Tuesday, August 09, 2005

I am Allergic to Rain

I know, it doesn't sound possible, but I am. Something swells up inside my brain right before it rains and stays that way for hours. Not usually before a downpour, but much more during those misty light rains. I get rain brain, which makes me a spaced-out idiot. I made the doctor X-ray my head, but all he found were giant cysts in my sinuses (which they had to yank out of me). I hoped the cysts were the culprit, but alas, no. Rain brain lives on.

4 comments:

  1. Hey Jenna,
    I know this is a very old post and so I do not know if you will get this comment or not and if you don't I'll email you.
    Do you still get "rain brain?"
    I am located in Philly, so my climate is nearly the same as yours in NY, and I wonder how your "brain" has been this past week with constant rain (April 27 '09 to today May 5 '09).
    I ask because Since the first day of rain last week I've had "rain brain" and it's the first time I've experienced anything resembling allergies in 10 years (since I was a teen). I'm not sure what's changed this year and I was 'googling' to see if anyone in my area may be experiencing something similar. I typed in "allergic to rain" and got your post from 4 years ago! Your description is like what I'm experiencing non-stop this past week. I have no sore throat or even a running nose (thank goodness!). It just feels like my brain is swollen (though I think it's just my sinuses).
    Any similar experience for you lately?
    Thanks, Lauren

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  2. Hi Lauren! Good timing... I just recently found out what it is. Migraine-associated vertigo. I've never had migraine headaches (as far as I knew)-- just regular ole' headaches from time to time, but you don't actually have to get the classic headache symptoms to be suffering from migraine-associated vertigo.

    Do you have a history of motion sickness? That's a common trait of people with migraine-associated vertigo. You can just Google that term and find several articles about it that might give you a clearer idea if that's what's happening to you, too. These are two good ones: http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/884136-overview

    http://www.dizziness-and-balance.com/disorders/central/migraine/mav.html

    I did the same Googling for "allergic to rain" years ago and came up with nothing, so I thought I was the only one in the world. :)

    Good luck!

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  3. Thank you for the information & articles. I will look into Migraine-associated vertigo.

    I'm happy you found an explanation for your ailment.

    much appreciated,
    L

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  4. Hi Jenna,
    You never mentioned if you have a cure for your "rain brain" now that you know what it is. However, with your help I now know the cure!!!
    Cure: daily vitamin B6, B12I feel 100% today and this is really a coincidence that I would not have been able to correlate with the vitamins until I got you post (and I started to feel better last night).
    I am a vegetarian. Because I don't eat meat I have no source of vitamin B6 & B12 so I take supplements. However, due to other circumstances I stopped taking my vitamins about 2.5 weeks ago and wasn't able to start them again until this past Sunday or Monday (forget which day). This means that by yesterday I finally had a blood level of the vitamins again and I was no longer deficient-- thus the end of "rain brain."

    What's the correlation? Well, my dog gets motion sickness but since I take road trips often I had to figure out how to cure her car sickness. I researched and researched until I discovered that any individual who gets motion sickness gets it due to a B6 deficiency. So I gave her vitamins for about 3 days before a road trip and VOILA-- no car sickness.
    I have also been known to get motion sickness only once or twice before in my life on a plane, and that was before I knew about the B6 deficiency.

    So, after I got your post saying, "Do you have a history of motion sickness? That's a common trait of people with migraine-associated vertigo." and then as the day continued after reading your post and my "rain brain" became less and less DESPITE the rain becoming more and more ... I made the connection to the vitamin regime I resumed earlier in the week.

    It's nice to feel normal again. Thank you for your help. I hope you are well, also.
    L

    ReplyDelete

Nice to hear your voice! Er... see your voice? See your text? Bah! You know what I mean.

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