Blue Summer? I feel Weak and sleepy!

[ViLo]

Every summer I have this problem, no matter what I eat or drink my energy level goes way down and I have a very hard time staying awake, even when I'm working....but that does not happen during winter time....... :confused: Sea Level? What?

 

Any ideas?

 

Thanks:thu:

[rasputin1963]

I'm exactly the same way, ViLo.

 

The usual scenario for Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, is the person who finds depression creeping in around autumn and peaking with high Winter.

 

Myself, I'm the opposite... I blossom into energy and alertness in the Wintertime. But then, Texas winters tend to be crisp and mild and bright.... not forbidding and dark and grey like the winters I used to know in Boston.

 

Texas summers are very trying for me... from about July 1st to October 1st, the weather here is blistering hot and humid, often with no or little change from day-to-day. Towards mid-August, even the nights do not really cool off... we actually have 85deg nights... Oy! You're in Dallas, so I know you can relate.

 

I don't do heat well. So I tend to "hibernate" during the heat of the summer... not hard to do for a MIDI/Audio nerd such as meself.

 

But it can probably be light deprivation during my little hibernations that exacerbate the summer blues I sometimes get. Many bigtime sufferers of SAD, especially in Northern-most climes, find they get relief by lighting their homes-- at least for a couple of hours a day-- with one of those brght lamps which includes full color-spectrum light.

 

Have a look here: http://www.bluemaxlighting.com/

 

Good luck.

[daveski]

Get yerself checked.

[Anderton]

I second getting tested for allergies. This is when things are blooming, blossoming, and pollinating.

[philbo]

A daily 2 mile walk often will wipe out problems like this. At least for me.

[ViLo]

I second getting tested for allergies. This is when things are blooming, blossoming, and pollinating.

 

I suffer from allergies, I started taking vitamins this year, and so far so good, the only thing is that I'm also allergic to poison ivy, so I had to take a shot last month so I don't now if the vitamins are working or is the shot .....I also suffer from low blood pressure which kicks in from time to time...

 

Thanks guys!

[ViLo]

One more thing, a few years back I was going to my worst case of allergies I had to travel to Puerto Vallarta to work there for a week, I wanted to cancel the trip, but my boss did not let me, I left Dallas @ 9:00 AM and arrived @ 3:00[i tink] PM, and after 30 minutes, I felt like a new man no allergies,my strength was back and everything was great....Guess what happened when I came back to Dallas????

[Will Chen]

I actually like the Texas summers! Well, it starts to get old in August, but I like the heat. I grew up in Houston, so the Dallas heat sans humidity (compared to Houston) is nothing. Unfortunatly I seem to be developing allergies this year and I've never really had symtoms before...

[Ryst]

Wow. I can't sleep in the Summer. I love the whether so much. I am afraid if I fall to sleep, I am gonna miss something. That's another set of problems. Anyway, good luck!

[ViLo]

I actually like the Texas summers! Well, it starts to get old in August, but I like the heat. I grew up in Houston, so the Dallas heat sans humidity (compared to Houston) is nothing. Unfortunatly I seem to be developing allergies this year and I've never really had symtoms before...

 

I started developing allergies about 8 years ago......

[steveg]

I have experienced exactly the same thing and what has worked the best and produced about a 95% cure is to exercise regularly, making sure to break a good sweat at least 3 times a week. I do strenous yoga and martial arts which in addition to sweating and exercising tends to be cleansing as well.

 

I had always been pretty consistent with this over the years, but for 3-4 years when we had a our kids and I was occupied with my business I stopped working out. I developed allergies, energy problems, weight gain, etc. I was diagnosed with seasonal allergies and given medications which I could not stand.

 

Finally I returned to what I know. I started to eat better and work out within months the symptoms were completely gone. An important part is also to use a nasal rinse like "Sinu Cleanse" available at drug stores. This is actaully an ancient yoga technique, but comes in a convenient form from Walgreens etc

 

Doctors will tell you this is an inescapable condition, but I can attest to you that it is possible to overcome it but it requires being consistent with all the basics of good health.

 

BTW- I stopped recently do to a knee injury and I am awaiting surgery. The symptoms are creeping back in, so it is very clear that this is the solution for me!!!

