help. i'm curious if anyone w CFS has improved after moving somewhere warmer, such as the west coast or southwest. thanks
 

Nielk

Senior Member
Messages
6,970
i have had CFS for 12 years. my relapses seem to occur during the change of seasons, either autumn or spring. i also usually go into remission in the summer. i'm considering leaving nyc for california, to see if the gentler climate might help. i'm curious if anyone w CFS has improved after moving somewhere warmer, such as the west coast or southwest. thanks

Hi Nicholas,

Welcome to the forum. I too live in NYC. I have had ME/CFS for almost 10 years now. I suffer from many allergies and the air in NY seems really bad for me. I don't personally know about California but, know of someone who has moved there many years ago from NYC and their allergies have disappeared.

If you are feeling worse with the changes in climate, I think it would make sense that you would feel better there since there is not that big shift in climates.
 
Messages
12
Location
brooklyn
thanks very much for your response. i know this disease is different in all of us. i have also had (brief) success spending time in miami. because nyc is my lifelong hometown i have been hesitant to leave, but it seems like i may have no choice. i doubt living in an easier climate will be a miracle cure, but if it makes the difference between weakly functioning and being bedridden, then leaving will be worth it.
 

Lynne B

Senior Member
Messages
126
Location
sydney, australia
Hi, everyone, living in Sydney, my husband and I both have very noticeable downs with any sudden cold change or heatwave whatever the season. I now know to stay inside and rug up on the day a sudden cold change sweeps across Australia from the Antarctic and to stay inside away from the heat in summer. That's a lot of staying inside! Our best temperatures seem to be between 20 and 22 degrees celsius—any colder and I feel totally flat and parts of me ache, any hotter and I feel sick and can't think properly. We've thought of moving to the tropical north of the country for our winters but that could become rather expensive over time, also we wonder what would happen if we came back to Sydney too soon and met up with a cold change?

Don't suppose this information helped anyone, just gave me a chance to whinge...

Cheers, Lynne