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Pressure-Induced Pains - Fact or Fiction?
johnstein asks: "Sure, everyone knows that person who is always blaming their aches and pains on the weather, be it Gramps and his knee, Aunt Edna with her arthritic hands, or *that* guy at work who swears his big toe begins to throbs whenever it's going to rain. Ok, maybe I am one those people too. I've had exactly TWO migraine-class headaches in the past month: the evening of August 9th and the afternoon of August 17th. Googling produced a very useful website that provides historical weather data. After a bit of searching I found this chart that clearly shows similar barometric trends for the days in question (barometric pressure near 30 inches and rising).
Is this just a coincidence? My googling suggests that while some believe the human body is highly sensitive to weather changes, others claim that the minute changes in barometric pressure would unlikely be a cause for pain in the head or joints. While stress, eating habits, and general lifestyle might be a more likely candidate, can weather claim some of the blame as well?"
I have a re-constructed left shoulder (high school football injury) and a bum left knee (years of abuse playing various sports). I am 28 years old. There is a 60 year old guy that works in my office, and without fail (for the last 16 months that I have worked there) we both have major or minor aches and pains on the same day. To the extent that the pain in my knee, and both of his, cause us to limp. It is often a amusing thing for the office to see the youngest and the second oldest complaining about our bad joints. We are known on these days as the "old farts" of the office. The rest of the time I am the young kid that plays his music too loud, and he is the overly energetic one. Everyone has decided it must be weather related. It is... right?
Did you feel nauseous, become unable to think clearly, or see spots? If they were that bad, you ought to get the opinion of a doctor, cause migraines are nothing to mess around with.
If they weren't, you ought to be more careful with your adjectives. I hate it when people call every headache they get a "migraine". They're a fundamentally different kind of pain than what most people think of as "headaches".
On a (hopefully more useful) note, I get both migraine headaches and sinus-pressure headaches. The latter are much more closely related to the weather. If you have allergy or sinus problems, a decongestant tablet will probably do wonders for those headaches, if you take it before they get too bad.
-Mark
I suffer from both sinus headaches and cluster headaches (which used to be classified as a type of migraine, but are no longer -- think all the pain of a day-long migraine compressed into 45 minutes and you get the idea).
Usually my cluster headaches are sinus or lifestyle-triggered: dehydration, strong perfume, aerosol household cleaners, lack of sleep among others are biggies.
I've noticed (non-scientific) that changes in pressure and sudden changes in weather bring on my sinus headaches. Pollen and humidity have a lot to do with this -- I'm a Florida native and when I travel elsewhere that's drier or less allergen prone, my sinus headaches are fewer and much, much less severe.
At any rate, I've been living with the sinus headaches most of my life, and the cluster headaches for about 10 years now (I'm 28).
The major problem with cluster headaches is that they come on fast and they leave fast -- usually about an hour and a half from 'warning signs' to 'resolution'. Once the headache actually hits, I'm pretty much incapacitated for about 45 minutes -- crippling pain, and nausea if it's a really bad one. It's also too short for most types of pain medication to take effect in time.
I've found precisely two medications that work:
1. 4-in-1 brand nose spray (over the counter). Very addictive, so be careful. Seriously. Google for reasons you shouldn't use stuff like Contac (like the parent) or nose sprays regularly. I've found that if I notice a cluster coming on early enough (not nearly often enough) that the clusters can be dulled -- sometimes they don't peak if I catch them early enough. I classify this as a preventative.
2. Immitrex (prescription). Absolute godsend for my cluster headaches and my fiancee's migraines (she gets them very rarely, but we're both prescribed). Side effects can't be described as pleasant. I'm not sure I can describe them besides saying: I feel unpleasantly odd for about two hours, but it's a hell of a lot *more* pleasant than the cluster/migraine. The side effects are such that I will only take these when I'm having a major attack -- but I'm very glad I've got them because even after ten years I still get attacks that leave me clenched up sweating in a fetal position for an hour or so.
Best of luck figuring out your headaches. I've been trying to for 10 years. I'll go six months having them twice a day and then go another six months without a single one.
I've pretty much realized that I'm stuck with mine for the rest of my life and I cope with them. Meditation helps (shortens the duration, makes coping with the pain easier), eating healthy seems to help, getting a good amount of sleep seems to help -- but nothing's a 100% cure.
If you *have* been diagnosed with clinical migraine, ask about Immitrex. It's expensive, and can be a bit unpleasant feeling -- but if you could have a pill that would cut the duration of your headaches down to 20 minutes (vs many hours) would you? Most true migraine sufferers I know would gladly make that tradeoff.
As mentioned in this BBC News article, the late Barry Sheene, a Former world motorcycling champion who underwent major surgery several times in his career (he had metal plates in both knees, 28 screws in his legs and a bolt in his left wrist) moved to Australia specifically because the weather there was easier on his body.
The exact quote is as follows:
Sheene moved to the warmer climes of Australia in the early 1990s to ease the pain caused by arthritis from numerous broken bones suffered in crashes.
This isn't an isolated mention either - it is very common for people who've had metal plates surgically inserted to feel discomfort in the cold.
Coming back to your case though, it is extremely common for migraine sufferers to suffer more attacks in summer than in winter. Certainly every sufferer that I know of agrees with that statement and various articles in respected medical journals (such as The Lancet) say the same thing.
"Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg