Removal of gallbladder, now weather

[Guest guest]

Hi Hugo,

 

Half of the year, it is quite hot in northern Arizona, and 1/3 of the year, it

is extremely hot. I've only lived here 2-1/2 years, and the climate is more

extreme than any other place I've lived. Summers can get up to 116 degrees

fahrenheit (and I live in the northern part of the state, where it's supposed to

be cooler than places like Phoenix, but it isn't by much) with evening lows in

the upper 60's to low 70's. August and September are " monsoon season " , when

it's really humid all the time with thunderstorms that may or may not bring any

rain - it rarely rains here, being a desert, and we have had drought conditions

for several years - currently we are under " voluntary water use restrictions " .

The rest of the year, the air is quite dry, sometimes enough to cause dry eyes,

nosebleeds and choking. Winters are in the 30's-40's during the day, and as low

at 16 degrees at night. There is generally a daily 40 to 50 degree difference

between morning low and daytime high

temperatures, with the hottest time of day occurring around 5pm during spring,

summer and fall. It rarely snows here, and there is hardly any transition of

weather during spring and autumn, from cold to hot and then back again. And it

is greatly windy most of the time. I hear from old-timers that summer

temperatures average 10 to 15 degrees higher than they were 10 years ago, when

it rarely peaked over 100, and it used to snow and rain more regularly. We are

definitely seeing the effects of global warming here.

 

The sun is quite strong, since we are at an altitude of 3500 feet above sea

level with hardly any moisture or clouds in the air for a buffer, and this makes

it too hot during the summer to do anything outdoors after 10 am. Outside of

monsoon season, humidity levels are as low as 8%, and during monsoon season, up

to 95%. June is the driest month, with humidity building through July until

monsoon rains begin sometime in August. Then we will have a pattern for 2

months of clear humid mornings with humidity and clouds building dramatically

through the day, and strong downbursts of rain mid-afternoon to evening that

rapidly drop huge amounts of water in small local areas in a short time, usually

with flooding, lightening-induced fires, and electrical power outages.

 

Sometimes we have a phenomenon called " haboob " . An Arabic word meaning " the

wind " , a haboob is an enormous wall of wind that carries fine particles of sand

with it. My first summer here, before I knew what a haboob was, I saw one

coming from the other side of the valley, abut 50 miles away. It was a gigantic

white thing that I couldn't identify. As it approached, winds were more severe

than usual, blowing with great force anything outside that wasn't secured

(except cars). This haboob carried white sand, which doesn't exist anywhere

near here. I can only imagine it was carried all the way from the White

Mountains, which are 4-5 hours away from here by car.

 

It is interesting to note the effects of weather on my patients, and they are

quite dramatic. I have several who have frequent headaches, and they are always

worse when there's a change in barometric pressure as with coming storms - even

when the storms are 1 or 2 states away! That could be the equivalent of a

10-hour drive. The effects of weather on the respiratory systems, bi syndromes,

and emotional affects of my patients are also quite striking. I have never met

so many people who are so irritable, and I think the climate has alot to do with

that - lots of liver yang rising here. It's hard to hold onto one's yin, since

there is little in the environment which nourishes or sustains yin.

 

Personally, I find this climate rather harsh and am looking at finding some

place more temperate for another relocation in the next few years. I had spent

my entire life living near one ocean or another, and moved to the desert with

the intention of " drying out " , since I am rather damp. I can't say that was an

effective strategy for treating dampness (but that wasn't my only reason for

moving here - it is also quite beautiful, and land was affordable when I got

here), so now I am both damp and also dry.

 

Where are you, Hugo, and how do you see the impact of weather and climate on

your patients? Anyone else care to add their observations?

 

 

 

 

Hugo Ramiro <subincor wrote: Hi all

and ABD...

Is Arizona hot? Because I can think of three patients off the top of my head

with no GB who have liver qi binding, damp in the GB channel, and yin deficient

heat. These people would do very poorly with a diagnosis of " heat in the GB b/c

their GB has been removed " .

Hugo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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