A treatment that helps me tremendously

[Johannes]

@Judee , I am here, in Spain. I travelled by bus for 2,5 hours to the airport hotel and that was already challenging. I really needed that resting time at the hotel. My flight was next day 7:45 am. I felt quite OK in the morning but as soon as we started to climb up through the clouds, I started to notice I don't feel well. As many of us know being surrounded by unknown people feels unpleasent. But there is something extra bad in being in an aeroplane that flies. I used to like flying. I even had my flying licence when I was younger. But now, not so much. I think sitting for 4,5 hours was causing symtoms too. Before I left Finland, I could sit for a couple of hours before I started to feel nausiated and dizzy. The plane landed 11:30 pm local time.

I had my neighbours helping me at Malaga airport. As soon as we had travelled to my new home, and unpacked, I started to feel better. We drank a couple of beers at the balcony in sunshine. The sun stopped shining there, so we headed to the beach where sun shined. We walked there for maybe 15 minutes and went to a restaurant, ate and had two beers. My wife's dog was with us all the time. People had wrote in the internet that you can't take your dog into restaurants but there were plenty of restaurants that allowed pets in to their terrace.

To my surprise I felt quite OK for the rest of the day. Neighbours left around five pm.

The next day was synny. To my surprise I could walk with the dog on a synny beach boulevard for an hour, stopped to sit on benches ever now and then. Then we sat on my balcony in sunshine for another hour and yet one more hour in the plaza. I did't feel nausiated.

Today it rains. It is going to be cloudy for a few days but then again partly cloudy.

It seems that the sunshine does the trick quite fast. But I bet it doesn't last longer due to the fact that it is so long from the last time I had been in sunshine. You see, in Spring even, it takes a couple of weeks in sunshine to feel better on days without sunshine. Enclosed the only photo I happened to take from the day I arrived. Another one is from yesterday from my narrow balcony.

 

[Judee]

I'm so happy that you and your wife's dog made it there safely and glad you at least had one nice weather day already.

Praying that the rainy days pass quickly so you can get more sunshine soon.

Thank you for letting us know. The picture of the beach is lovely. I love the deep blue of the sky. Puppy looks like he is happy to finally arrive and get his rest and sunshine too.

 

[Johannes]

It has been quite cloudy here. Only five synny days out of 13 days I have been here. According to locals, people who have lived here for a long time, the weather here is now what it used to be a couple of decades ago and before that. The last appr. ten years there has only been some 11 rainy days per year and more than 300 synny days per year.

Cloudy days have not provided me that energy that I had waited for but after a couple of sunny days I felt small but noticeable improvement in my health for two days.

I am able to walk with the dog twice daily for some 500 meters both times without getting tired. And I can make my own food and provide the dog what he needs. But then I can't do more. I have to sit or lay down for the most of the day. Crocery store is some 50 meters from my door and I go there twice a week. Some days I am too tired to cook, so I go get take away food from closest restaurants. Unfortunately, because of my ridicilously bad chemical sensitivity, I can't eat their food often.

Food here is lot cheaper than in Finland, say around 40% cheaper, if one eats lots of vegetables. Meat is maybe 20% cheaper. One liter of beer costs 1,40eur and pint of beer in the pub 2,5-3,5 euros. Döner kebab 5 to 6 euros.

I am bit worried that my health gets worse before it gets better. I really would need some more synny days so that I could cook all my food. It is too expencive to eat in restaurants. It is a bit lonely too. I call my wife daily though.

 

[Johannes]

I feel positive now. Even with six sunny days out of 16 I have got tanning in my neck and chest. It means that there should be enough sunshine here to make me eventually feel better. According to weather forecast this rainy season seems to be coming to an end. There should be plenty of sunshine starting this weekend. I may have to watch out sunburns. UV index forecast shows 3, starting this saturday and forward.

I am a bit too tired all the time but I think I found a reason for that. I had estimated my daily walks with the dog wrongly. I though I had walked some 500 meter two times a day but now I measured it from Google maps and it showed 2 x 1300m which is appr. 1,6 english miles per day or 1,4 american miles per day! Plus walked in stairs 3 to 4 times a day down and up. I live one floor above the groud. So that easily explains why I am so tired. I need to take to an account walking in stairs and I need to walk less with the dog. I started walking less yesterday: 2 x 800 meters. That is more that 2 x 500 meters but way less than 2 x 1,3km I had done before. I'll know in a couple of days if the correction of my daily routines made any difference.

 

[Johannes]

I am now a bit worried about this:

https://www.aemet.es/en/eltiempo/prediccion/radiacionuv

There are many internet sites that provide information about UV radiation concerning this area where I am at right now: Malaga area, Spain. According to a few of them the UV index is 3 to 4 here. But they are wrong! The enclosed internet page is the official government net Page. UV index is now 1 to 2, even though the sun is shining hot. They also show statistis from a previous days according to reality. But UV index was 3 when I got here at the 29th of November.

Here another official site:

https://www.andalucia.com/wear-sunscreen/uv-index

This page contains statistics from the previous years and according to the statistics, it is very rare to have UV index higher that 2 in December and January. It is only around the middle of February, when the UV index has statistically climbed over 3. But luckily I am here until to the end of March, so appr. six weeks of that good sunshine. And when I go back to Finland, I shouldn't have to wait more than a month untill UV index in Finland is back at 3.

Well, if this doesn't help, next Autumn I want to try to fly to Gran Canaria:

https://www.aemet.es/en/eltiempo/prediccion/playas/el-ingles-3501902

There you have UV index 4 right today and minimum 3 during the whole winter. It means longer flights and a bit more expencive living but I can fly there alone and live in a smaller apartment for November and mid December and come back home until a couple of months, when I could fly to Malaga with my wife and with the dog in the middle of February till to the middle of Aprill. So 2 + 2 months. Gran Canaria would he too hot for my wife. I calculated that it would be cheaper all together to do it like that. But met's see how Malaga now works.

 

[Johannes]

It seems that even if the UV index in not more that 2, sunbathing for 1 hour 40mins almost daily, gives me something extra. But this might also be just hopefull thinking. I increased my methylcobalamin dosage a bit, a week ago, so it might also affect my well being. After that, I started to sleep better and my learning improved notisably.

It is also time for "tipaton tammikuu", that is "January without a drop" (of alcohol). My liver cleaning weeks

I have gone shopping food once a week with taxi. It takes two days to recover from the fatigue it causes. I also noticed, that I have a step counter app in my Phone. It seems that I am still walking too much. I walk 3,5km per day. That is roughly 2,2 miles a day. With the dog mostly. 2 x 700m with the dog. Sometimes 2 x 700m + 1 x 400m. I have to walk less to feel better. Now the sun is shining to my balcony. I am going out.

 

[Nord Wolf]

Hey Man,

Long trip for sure. Glad you made it and have been figuring out what pace you need to be at right now. Surprising to hear how low the UV is there this time of year. But as I think we both discovered over the last summer, the sun energy, and amount of direct sunlight seems to do more than just UVs. I think this is why UV lights do very little.

No matter, you said last we chatted that you’d have a beer for me (since I can no longer tolerate alcohol), and it sounds like you’ve have more than one at that! Yes a month to rest the old liver could be a positive thing!

Sun, how I long for those direct rays and bright light. Here in the cloudy damp cold mountains we’ve had zero UVs for the last 60 days, and only 5 dim sunny days at that. No UVs and no real sunlight for around 2 months now, and we are only starting January. My system is suffering. And our last storm hasn’t helped!

I need to crash here for the night. Good to hear from you! Be in touch…

Wolf

 

[Johannes]

... But as I think we both discovered over the last summer, the sun energy, and amount of direct sunlight seems to do more than just UVs. I think this is why UV lights do very little.

Yes. As I have written somewhere else in Phoenix rising, sunshine has many effects through our eyes.

Sunshine affects through our eyes to the production of melatonin, serotonin, epinefrin (called also noradrenalin) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor BDNF.

Serotonin influences learning, memory, happiness as well as regulates body temperature, sleep, sexual behavior and hunger. Lack of enough serotonin is thought to play a role in depression and anxiety.

Most of the serotonin found in the body is in gastrointestinal tract. Only about 10% is produced in brain. And what is interesting to me, sunshine eases my chemical intolerance and my bowel doesn't inflammate so easily from different kinds of foods, I quess, therefore producing serotonin more properly.

Noradrenalin increases alertness and attention. It constricts blood vessels, which helps maintain blood pressure in times of stress. Affects sleep-wake cycle, mood and memory. Noradrenaline breaks down fat and increases blood sugar levels to give energy. Too little noradrenalin leads to deppression, poor memory and lack of energy.

Our body manufactors BDNF but we get lot more of it from the sun through our eyes. The more sunshine, the more BDNF we get. It helps our body to maintain and fix neurons making learning and remembering possible. In helps build myelin cover around neurons and it regulates glugose and energy metabolism. If we don't get enough BDNF, we get deppression and problems in our nervous system. Lack of it causes lower treshold for pain and mental stress and affects our sleep, appetite and methylation process.

According to a couple of studies many CFS patients have too high homocysteine in their brain, which is destructing myelin cover of brain cells causing cognitive problems. If this is the case, methylcobalamin injections help preventing that damage. Especially they help me with a few genemutations in my methylation.

