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Do weather fronts exacerbate symptoms in ME/CFS patients?

SOC

Senior Member
Messages
7,849
I did a quick search for threads on this topic and didn't find any. If this has been discussed, could someone point me to the thread? Thanks.

I know some people with migraine have problems with weather fronts. Do ME/CFS patients also feel worse when fronts go through?

I've been feeling (relatively) great for the past 6-8 weeks. Now I'm in a genuine flare for the first time in 6 mo or more. It is likely the flare is due to over-doing while trying to experiment with my new limits. :ashamed: However, I also noticed that the flare seemed to... er... flare when a storm front came through. In particular, the joint and muscle pain and stiffness got a lot worse, and the fatigue leaped to exhaustion.

Does anyone have this experience, or know of any scientific basis for this phenomenon? It is very likely just a coincidence, but it got me thinking....
 

Otis

Señor Mumbler
Messages
1,117
Location
USA
I did a quick search for threads on this topic and didn't find any. If this has been discussed, could someone point me to the thread? Thanks.

I know some people with migraine have problems with weather fronts. Do ME/CFS patients also feel worse when fronts go through?

I've been feeling (relatively) great for the past 6-8 weeks. Now I'm in a genuine flare for the first time in 6 mo or more. It is likely the flare is due to over-doing while trying to experiment with my new limits. :ashamed: However, I also noticed that the flare seemed to... er... flare when a storm front came through. In particular, the joint and muscle pain and stiffness got a lot worse, and the fatigue leaped to exhaustion.

Does anyone have this experience, or know of any scientific basis for this phenomenon? It is very likely just a coincidence, but it got me thinking....

I can definitely tell when the barometer drops. Pain and stiffness go up and headaches are worse. Most people with chronic pain will tell you it gets worse when the barometer drops before a storm, I think it's very common.
 

SOC

Senior Member
Messages
7,849
I can definitely tell when the barometer drops. Pain and stiffness go up and headaches are worse. Most people with chronic pain will tell you it gets worse when the barometer drops before a storm, I think it's very common.

Thanks, Otis!

Interesting. I never noticed the connection between barometric pressure changes and symptoms until I started getting a bit better with Valcyte. I had been without the pain and stiffness for 18mo or so, and having it hit like this when I was improving was a bit of a shocker.

Is there a known reason why pain and stiffness increase with barometric pressure? Or are we still at the anecdotal evidence stage with that info?
 

Sallysblooms

P.O.T.S. now SO MUCH BETTER!
Messages
1,768
Location
Southern USA
Some people have problems with barometric changes with or without CFS. I love cloudy, rainy weather! I LOVE it cool too. Anything but HOT.
 

anciendaze

Senior Member
Messages
1,841
When major fronts pass through, I am typically wrecked for a day or so. I've been blaming this on chronic sinus problems, and lack of sleep when they flare up. If anyone has another explanation, I'm open to it.
 

SOC

Senior Member
Messages
7,849
When major fronts pass through, I am typically wrecked for a day or so. I've been blaming this on chronic sinus problems, and lack of sleep when they flare up. If anyone has another explanation, I'm open to it.

If I was already having sinus issues, then a front would certainly give me more sinus-related problems -- headache, tooth pain, etc -- so I can certainly understand that.

What really puzzles me is the joint and muscule pain, which has been under control for quite a while now.

I guess we have so many things going wonko in our bodies, that a barometric pressure change could be affecting any number of problems. Ain't this a lovely illness? Never a dull moment (well, except for life in general which can be pretty danged boring when we're "staying within our limits")
 

slayadragon

Senior Member
Messages
1,122
Location
twitpic.com/photos/SlayaDragon
This is the third thread on this I've seen on a couple of different boards within the past 24 hours. And I myself experienced my first "barometer drop decline" in several months last night. Right on schedule too - fall is officially here!

I'm not ruling out the idea that weather could have various effects on ME/CFS sufferers' systems. There's enough wrong in this disease that all kinds of things can have an effect.

However, one thing that I know for sure is that biotoxins in the outdoor environment become much more problematic when the barometer is dropping.

Drops in barometric pressure cause colonies of toxic mold and toxic cyanobacteria to release their spores, in the "hope" of encountering enough water to form a new colony. This means that the air is full of toxic crap, much more so than the rest of the time.

In addition, since UV rays degrade the toxins from cyanobacteria and mold, the clouds in the sky cause whatever's there to be more problematic.

For some reason, the "weather effect" tends to be much more problematic in most places in winter than in summer. An exception seems to be in some places where a lot of snow covers over the "bad stuff." (In some places it remains problematic due to its presence coming out of sewer vents and the like though.)

The "weather effect" is much more problematic in some places than in others. I've heard really awful reports about much of the Bay Area, for instance.

For those interested in tracking the effects of barometric pressure drops on their symptoms, here's a web site.

http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KNVINCLI8

A device measuring barometric shifts can also be found at Wal-Mart ($40).

Would people who are responding to this question mind giving at least a rough idea of where they live and what symptoms they get during downturns? I'm trying to track where the weather effect is strongest.

Thanks for your help.

Best, Lisa
 

anciendaze

Senior Member
Messages
1,841
I live in Florida, and can report that my front problems do not show up with daily summer thunderstorms or hurricanes. Because my general problems are worse in spring and summer, I suspect mold and pollen play a role. Sudden and long-lasting pressure changes from fronts do seem to have a big effect.