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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