And offcourse, sunlight makes our skin to synthesize vitamin D, which has multiple effects to our body. With MCAS it is not enough for me though. Therefore, I also have to inject vitamin 3D, which with I have gotten rid of a dozen of MCAS symptoms, but that's another story.

As I have problems with all of the previously mentioned hormones, and sunshine helps me with those problems, I have become addicted to sunshine. It is like with Pavlov's dogs, that I seem to have unconditioned responce to the sunlight

No matter, you said last we chatted that you’d have a beer for me (since I can no longer tolerate alcohol), and it sounds like you’ve have more than one at that! Yes a month to rest the old liver could be a positive thing!

Yes, I have had a few too many. This "tipaton tammikuu" is a thing in Finland. Many do it.

 

[Johannes]

Now is supposed to be the coldest time of the year in Malaga area: January and February. And it is colder than earlier. The day temperatures can go as low as to 14-16 degrees Celsius, but many days 19 or 20. Locals say this is still extra ordinarily warm winter.

What has suprised me is the UV index. I armost got sunburned a few days ago. UV-index (around 1:20pm) was earlier 2,0 but has now been between 2,3 and 2,6. And altough I have thought it need to be minimum 3, in order to start to see the positive effects of increased energy and less problems with chemical sensitivity, this seems not to be true. I have been now every day in sunshine appr. 1,5-2,5 hours, around 1:20pm, for the last week, and I am starting to feel better. I can walk more without getting tired and start to feel happy every now and then. I get things done and don't spent so much time laying in sofa. So deppression is slowly going a way.

I am either sitting or walking, or even standing some three to five hours a day. I have found a walking meter from my phone and it says I am walking now some 3,0km to 3,5km a day, and it doesn't include walk inside my apartment. When I cook, every second day, I will walk 2,5km, and if I have to go shopping once a week, I only walk some 1,2km in that and the following day.

So, if I get enough sunshine, I feel a lot better. This kind of wellbeing I have normally had in Finland in the beginning of May, after having lay in sunshine 2 to 3 hours a day for six weeks. It seems that the less time has been gone from previous summer, the less time in sunshine it takes for me to start feeling better again.

 

[pamojja]

Glad to hear Malaga did so well for you!

After a 2 years of a not so great Covid break, Im able to fly in 3 days to South India again. To which I attribute lots to my remissions the winters before. Climate seems different there, coldest season is definitely beginning of January. Though the coconut oil melting point (24° celcius) did some years extent into February in the cooler mud-hut room. Really look forward to the endless sun and swimming in the ocean again.

 

[Johannes]

@pamojja how long do you plan to stay in India?

 

[pamojja]

As most of the winters before, up to 7 weeks. Probably due to my high antioxidant intake, I never get sunburned, even though arriving the palest and sunbathing right from the first day up to 4 hours/day (without any suncream). Only first time travelling from Dehli to Karnataka a whole day in a windowless train-coach, did my arm on the windowside burn in 2012 the last time.

 

[Johannes]

So, the sunshine makes me happy and I can still walk some 2km to 2,5km per day and cook. But, there is not enough UV-radiation to fix my bowel. It just happened, what normally happends to me every November/December, that my bowel doesn't tolerate as versatile diet as in Summer, and it gets badly inflammated. I have head ache, muscles ache and a bit fever. This feels like a bad PEM but it is not PEM. It usually takes some four to seven days to get better. Very interesting, I must say, that there is enough sunshine to provide some energy but not enough for the bowel.

 

[Murph]

Just wanted to chime in on this thread and say you're not the only one who has noticed sunshine makes you feel better. I also noticed I was doing better in summer most year; and that I had a much better winter if I took a holiday somewhere warm before winter began in earnest.

I also noticed that my mecfs got much worse during a period when I moved into a house which was very dark and the few windows faced away from the sun. I lived there for about 10 years but I've moved now.

Another person who has noticed the same thing is @paolo . He has been a regular traveller to warm places but recently tried to "recreate summer in his room." He writes about this experiment here: https://paolomaccallini.com/2022/09/20/summer-simulation-a-correlation-study/


His conclusion is the positive effects come from infrared radiation.

