The slightest change in pressure

The merry month of March has come in like a lamb here in Minnesota. Winter has been long and snow-filled. Longer, warmer days are a welcome change. But I know that the lamb will leave and the lion will roar. I also know that those of us with brain aneurysms will feel that feline’s bite.

The fact is, changes in weather can hurt. My aneurysms have been surgically fixed, but barometric pressure fluctuations seem to change the intracranial pressure in my brain.

Have you seen those fluid-filled, decorative barometers? As the outside air pressure changes, the fluid in the tube rises or falls. I figure that’s what happens inside our heads, too.

A couple months ago, as I was reading the St. Paul Pioneer Press, I noticed a Q & A medical column.  The reader’s question: “A cold front came in and I had head/face pressure. What is that all about?”

The doctor’s answer was that weather changes can trigger migraine headaches as well as pain in arthritic joints. He speculated that a difference in the body’s internal pressure and the outside barometric pressure was the reason.

So I asked members of my support group at the National Brain Aneurysm Center whether they noticed weather-related problems. EVERYONE did. Responses ranged from “feeling fuzzy” to feeling tired and fatigued. Those of us who had undergone open craniotomies noticed something even more bizarre. As the weather changes, the skull bones that have knit back together after surgery actually dent in or out.

My husband is a prove-it-to-me kind of guy. Whenever I comment that the weather must be changing, he says, “Let’s see your dent.” I brush the hair away from my forehead, he studies a spot just beneath the hairline and affirms my prediction. The fact is, there are days when that spot is completely flat and looks no different than any other place on my forehead. Then there are days when it is so dented it looks like someone shot me with a gun.

Spring is here at last. Some days will be filled with lambs. Others will be tormented by lions.  If you want to know what the day will bring, forget about forecasts from high-priced television meteorologists. Instead, ask a walking, talking barometer. Ask a brain aneurysm survivor.

When Lightning Strikes, You Have to Act

I had a brain storm during dinner one hot July evening. Lightning cracked inside my head. Hot tingling electricity sparked and thrummed throughout my brain. My 17-year old son put down his fork and asked if I was okay.

I remember saying, “No. I don’t think so.” Read the rest of this entry »