Most of us with multiple sclerosis are heat intolerant to the point of being unable to function outside during peak summer temperatures. When I asked people with MS on my blog what their MS temperature “limits” were, I was surprised that many people came back with answers lower than I would have expected – most said that 80 degrees was pretty much their cutoff for comfort and that 55- to 70-degree weather was really ideal.
However, it got even more interesting when several people said that while hot temperatures were not good, the cold wasn't so great for them, either.
Many people
wrote in to complain of increased spasticity in the cold weather. Readers mentioned
that their limbs "felt like wood" or that their joints ached during
lower temperatures. A couple of people also mentioned that the MS “hug” could
be intolerable in the cold. (The MS hug is the gripping feeling around the
torso that is caused by a lesion in the spinal cord that results in spasms in the
tiny muscles between the ribs.)
I also know
that some people living with MS tend to feel more fatigued in winter months.
This could be an indirect result of coping with some of the symptoms mentioned
above. It could also be that the shorter days and limited sunlight are
exacerbating depression,
which can be a symptom of MS.
New data is
emerging all the time on the role of vitamin D
in MS. Experts are fairly confident that low vitamin D has a role in developing
MS, but now it is really looking like vitamin D levels have an impact on
relapses and disease progression. It has been well-established that vitamin D
levels in people are lower in winter months due to less exposure to sunlight (which
is necessary for the body to produce vitamin D). Perhaps we feel our symptoms
more acutely when our vitamin D reserves are at their winter lows, although
this hasn’t been confirmed yet by scientific studies.
However, the
effects of cold on MS symptoms have not been studied extensively. I was able to
find one study that compared people with MS in the same four-week inpatient
therapy program held in two different locations: Spain (warm) and Norway (cold).
After therapy, the average walking distance had increased more in Spain (70
meters, as opposed to 49 meters in Norway) and participants also reported less
exertion after walking in Spain than they did in Norway.*
I've put
together a few tips below to help you enjoy the colder months if you find that
you are bothered by frigid temperatures. Please add your own stories and tips
in the comments section.
- Soak up the sunshine. As much as you can stand to be outside during the warmest part of a sunny winter day, do it (within reason). Help your body produce vitamin D. Even better, get a little exercise outside while you are at it.
- Don't overdo the heat inside. I tend to get a little dramatic when I get too cold and, as a result I take really hot baths or showers. Recently, I got dangerously dizzy from my hot shower. Remember, extreme heat is not our friend, either.
- Warm yourself from the inside. Try drinking a hot beverage to take the chill off and warm your core faster.
Like many other situations that we must navigate through with MS, a little strategic planning about winter activities can help you have a little control over symptoms. Really put some thought into what you enjoy doing in the winter, take a couple more precautions and get the most out of the cold months.
*It should
be noted that the people in this study were not heat-intolerant.
Great post. All good info. Warming yourself from the inside out is really helpful. Thanks. *karendianne.
ReplyDeleteIn Michigan, we had a weird heat wave 2 weeks ago,it was close to 80. One day when I went to the gbrocery store, I could barely walk back to my car, even pushing the cart. Struggled bringing the groceries into the house and then putting them away, took 2hrs for the whole ordeal.
DeleteGood point about not going overboard with heat to get warm. I have recently found that I can't always wear the fuzzy warm socks, AND chunky sweater. AND furry boots, AND scarf (Etc). Layers and a hot drink do (for me) prevent spasticity and fatigue without bringing on pain and dizziness.
ReplyDeleteMY MS IS SO WEIRD. I AM OPPOSITE THE COLD HURTS ME WORSE THAN HEAT. ITS LIKE WHEN I GET COLD IT TAKES MY BODY SO LONG TO WARM UP. AND I CAN ONLY GET WARMED UP BY A HOT BATH AND ITS NEVER BOTHERED ME. BUT THE HEAT IN THE SUMMER AFTER 80 IT STARTS HURTIN ME THEN////
ReplyDeleteYour MS is not wierd. Either that or I'm a wierdo with you. I CANNOT tolerate the cold at all and it feels as if I finally start to thaw out sometime in early June! Not so much a problem with the heat. I actually adore warm days. I've had a couple bad flare ups with the heat, but nothing like the cold!
DeleteMid-temp heat has never really bothered me either. I live in Southwestern Washington where our summer weather is an average 80-85 degrees. Rarely do we have 100 degree temps that last longer than a week. It is the cold weather that has effected me more, especially this year. I am definitely more fatigued and the neuropathy in my feet and lower limbs is at an all time bother mode. I am definitely looking forward to warmer weather.
