I think I figured out one of the brainfog aspects with IJV. Overheated brain.
I guess we, those with IJV compression and brain fog, literally feel like under constant heatstroke?
It seems the heat exchange inside the skull largely depends on the blood and CSF circulation (too lazy to look for references but I’ve read it somewhere). That would possibly explain hot weather, sauna, hot shower intolerance too.
Any thoughts? Esp. @KoolDude and his extensive physics knowledge?
I can relate to the hot shower thing. On the one hand sometimes it made me feel better and I attribute that to my blood vessels dilating but other times I felt like I was drunk after a shower.
Hot shower also often makes muscles more relaxed, which leads to less tension everywhere
That also explains why magnesium sometimes helped a bit
Definitely used to not feel good in the heat!
@vdm lol…extensive physics knowledge, I am not sure I qualify for that. I did study physics at university and I am bit of a science enthusiast but that is about it.
Well, back to your question I really did not do much research on this area. Don’t know much about the relationship between IJV and overheated brain. I know that the brain operates like a closed system (protected by layers of bones & other tough tissues) so I assume its temperature is somewhat regulated and is highly dependent on core body temperature and neuronal activity in the absence of diseases and other injuries. It is also true that it consumes a quarter of the total energy (higher metabolic activity than other organs) of the body which one can argue might produce a higher thermal energy than the rest of the body when at rest. In the setting of IIH induced by impaired drainage such as IJVS, one can argue that the brain temperature might also rise as there is a direct relationship between pressure and temperature in closed system where volume is constant and can’t expand in order to cool (the higher the pressure, the higher the temperature). But the brain does have its own cooling system so pressure & temperature model can not easily be applied to it. I think the reason why hot weather, sauna (my favourite), etc causes too much dizziness and uncomfortableness is largely due to the temporary rise of intercranial pressure (ICP) as heat dilates blood vessels and increases blood flow to the brain hence the drunken feeling that Jules always talks about.
The problem that there isn’t much research about it…
Wondering what’s the best way to test the hypothesis in practice. I’m thinking that cooling down a little some arteries going near the surface of the skin is relatively easy. The downside is that cold blood has higher viscosity and thus more resistance to flow, which might affect the effect.
The reason I am thinking the symptoms resemble chronic heatstroke is that, well, back in those Australian times I would occasionally forget to stay hydrated enough in hot areas (35+ degree Celsius with humidity 80-90%) and the sensation would be, well, extremely similar less the pressure in the head.
Well before you can even cool the blood the body will outsmart you and constrict the arteries in order to prevent heat loss and keep the core temperature the same. That is why they constrict in the first place.
You made me chuckle … do you have a German background ? Choosing to say “uncomfortableness”; what’s wrong with “discomfort” ?
@Aboulog1 lol…I blame it on vascular Eagle. Can’t get the proper words. If you carefully examine all my writings, you will see misplaced words, grammatical errors, omitted words…etc.
I’m wondering how many of us have a low base temperature? “Average “ in Fahrenheit for a person is 98.6 degrees.
Mine, however, is more like 96 to 97.
I absolutely can’t tolerate heat.
Electronic thermometers show anywhere between 35.4 to 36.5 C on me (95.7 to 97.7 F)
“Old-school” thermometers (with either mercury or some compound solution that looks like mercury and takes about 7-10 minutes to reach the max temperature), however, usually show between 36.7 and 37.3 C (98-99 F).
Before the symptoms got much worse in early 2021, my “normal” temp. used to be around 36.2-36.6 C with both mercury and electronic thermometers (there were no significant difference).
I suspect now I have significant rapid temperature fluctuations, and electronic thermometers usually record only a brief period and record it. It would be interesting to have a graph of temperature over the time of, let’s say, 10 minutes.
Mercury-filled thermometers push the bar to the max, I guess, every time.
It is interesting you brought this up. I had no heat tolerance before but since surgery a couple of weeks ago I have been outside most of the day today and the past few days in 100-degree weather working on projects with no problem. I have even raised the a/c temp in the house to 73 from 69 before because I am getting cold. Although to be fair, I am down 13 pounds since surgery (swelling all over my body) and HR has gone from about 114 to 79. I am sure that those two factors make a big difference in internal thermostat.
AWESOME surgical results so far, @Jjay!! I’m so glad you’re seeing such amazing results. I hope you continue to heal to “perfection.” 
Glad you’re seeing improvements!