 

[Johannes]

Hi @Murph ! Thanks for you input. I red the texts written by @paolo and I didn't find the time spent in infrared radiation per day. I did similar experiments with red and near-infrared light, blue and green light UVA ligh and narrow band UVB. I didn't make scientific calculations although I could have, if it had worked for me. Here is the starting point of the discussion before my experiments:


https://forums.phoenixrising.me/threads/red-and-near-infrared-light-therapy-leds.79181/

I also tried Seasonal affective disorder medical lamp. None of them helped me but I only used red, near-infrared, green and blue light panels for 2 x 10 minutes per day to the front of my body and 2 x 10 mins to the back of my body. With UVA and UVB the time spent in the unit was conciderably shorter because the energy from them is so much more intense, that it can burn your skin. Red and near-inrared light panels had one benefit though. I had felt nausiated in Spring when I went sunbathing after long dark winter. I had to start slowly with some 15 minutes a day, increasing the time to two hours in two months and then I didn't get this nautiation. But when I used red and near-infrared light panel during two months before, I could stay in sunshine two hours right away, after winter, without being nausiated. And pretty soon, maybe in a couple of weeks, three hours. The results might have been different if I had used lights for longer periods per day.

What I have found out, is that I feel the best if I stay in sunshine, when the UV-index is around three or more, about three to four hours every second day, minimum. The difference is seen not only in my energy level, and getting rid of some symptoms as well, but in the blood test values, which are not in reference levels in winter but in late Summer they are (liver, kidneys, homocysteine, hemoglobin, magnesium, sodium and the amount and size of red blood cells).

In winter I have been bed bound 22/24 but in Summer only occasionally a few hours, plus the nights ofcourse. And I can do a lot with that energy. Having said that, I have approximately 30% energy in Winter to do my daily things but in Summer maybe 50%. It may not sound that the difference is big but it means worlds to me.

 

[Johannes]

Yesterday UV index was 2.9. On thursday forecast it is supposed to be 3 approximately 30 to 40 minutes, around 1:20 pm. If there are no clouds, my wellbeing should start to improve. Let's see.

 

[Johannes]

Five days sunbathing, 2hrs 30mins a day, and my brainfog was gone I remember this happening to me last Spring as well when UV-index had been 3 or more for a while. Sitting in sunshine for so long is a bit frustrating but otherwise I feel fine sitting outside in the balcony, watching workers painting a block house, and listening sometimes bodcasts.

But now it is raining and sun will be gone for almost a week. I didn't feel other effects yet but my brainfog has been gone for three days, of which two has been raining.

 

[pamojja]

Though the coconut oil melting point (24° celcius) did some years extent into February in the cooler mud-hut room.

Coconutoil this January never froze. Already the first week between 21-31° Celcius, slowly climbing further. UVI at worse a mercyless 11s. Got already knocked out with a strong cold for 3 days (many other at the same time). Much better again.

Sadly had to realize this time here, that the last 2 winters without vacation respite due to covid-restrictions really worsend my leg-pains during walks now. Usually improves within 2 weeks of sun-exposure. Sadly, will probably take much longer this time.

Some impressions of my place (seem unable to upload pics, therefore only a drone video from a Sardinian there):

 

[Johannes]

UV index here was 4 at its peak yesterday. Almost burned my neck. It had been pretty cloudy for the last two weeks. I have been two days in sunhine (3 hours a day) but am still waiting for the more positive effects. I am tired after walking with the dog 2 to 3 times a day approximately 2km per day. I assume I will see the effects in two weeks, if there is enough sunshine.

But I believe to this thing so much that I have rented an appartment from the South-east of Spain for this Autumn and next Spring: 6 weeks plus 10 weeks. It is too expencive for me and my wife but I will invest for this experiment and if the results are as good as I believe they will be, we will concider moving to Spain. This area of Malaga, where I am now staying is called Costa del Sol which mean Sunny coast, and sunny it is but it is quite windy too. And too noisy (citylife) for us too. The walls of the buildings have no noise insulation either.

The new rental appartments are in less cloudy and less windy area of Spain with more sunshine. They are at suburb, next to orange tree field. More quiet and further from the beach and restaurants.

 

[Johannes]

Since my last update, the sun has been mostly behind the clouds. But the last three days have been sunny days. UV index is around 5,5 at 1:20pm and minimum 3 between 11am and 3pm. I have been able to sit at the balcony or at the beach approximaterly 3,5 hours a day for three days. Today, the fourth day, only 1,5 hours. The next three days are supposed to be sunny.

But I have not noticed additional benefits from sunbathing. I have no brainfog but my memory isn't still as good as it is during Summer. My depression is not as bad as usually at this time of year. I have even felt happines for a short periods of time every now and then. (My bowel is inflammated which cause me tiredness.)

But this is not unexpected. We are now a month from the 15 of Aprill, when I normally have started being outside, and felt better around the 1st of May. I expect it to take a week or two until I really feel the difference.

This Winter has been better than the other 11 Winters before this. The sun and maybe the brightness of Spain has helped atleast a bit, from which I am happy. I will summarize all this in July, when I know how much the whole thing has effected my healt. You see, in May I normally fix our boat and that really tells me how much better I am compared to previous years. Luckily, there is not much to fix