[ViLo]

I have experienced exactly the same thing and what has worked the best and produced about a 95% cure is to exercise regularly, making sure to break a good sweat at least 3 times a week. I do strenous yoga and martial arts which in addition to sweating and exercising tends to be cleansing as well. I had always been pretty consistent with this over the years, but for 3-4 years when we had a our kids and I was occupied with my business I stopped working out. I developed allergies, energy problems, weight gain, etc. I was diagnosed with seasonal allergies and given medications which I could not stand. Finally I returned to what I know. I started to eat better and work out within months the symptoms were completely gone. An important part is also to use a nasal rinse like "Sinu Cleanse" available at drug stores. This is actaully an ancient yoga technique, but comes in a convenient form from Walgreens etc Doctors will tell you this is an inescapable condition, but I can attest to you that it is possible to overcome it but it requires being consistent with all the basics of good health. BTW- I stopped recently do to a knee injury and I am awaiting surgery. The symptoms are creeping back in, so it is very clear that this is the solution for me!!!

 

I'm not exercising enough,,,,

[steveg]

You dont' have to do a lot, but make sure you get a good sweat and raise your heart rate....

[ViLo]

 

You dont' have to do a lot, but make sure you get a good sweat and raise your heart rate....

 

 

I work in construction, and I mow my 130x200 lot with a small lawn mower, so I'm not completely inactive, but I feel I need to do more, except that after work and @ this time of the year I'm too tired:)

[Ani]

Vilo,

 

I have allergies and MOLD is detrimental to my coherent senses; it has an almost narcoleptic effect on me. I can always tell when I have entered or passed through an area heavily polluted with mold spores. No matter how hard I try to stay awake, I FIGHT falling asleep.... especially when driving.

 

On my way to work I have to cross the river regardless of which route I take. The mold spores are always high in areas surrounding the river during certain times of the year and especially following a rainy day. I could be WIDE awake and totally alert just prior to entering the area near the river and crossing the bridge. Within just a matter of minutes of being in the area I would find myself struggling to stay awake.... even almost to the point of driving off of the highway.

 

For a long time I could not figure out what was causing the sudden loss of alertness, but I began pinpointing the times and places where I was effected most. I was ALWAYS near the river while growing sleepy when driving. After realizing the sleepy factor was stimulated within a certain area and at times where mold spores were high on the radar; I started covering my nose and mouth with a handful of kleenex tissues that I kept in the car throughout the area to see if I grew sleepy after passing though... The first time I breathed through the tissues while driving across the river and within a mile each side of the river; I did NOT grow weary. I felt fine and alert as what I had when I left work.

 

It's somewhat embarrassing to wear a face mask; I'd look like some freak off of an alien space show... but it's also wierd to drive with my hand over my face with a cluster of kleenexes also. I only do it during extreme pollen conditions or when I begin feeling sluggish when driving near damp areas... I have found that coffee and other caffiene products DO NOT WORK to help keep me awake or revive me when I've been exposed to mold. What DOES help is to buy a FROZEN slushie and deliberately give myself a brain freeze drinking it quickly. I know it sounds absurd, but it works for me to snap me back to my senses.... The brain freeze hurts like hell, but at least I'm not driving off of the road and killing myself or somebody else. After the initial brain freeze, then I can drink the rest of the drink normally in most cases while feeling fully revived.

 

My thoughts are the idea that mold spores lay dormant during and throughout the winter months and the hard freezes weight the pollen down to where it is not airborne. Mold thrives in warm moist areas... When coffee did not do the trick in snapping me back awake, then I looked at the effect cold weather has on mold spores and applied the logic. The frozen drinks have helped me when I'm out and about along with keeping the windows on my car closed. When mold levels are high enough in the air to affect my home, I cleanse the home with either bleach or vinegar solutions. I use the vinegar inside where my cats are to keep from harming them. I also spray the air inside heavily with mold eliminating Lysol aerosole products. No generic brands, just Lysol. I spray first and then mop with the vinegar solution afterwards.

 

When reading up on mold, especially black mold, I remember reading that Texas had an ongoing issue with the black mold. To my knowledge, fire is the only thing that will actually KILL mold spores... all other things just cause dormancy.

