This is the first in a series of articles that I'm writing about my multiple sclerosis symptoms.I'm not a doctor and I try to talk in layman's terms.This article is about heat sensitivity which is a common symptom for people with multiple sclerosis.I've been diagnosed with the disease since 1991 but now that I know heat sensitivity is a symptom I can date it back to at least 1980.Since I began writing articles and my e-book I've started to remember things from my past that happened a lot in the 80's.If I'd been smart I probably would have and should have gone in to see a doctor but the things I was noticing always had a logical explanation.I've had MS in my body for at least 27 years so I consider myself an expert on the disease as it pertains to me.I now have secondary progressive MS and just about everything that can happen to a person's body with MS has now happened to mine.I try to include many stories in my articles about my personal life which I hope are more fun to read than articles with a lot of doctor mumbo jumbo.I hope you enjoy all of my articles and find them informative!The technical information below is from a Mayo Clinic website.I was born in Rochester, Minnesota where the Mayo Clinic is located.Mayo has a reputation as a leading health care facility in the world.I will use the clinic as my expert reference in all my articles for explanation of difficult words and subjects.I'll be recollecting some of my own experiences with MS over the past 27 years!Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic and potentially debilitating disease that affects your central nervous system which is made up of your brain and spinal cord.Multiple sclerosis is widely believed to be an auto immune disease, a condition in which your immune system attacks components of your body as if they're foreign.In multiple sclerosis, the body mistakenly directs antibodies and white blood cells against proteins in the myelin sheath, a fatty substance that insulates nerve fibers in your brain and spinal cord.This results in inflammation and injury to the sheath and ultimately to the nerves that it surrounds.The result may be multiple areas of scarring (sclerosis).Eventually, this damage can slow or block the nerve signals that control muscle coordination, strength, sensation and vision.Multiple sclerosis affects an estimated 400,000 people in the United States and probably more than 1 million people around the world -- including twice as many women as men.Most people experience their first signs or symptoms between ages 20 and 40.Multiple sclerosis is unpredictable and varies in severity.In some people multiple sclerosis is a mild illness but it can lead to permanent disability in others.Treatments can modify the course of the disease and relieve symptoms.For reasons that are not too well understood, extremely cold temperatures and changes in temperature can also cause MS symptoms, usually spasticity to flare.It is important to remember that while climate may worsen the symptoms of MS, climate changes do not produce more actual nerve damage.The adverse effects of temperature and humidity are generally temporary.Many people with multiple sclerosis don't like heat.I'm one of them.In fact I can date problems with heat all the way back to 1980 when I managed health clubs and possibly even before that! In my club days I would jump in the whirlpool after a workout or after my work shift.The pools were at least 105 degrees! I get out of the whirlpool and I'd have strange feelings.I'd be lightheaded, woozy and a little uncoordinated.After awhile I decided not to go in whirlpools because of those strange feelings.It wasn't a conscious thought but I just avoided the pools.I stayed in the health club business for almost 7 years and I bet I wasn't in the pools more than 10 times after 1980.Nowadays, I don't care for hot summer days, a hot apartment, high humidity, whirlpools, saunas, dressing too warmly, really hot showers or tanning beds.I also don't like to get sick.About a year ago I had a cold with a fever.Nowadays, as soon as I feel a fever coming on I start popping aspirin which goes to battle the fever.I was a little slow this last time taking aspirin and I got so hot that my legs stopped working completely!I can now ride my scooter everywhere in my apartment so I knew when I had that fever that I would be OK.Max is the nickname I gave my scooter.As long as I have him I feel like I can take on any challenges that MS can give me and I have taken some on! The most challenging thing I experienced that night I had my fever was crawling to Max and having difficulties hoisting myself onto his seat.When you have no leg strength and can't feel them it's very difficult to get your legs to do anything! It was like they were paralyzed.My brain was telling my legs to move and they just wouldn't listen.So I lined up my body with Max's seat as best as I could and used my arms to lift myself up.It took me a couple of times but I finally did it! Heat or high humidity can make people with MS experience a temporary worsening of their symptoms.Doctors believe that this occurs because heat causes nerves (whose myelin covering has been destroyed by MS) to conduct electrical signals even less efficiently.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Multiple Sclerosis And Heat Sensitivity
