We have a heat wave over here in Europe that's truly unbearable. At least for people like me who cannot tolerate heat very well. For the second time now I'm on sick leave, and I fear this may cost me my job, but I just do not function in this heat and humidity. I collapsed a couple of times in my office. The heat makes me dizzy and nauseaus, and my head is way too hot. My blood pressure, which is usually increased goes down, also, the heat gives me a migraine. I cannot concentrate, I cannot think, my brain seems to be made of jelly these days. I'm tired, I'm exhausted, and the lack of oxygen in the air gives me panic attacks.

Doctor thinks it might be my thyroid gland acting up again. You have to know, I have this autoimmune disease, Hashimoto thyreoidism. I have an appointment in the new endocrinology centre in Goettingen by the end of August.

But I really don't know how to make it through this summer. The heat could last for at least two more months! Meanwhile, we have temperatures around 100°F, here in my apartment, it's 85°F, and in my office, it's even worse. You have to know, most buildings in Germany don't have air conditioning.

Believe me, if I'd win the lottery, I would buy a summer house in Iceland, or somewhere else where the summers are cool. And it's truly beyond me how some people here can actually enjoy this weather!!

Kirsten