[chipmcdonald]

I have a problem where, when "summer" starts and people start running the A/C, I can go into certain commercial buildings and almost immediately feel "weird". Certain buildings in town I know *definitely* do it; I presume it's some sort of mold that is dormant until the moisture of the A/C starts up, and then it has to flush out of the vents or some such.

 

I hate the winter. I can't get fully awake. I tend towards negativity, over-analyzing, basically everything that is "wrong" with my personality.

 

On a nice sunny day - such as today - my "bias" is completely different.

 

I haven't tried the full-bandwidth light thing, exactly. I'm seeing some GE compact fluorescents labeled "full bandwidth/sunlight", but they just look like regular fluorescents to me. Perhaps not, I'll have to go full force with them when winter returns.

 

 

Exercise minimizes things, though; including alergies, I believe - self-exposure as opposed to going and having someone inject you....

[ViLo]

Ani and Chip, thanks for the info.....

[rasputin1963]

When reading up on mold, especially black mold, I remember reading that Texas had an ongoing issue with the black mold. To my knowledge, fire is the only thing that will actually KILL mold spores... all other things just cause dormancy.

 

This is true. Did you ever see that real-life horror story about the nouveau-riche couple in Austin, who, after striking it rich, bought the biggest, nicest house north of town, in Round Rock.... It was an expansive red-brick "Tara" that stood on a green hill, proudly reigning over all it surveyed.

 

Soon, though, the couple and their kids starting getting sick.... One day they pulled back some wall panelling to find that it was engulfed in that black mold!!! They spent thousands of dollars having the mold removed..... but it all just came back.... Pretty soon the mold was oozing black out of every crevice and vent and fascia and cabinet in the house... :eek:

 

Just like in the Amityville Horror, the couple one day just hopped in the car and fled the house forever, leaving behind all their furnishings and belongings. That house, once worth a couple mil, and sitting on some prime Texas real estate, became WORTHLESS! It stands there, boarded up today, and no-one will buy it. Some teens still visit it at night on a spooky dare, but that's about it.

 

True story.

[Ani]

There are times where I wonder if areas that are heavily ridden with black mold are not unsuspecting targets of bioterrorism. According to many of the articles that I read, black mold is of the same family as Anthrax and can cause extreme health issues if undetected and not dealt with properly; it can be fatal if exposed to airborne spores for extended periods of time.

 

Vilo, YOU by all means, are at risk when working in the construction business in Texas; especially if the construction you are doing involves REMODEL of homes. Even more so if the remodel involves tearing out bathrooms, kitchen cabinets, leaking roofs, and basement walls; areas that tend to BREED mold by providing moist and dark environments where mold can thrive.

 

Black mold is most potent and dangerous when it is dry and capable of becoming airborne... Sheetrock tends to be a hatchery for mold and, when being ripped out, it becomes toxic to those not properly protected if the spores go airborne. If you have never read up on black mold or been informed as to how to identify it; read up on it.... When wet, it appears as a black slimy substance that grows in and around damp dark areas; the back side of sheetrock in bathrooms and other damp rooms especially. When it is dry, it is black with a whitish dust on top.... this is when it is in it's dangerous stage; if disturbed.... it becomes airborne and can be inhaled by those in the general vicinity.

 

Once black mold gets inside of WOOD structures; the wood must be completely removed or completely painted with a nonporous sealant.... the boards can not have any portion left vulnerable and in contact with another board that the mold can be transferred to. It's best to just burn the son-of-a-gun down and rebuild.... but first, proper drainage of the property is an absolute MUST. Also, leaky fixtures will lead to contamination of newly replaced boards if left untended.

 

Some really ugly stuff.....

 

They make special face masks that will help to protect against the inhalation of the spores and it might be advisable to inquire with your employer about such. When we had the Anthrax issues at the post office; they made face masks available to those who wanted to wear them at no cost. There is a minimum rating that must be adhered to so that protection is provided, but I'm not sure what it is. The average dust mask will NOT cut it.

 

Rasputin, I never read about or heard about the family at Round Rock, but I can certainly see where something like that would happen. I don't know what type of a home they had, but as much as I would love to have certain stuctures for energy efficiency ratings..... such as earth contact homes; I would be VERY.... EXTREMELY reluctant to ever build or buy one with the fear that improper drainage could lead to mold issues. As much as I love to swim; the thought of having my own indoor pool for convenience scares the heck out of me......