This is the first in a series of articles that I'm writing about my multiple sclerosis symptoms.I'm not a doctor and I try to talk in layman's terms.This article is about heat sensitivity which is a common symptom for people with multiple sclerosis.I've been diagnosed with the disease since 1991 but now that I know heat sensitivity is a symptom I can date it back to at least 1980.Since I began writing articles and my e-book I've started to remember things from my past that happened a lot in the 80's.If I'd been smart I probably would have and should have gone in to see a doctor but the things I was noticing always had a logical explanation.I've had MS in my body for at least 27 years so I consider myself an expert on the disease as it pertains to me.I now have secondary progressive MS and just about everything that can happen to a person's body with MS has now happened to mine.I try to include many stories in my articles about my personal life which I hope are more fun to read than articles with a lot of doctor mumbo jumbo.I hope you enjoy all of my articles and find them informative!The technical information below is from a Mayo Clinic website.I was born in Rochester, Minnesota where the Mayo Clinic is located.Mayo has a reputation as a leading health care facility in the world.I will use the clinic as my expert reference in all my articles for explanation of difficult words and subjects.I'll be recollecting some of my own experiences with MS over the past 27 years!Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic and potentially debilitating disease that affects your central nervous system which is made up of your brain and spinal cord.Multiple sclerosis is widely believed to be an auto immune disease, a condition in which your immune system attacks components of your body as if they're foreign.In multiple sclerosis, the body mistakenly directs antibodies and white blood cells against proteins in the myelin sheath, a fatty substance that insulates nerve fibers in your brain and spinal cord.This results in inflammation and injury to the sheath and ultimately to the nerves that it surrounds.The result may be multiple areas of scarring (sclerosis).Eventually, this damage can slow or block the nerve signals that control muscle coordination, strength, sensation and vision.Multiple sclerosis affects an estimated 400,000 people in the United States and probably more than 1 million people around the world -- including twice as many women as men.Most people experience their first signs or symptoms between ages 20 and 40.Multiple sclerosis is unpredictable and varies in severity.In some people multiple sclerosis is a mild illness but it can lead to permanent disability in others.Treatments can modify the course of the disease and relieve symptoms.For reasons that are not too well understood, extremely cold temperatures and changes in temperature can also cause MS symptoms, usually spasticity to flare.It is important to remember that while climate may worsen the symptoms of MS, climate changes do not produce more actual nerve damage.The adverse effects of temperature and humidity are generally temporary.Many people with multiple sclerosis don't like heat.I'm one of them.In fact I can date problems with heat all the way back to 1980 when I managed health clubs and possibly even before that! In my club days I would jump in the whirlpool after a workout or after my work shift.The pools were at least 105 degrees! I get out of the whirlpool and I'd have strange feelings.I'd be lightheaded, woozy and a little uncoordinated.After awhile I decided not to go in whirlpools because of those strange feelings.It wasn't a conscious thought but I just avoided the pools.I stayed in the health club business for almost 7 years and I bet I wasn't in the pools more than 10 times after 1980.Nowadays, I don't care for hot summer days, a hot apartment, high humidity, whirlpools, saunas, dressing too warmly, really hot showers or tanning beds.I also don't like to get sick.About a year ago I had a cold with a fever.Nowadays, as soon as I feel a fever coming on I start popping aspirin which goes to battle the fever.I was a little slow this last time taking aspirin and I got so hot that my legs stopped working completely!I can now ride my scooter everywhere in my apartment so I knew when I had that fever that I would be OK.Max is the nickname I gave my scooter.As long as I have him I feel like I can take on any challenges that MS can give me and I have taken some on! The most challenging thing I experienced that night I had my fever was crawling to Max and having difficulties hoisting myself onto his seat.When you have no leg strength and can't feel them it's very difficult to get your legs to do anything! It was like they were paralyzed.My brain was telling my legs to move and they just wouldn't listen.So I lined up my body with Max's seat as best as I could and used my arms to lift myself up.It took me a couple of times but I finally did it! Heat or high humidity can make people with MS experience a temporary worsening of their symptoms.Doctors believe that this occurs because heat causes nerves (whose myelin covering has been destroyed by MS) to conduct electrical signals even less efficiently.
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