DeleteI absolutely love the cold. I live in South Dakota and people look at me like I've got 3 heads when I say I want it colder. I'm able to not only snowblow my driveway but also my neighbors and the entire sidewalk without getting over tired. I don't "over dress" under my snow pants/jacket. Usually just a t-shirt, sometimes a sweatshirt.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with this. Heat and very cold weather effects me dramatically. We all know how heat effects us who have MS. The cold, I get muscle spasms from head to toe! I have 2 children who are skiers (one going to Utah in 1 week to be filmed), and when I go to their ski competitions, I stay in the lodge until they are up to ski, and go back in. It is just as bad as summer!
ReplyDeleteThe cold has always bothered me much more than the heat. I keep it inside, as not to be a downer to others, but the cold just makes me miserable. The snow is fun and pretty, but other than that, I am happy when winter has passed (although, I don't want to wish my life away!).
ReplyDeleteHaving lived in both northern and southern climates, I have had ample opportunity to evaluate which is worse: cold versus hot. Cold is definitely worse for me. An interesting test of this is happening right now in Florida where the temperature has gone from 75 degrees (good) to 50 degrees (bad) and will likely return to 70+ within a day or two (likely good). While extreme hot is enervating, certainly, even mild cold weather, as we are experiencing in Florida right now, seems to make my body resemble a windup toy that needs to be rewound.
ReplyDeleteJudy
Ken, I live in South Dakota, too, but winter is not fun for me because the the spasticity is worse and I have trouble getting warm.
ReplyDeleteVit. D is obsorbed by the body via sunlight help not made by the body, a vitamine is not made by the body its obsorbed with the help of the sunlight. correction!
ReplyDeleteI have been able to get out in these cooler temperatures and walk a little! The cooler temps really help me!!
ReplyDeleterecently diagnosed with MS, mine is atypical, heat doesn't seem to bother me, other than fatigue increasing as the day progresses. The cold is somewhat tolerable, except that I have a knee replacement and the arthritis and weakness in that knee doesn't make it any easier to walk. Also I am plagued by falls-unannounced-no warning-bam I can be walking along and hit the ground...
ReplyDeleteI have a very hard time with the heat in the summer, like most other MS'ers, but the winter can be worse sometimes. In the summer, heat is usually accompanied with air movement (wind, breeze, or fan's) whereas in the winter, there usually is none. The ceiling fan's get reversed, and even though it may only be 70+ degrees inside, is can seem warmer. Fatigue medications can also raise you core body temporature. Combine all of these, and 75f inside can feel like 85f does in the summer.
ReplyDeleteI live in North Dakota and I'll take the cold over the heat any day. As soon as it gets around 75 out I start swatting profusely and get tired quickly. During the winter months like Ken I stay out snow losing the neighbor jood
ReplyDeleteIn winter the neropathy in my hands really hurts when they get cold, I use mittins and "hot hands" in them but still they hurt, summer is not a friend anymore either.
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ReplyDeleteI have had MS for 17 years. What I have found for myself having lived in, and worked in, all climates is that for me, personally, I do better in cold than in hot weather. However, I am a bit of an enigma with MS because even hot weather does not have a real affect on me. I can sauna, Jacuzzi, walk out doors in the heat and have little trouble.
ReplyDeleteMy MS became Relapsing Progressive in 2010 and I have since had to stop working and go out on disability as MS has been slowly taking away many ability's.
I try to exercise everyday and I’m still ambulatory,(Ampyra has been a real blessing for me.)
I spent a decade as a human subject in MS research studies at UCLA, and the one thing I can say for certain is that no two people with MS have the same symptoms.
The degree of disability based on environmental factors (as the author mentioned) has not been studied, but in my own opinion it would be a red herring to even entertain.
The best advice I can give to all of us who suffer from MS, and its variants, is listen to your body. Medications can impact how we feel, daily stress, fatigue (which as the author pointed out can be depression) and a host of other factors. All of the authors ideas are great, just remember we are all individuals and we all handle our illness and environments in our own ways.
"When looking for a [vitamin D] supplement, make sure you choose one that is encapsulated in an oil base. These oil based capsules are most likely better absorbed since vitamin D is fat soluble."
ReplyDeleteLearn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/030500_vitamin_D_absorption.html#ixzz1iRy8Nc00
Cold is cold I don't feel any better, but the heat brings it on bad.
