Additional illnesses with MS.

[superpirate22]

I find myself very uncomfortable (even sick sometimes) in warm and humid weather. I also find noise to be very interfering with my concentration (which is not great at the best of times).

The heat/humidity makes me feel (for want of a better expression) travel sick, even if I am just at home, sitting down or something.

The noise complaint has made me unplug all the electrical stuff in my bedroom because I can hear the buzzing of appliances and I have to sleep with earplugs. (This may be more extreme than some of the cases I've read on Google.)

I always thought I was just really peculiar, but recently found out these are common complaints with MS.

I'm just wondering, does anyone also complain of these things? And if so, have you found anything to help?

[Froggie]

Hi superpirate22-

Ah yes, the dreaded heat! I find myself to be even more sensitive to it than I used to be. With the warmer weather, I become downright lethargic and loopy. The spasticity in my right foot becomes even worse and my thinking much more muddled. I even have difficulties cooking now if the kitchen gets too warm! While I do feel like a hermit in the hotter weather, I do have some remedies that at least help. I try to do anything requiring effort earlier in the day. I walk my dog first thing in the morning, which helps a lot. If I am going to be cooking, I try to do as much as I can ahead of time, i.e. chopping of veggies, etc. I try to avoid meals requiring too much stove time. If I want to do serious cooking I wait for cooler days. I also have my husband cook if he can to keep me out of the kitchen later in the day. Do you have an ice/cooling vest? I wear mine almost non-stop while the temps/humidity are up. That helps a lot. If you don't have one, you can contact the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA) and they can help you get one. I discovered it can be a lifesaver in the kitchen.

As for concentration/noise, I find I'm the same way. I have done a plethora of research requiring a great deal of concentration and used to be able to block out noise with no problem. These days, however, I need either quiet or I put on headphones with music playing softly in the background. Preferably, I do anything requiring me to focus with no noise at all.

Hope this helps!

[superpirate22]

Thanks froggie

I'm actually from Ireland but I will see with our own MS Society about that cooling vest. Might be just what I need!

[Scott1]

Hi,

Your problem with heat may be, in part, due to problems with vasodilation. When you overheat the blood vessels are supposed dilate so the heat goes to the skin and can be lost to the air. If they don't then you can't cool down as easily. I have views on that which are here spread across this site but would suggest you look at arginine, Q10 and acetyl-L-carnitine as a start. Others will have ideas as well.
You could try reading about the related ideas of Stephen Sinatra which I summarized on 8 December 2014 here - http://www.thisisms.com/forum/regimens- ... 9-165.html . I think following the suggestions there may help along with Arginine.

Regards

[MSbro]

I have read that MS patients can suffer a lot from heat and humidity. Apparently, if nerves rise only slightly in temperature, the signals that pass along them can become interrupted and with your nervous system already compromised by the MS, this makes the situation even worse. I guess the best thing to do is try and stay as cool as possible.

[1eye]

I think the heat problem is related directly to whatever is the primary disease pathology is in MS. I think it may be directly connected to venous drainage, from both brain and spinal cord. There is in my case some kind of pathology in my spine, which affects my walking and may be related to the definite left-sided disabilities I have, including eye muscles, arm muscles, leg muscles, and ankle-foot nerves. This nervous problem is also extremely heat-sensitive. My hot laptop makes my legs twitch. So does too many blankets in bed.

I have to have summer air temp in my house at 73 degrees Fahrenheit or lower to be sure of minimum discomfort. Some people find this too cool. I also use a ceiling fan at night.

My first sign of overheating is that the skin on my hands feels like it is burning. This can be treated with cold water on my wrists, but if I remain overheated, eventually my core temperature will rise and more drastic cooling will be required. If I am overheated too long, the resulting symptoms remain a long time after I cool off, worst case, for weeks.

I suspect there is a primary cooling problem. I went for my usual 1-block walker-walk, in 98.6 Fahrenheit degree heat, with neck and head coolers. I went about 100 feet farther than usual, and slowed to a crawl before i could return. I had to be pushed back, seated on my walker.

There may be some symptoms which are not affected by temperature, but I don't know what they are.

[David1949]

Heat sensitivity is a common problem for people with MS. One lady I know can become completely disabled in hot weather. For me it just makes me more lethargic and makes my gimpy leg worse.

I don't know about sound sensitivity. Did you always have that problem or did it start after MS started?

[kitty2015]

Im new to MS but not to the sheer awfulness of heat. Have been trying to disprove my MS diagnosis lately being that I'm hopeful its not that and in the middle of testing. Just a thought but today I compared Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME to MS and while it mimics MS in a lot of ways including diagnosis ,CFS also has sensitivity to sound and light as a symptom more so than MS I found.
Worth looking into although in saying that have no idea if CFS is better or worse lol and it may be a very mean suggestion because of that.
This is me apologizing in advance
Kitty