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Linda in Morelia

Feb 21, 2009, 6:27 PM

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Changes in health after move to Mexico

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Hola,

I am curious about something. Since I moved to Mexico (a little over a year ago), I have been sick a lot more than I was NOB. Mostly colds, respiratory infections, viruses. A friend of mine here in Morelia, where I live, mentioned that she got sick a lot after she first came here, leading us to wonder if there are specific germs we NOB'ers need to get used to.

Have you noticed any marked change in your health (positive or negative) after you moved here? I'm hoping someone will say, "yes, you will get sick a lot the first year, and then you will be immune to the local germs and live a healthy life until you die in your sleep at age 102."

I'd love to hear about people's health experiences, both positive and negative.

Linda

TlxcalaClaudia

Feb 21, 2009, 8:09 PM

Post #2 of 13 (4562 views)

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Re: [Jim and Linda] Changes in health after move to Mexico

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My experience was dramatically opposite as my health got better. I lost weight, pollen didn't seem to bother me and I stopped using my asthma inhaler (induced by environment, I wasn't born asthmatic). My children on the other hand got colds/flus more dramatic than here in USA but that got better mid year two. Since we left at the end of year two, I am not sure if it would have continued but I can say I noted heavier coughing for them when in Mexico.

yucatandreamer

Feb 21, 2009, 9:52 PM

Post #3 of 13 (4545 views)

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Re: [Jim and Linda] Changes in health after move to Mexico

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I got all kinds of low grade infections, stys, mouth ulcers, fever blisters,rashes and mysterious things that made me run a fever for a day or two. This all happened pretty much the first year and then stopped. So hang in there it will get better.

Anonimo

Feb 22, 2009, 2:05 AM

Post #4 of 13 (4532 views)

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Re: [Jim and Linda] Changes in health after move to Mexico

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It seems that one or both of us get la gripa each Autumn and Winter. We wanted to get flu shots in November, but were prevented by colds we had!

Changes of environment, especially travelling on buses and planes, seem to provoke these illnesses. We went to Oaxaca via DF and Puebla at the end of last year, starting out with bad colds, recovering during our three week stay, and getting them again just before we returned home to the Pátzcuaro area.

We've also both had bronchitis after returning to Mexco and a dusty environment during late April. We now now to dust and sweep the garage and porch while wearing dust mask. That may have been related to bird feces.

Four times my wife got very ill with intestinal infections while I would be intact, after eating the same foods. It was a complex issue that was eventually resolved by a broad spectrum of medication and immune system-boosting vitamins.

TlxcalaClaudia

Feb 22, 2009, 6:58 AM

Post #5 of 13 (4516 views)

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Re: [yucatandreamer] Changes in health after move to Mexico

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Since you mentioned rashes, my mom visited for a couple of months; developed an insane total body rash. She also got some bad cold right before that. She left promptly. She was sure something in Mexico affected her. I think it could have been the laundry detergent. She is sensitive to soaps in the states too.

Carron

Feb 22, 2009, 7:29 AM

Post #6 of 13 (4506 views)

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Re: [TlxcalaClaudia] Changes in health after move to Mexico

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We basically feel better since we have lived in Mexico. Of course we have been here almost 11 years now, so we are pretty well adjusted. We get more physical exercise here and lost lots of weight when we first came down. Most of that we have kept off even as we have added on years. We think we probably eat much better, certainly in the fresh fruits and vegetables department. We had allergies for years in the US and still tend to have them in Mexico, though not quite as severe. It is very easy to self-prescribe familiar medications because we don't have to go to a doctor to get a prescription. So we always have a good stock of medications on hand and we tend to start taking them earlier in the course of an illness than we probably would if we had to go to a doctor.

I did develop sores on my arms and legs when we first moved to Chiapas. They seemed to be insect bites that just wouldn't heal. They were unattractive and a nuisance, but nothing more serious. I still get one or two occasionally even though I now live in a very dry climate.

Our kids seemed to have the same problems here as in the US. One daughter has always had ear infections and whenever she gets sick, it seems to settle there. My son has always had problems with strep throat and he gets that on both sides of the border. His doctor years ago said he never fully gets rid of the strep germs and whenever he gets tired or run-down, they multiply. Again, it's easy to get the proper antibiotics and he knows to take them at the first signs of a sore throat.

morgaine7

Feb 22, 2009, 7:35 AM

Post #7 of 13 (4504 views)

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Re: [Jim and Linda] Changes in health after move to Mexico

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I moved from Egypt where the climate is similar, though dustier and more polluted than in my part of Mexico. In almost two years here I've had two colds, both of which followed a lot of stress and exhaustion (moving, visit to the US). In general I feel healthier, but frankly, I suspect it has as much to do with retirement as with being in Mexico. I'm much more relaxed, get more sleep and outdoor exercise, and eat more regularly. I've also lost 20 lbs, though it's a struggle with all the wonderful food!