ReplyDeleteGlad to know I'm not alone in having MS-related discomfort in colder weather. In my case, I can endure dry heat (think summertime in Arizona) much more easily than the high humidity common to summertime in the Mid-Atlantic region. Something in the 70s with low humidity is my ideal.
ReplyDeleteAs always, fantastic work. You always make me feel better, even when what the article discusses is something that makes me feel badly. :) I appreciate your work more than I can express. The cold really shuts me down. Probably more than the heat. But, I am relatively "new" to MS. So I realize it can change. Thanks again for contributing and making us all think.
ReplyDeleteWhen the Summer Texas heat gets above 80 degrees, I just want to hibernate in the house with the a/c turned down to 68. However, I do tolerate hot showers and baths. I have recently had MRI's:brain, cervical, and thorasic, with lesions for the first time, appearing in my cervical region. I think this must explain the episodes of pain across my upper back. For the past 3 1/2 years I have been having episodes of double vision, which no doctor seems to know the origin. One neurologist says MS related, another says not. Opthalomologist says not my eyes. I don't know, but I do know it is frightening and uncontrollable, and happens without warning, so that driving is very scary...I have to pull over and wait it out. I do have just one image if I close one eye. I was diagnosed 12 years ago, and choose not to take any medication after I had an anaphalactic reaction to the injectible that I had been taking for 6 1/2 years. Sorry that I have rambled on about things other than temperature problems!
ReplyDeleteI find that spring and fall are best. Summer and winter get the best of me. The heat makes me fatigued and my thinking fuzzy. The cold makes me stff and spastic. The short days effect my mood.
ReplyDeleteThank you, for all the information, it really helps me.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your info. I have Lupus and MS. The summer is just horrendous for me. I love the cold temps. My comfortable temp would be about 45 or less degrees. When it gets warmer in the spring the temp I can only deal with would be up to 65 degrees. I just stay inside with the a/c on usually the whole summer and if the spring is warm as well. With the Lupus I can not be outside in the sun, so I am dealing with a double sided sword. Your article was very informative. Thanks again, :)
ReplyDeleteCold is a serious problem for me. My husband frequently asks me if I'm really that cold. 70 is my absolute limit for short sleeves. Heat on the other hand, bring it on. There was a day last summer when the temperature was 114, no humidity! What a beautiful day! Of course, I wear a tank and shorts, but beautiful, warm. I'm sitting in a 64 degree room in fleece and I could be warmer. Of course, the idiot neuro only knows what is most common.
ReplyDeletewarmer weather is definitely worse. I have central air, but in the summer I also have a window unit in my bedroom and it is set at 60*. My husband gets cold, but he understands how that helps me. I always look forward to fall and spring. Winter is not too bad unless it gets below 20*. That's when my entire body tightens up and the spacticity acts up pretty good.
ReplyDeleteI have probably had MS since 1999, however, I was not diagnosed until July 2011. I moved from Seattle to Texas in 2000 and then New Orleans in 2007 and back to Seattle in 2010. I truly believe that if I had not come back, I would still not be diagnosed. Spring of 2011 is when my symptoms got to the point that I was diagnosed. I have since spent a week in Phoinx and I was walking better for a few days after getting back. I think the winters here most certainly make things worst. I really didn't have any issue with the high temps and humidity of the South, but the two winters now back....bad! I tried Tanning this last fall to get the UV and Vit. D. I have since stopped and am taking 5,000 mg of Vit D and I feel as good as when I was tanning, but still affected by the winter. Ugh. I don't think it is so much the cold as it is of the darkness and overcast. Just my input for whomever it may help.
ReplyDeleteWhen I take a hot shower, getting out is tricky because my right leg is so weak and I also feel a little dizzy. I grab onto walls trying to stay up until I get to my chair. When the house is cold, my right hand and foot feel as if they are being soaked in a bucket of icy water. I do notice more spasticity in the winter. My Dr monitors my Vitamin D level closely and I do take supplement Vitamin D. If I don't get outside, I sit next to a sunny window and get my sun that way.
ReplyDeleteI was diagnosed in 2007, and began having real annoyances with the cold after some permanent damage revealed itself with neuropathy in both feet and most fingers. When I get cold, all toes and fingers feel icy to my brain, not to touch, lose all feeling, but some pain, and take a LONG time to warm up. I do have the typical fuzzy, numb overheated summer feeling too...but it goes away much sooner than the icy pain.
ReplyDelete