Kate

Gringal

Feb 22, 2009, 12:21 PM

Post #8 of 13 (4464 views)

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Re: [Jim and Linda] Changes in health after move to Mexico

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I wish I could say something positive relating to this thread, but we moved to Mexico nearly 5 years ago and I've never been so sick, so often, in my life. Gotta be something in the dust or just the air. We do all the food cleansing and drink the bottled water.

Sometimes, I just want to hitch a ride back to California......but then something good happens, and I keep hoping it will all get better....someday.

That is the bad and the ugly. The good we all know about. The jacarandas are in bloom.

(This post was edited by Gringal on Feb 22, 2009, 12:22 PM)

johanson

Feb 22, 2009, 12:50 PM

Post #9 of 13 (4452 views)

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Re: [Gringal] Changes in health after move to Mexico

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My health is about the same along the shores of Lake Chapala as it is north of the border. ( I first started coming lakeside in 1996 and bought a house in Ajijic in 1997 where I spend perhaps 6 to 8 months of the year. The rest of the time I can be found in Seattle or on the "Island" (Vancouver)

Brian

Feb 22, 2009, 1:31 PM

Post #10 of 13 (4439 views)

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Re: [Gringal] Changes in health after move to Mexico

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"Gotta be something in the dust or just the air. We do all the food cleansing and drink the bottled water."

My wife and I were reminiscing yesterday about people and places we miss and things we don't miss since moving from Mexico over two years ago. I told her that I had to be honest and admit one thing. It is not the "dust of Mexico" that I don't miss but rather the pervasive smell that is so common in many towns and villages in the Republic. It is a fetid combination of aguas negras and smoke. Whatever it is, it can't be good to breathe it.

My health suffered a sudden setback after ten medically uneventful years south of the border. I was diagnosed with Meniere's disease. It totally destroyed the hearing in one ear and makes me susceptible to bouts of dizziness and imbalance. I can't tell the direction that sounds are coming from. We decided that the infrastructure in San Miguel (narrow sidewalks, cobblestone streets, stairs without handrails) was just no longer safe for me to live there every day. I still have the same problems in the US but living with my disability is easier here in Austin.

(This post was edited by Brian on Feb 22, 2009, 3:57 PM)

Georgia

Feb 22, 2009, 6:23 PM

Post #11 of 13 (4389 views)

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Re: [Jim and Linda] Changes in health after move to Mexico

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Wish I could reassure you, but no. The high, dry altitude here with all the sun seems to agree with me: no more aches and pains, lost 115 pounds, (not a typo), never have colds anyway, no intestinal problems, although my knees did start to bother me after three visits last fall to the US where the temps were below freezing on each visit. Gruesome. For me, as for others, the sunshine seems to be of great benefit, as does the low humidity and high altitude.

Linda in Morelia

Feb 23, 2009, 6:39 AM

Post #12 of 13 (4345 views)

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Re: [Georgia] Changes in health after move to Mexico

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Thanks to all of you for your responses. I will be working with my ENT doctor to see what I can do to minimize the number of illnesses. We may also plan an extended stay at the beach during Dec-Jan, where it can be cold here in Morelia.

Linda

islena

Mar 1, 2009, 11:37 AM

Post #13 of 13 (4132 views)

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Re: [Jim and Linda] Changes in health after move to Mexico

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When I first came here I brought with me lots of digestive issues from 'trigger' foods (orange juice, coffee, chocolate, tomato sauce), and a hiatal hernia. I was on Zantec every day to take out the burn in my stomach (this all started long before coming here).

Now, I rarely have issues with indigestion, and I can't remember the last time I took a Zantec (still get burn from the trigger foods when I go NOB).

As for other illnesses, I guess I'm just blessed with good health. I've only had two bouts of severe stomach upset in 7 years, and just a yearly cold.

I eat much better here - fresh food, including lots more fruit and veggies than ever, and fresh juice every day. Oh - my cholesterol is down to normal too, yet I eat more eats than I ever did.

I do seem to have more days where I get headaches, but that could be due to lots of things unrelated to where I live. Stress from issues unrelated to location.

Not sure, but I hope your body just gets used to living here and you start feeling much better soon!