I am just curious about how weather effects all of you. It is most common for people with Fibromyalgia to have more issues with cool damp weather. Most Fibro victims report that warmer weather makes them feel better. I have heard a small percentage of fibro sufferers have the opposite issues. I fall under this small group. The heat and warmth causes me increased pain. I feel almost like my muscles and joints are totally inflamed from the heat. My pain usually seems to be less severe with cooler weather. Ice packs are more effective that heating pads.
What temps are better/worse for all of you?
How many feel feverish often? (I take my temp all the time!!)
How many of you feel extremely warm yet have chills as if you are cold?
I suffer more with the cold and damp weather. If I'm out in the cold too long I get so stiff and then I'm in pain, my legs are the worst.
Like you I feel feverish, as though I've got the flu and my body can feel warm to the touch yet on the inside I'm really cold.
I can't go swimming anymore, the public pool is not warm enough for me, I need bath temperature! The last time I tried it, thought it wold be good exercise, after 10 minutes my body was so stiff that I was in a lot of pain getting dried and dressed, and took ages when I got home to feel better.
Since developing fibro I've also become sensitive to synthetic bedding, I used to love my thick snuggly duvet but they just make me sweat now, so I have all cotton bedding now with sheets and blankets.
My body, and how it reacts to things has completely changed over the past 2 years.
More proof that our thermostats are off, just like the new info posted by Linnie today!
Usually I'm always cold, suffer chills much, much more than fevers, am seldom up to 98.6, and the cold is murder on me, however, sometimes my knees feel like they are on fire, but I know that is the arthritis.
rosie and I were just discussing this, and I was telling her that it takes so many intense things to warm me up when I get the chills, hot baths, cranking up the heat, hot drinks, heating pad, blankets in the dryer, and just like when a fever breaks, when I FIANLLY get warm enough, I break out in a sweat, and it all breaks just like a fever breaks, and it's usually over.
I really have a problem putting ice on my body, always did, though I do drink ice cold drinks sometimes.
Not sure if this makes sense to anyone? BTW wanna hear weird, I sweat more when I'm cold than when I'm hot, unless it's opressively hot!
NOT sure if this is what you are asking, but thought I'd throw this in!
Thanks for input! I am sorry to hear you can not enjoy the pool anymore! My body aches during season changes but for the most part I respond much better to the cool weather! I feel kind of like an odd duck because everyone else is the opposite!!
That is funny that you mentioned sweating when you are cold, I do that too sometimes! I have been having trouble with hot showers lately, which seems odd to me. I would think hit water on my sore muscles would help! I use to love hot showers and hot baths! But the past couple of years I have not been able to tolerate them very well. I have always loved summertime and despised winter! This summer was one of the worst summers wver as my pain was unbearable most of the time! Thanks for the input! I am still searching for some who respond better to cold weather as I do, looking for ideas from them on pain management!!
i cant do the cold at all. and not too much heat as in like hot days but i do love heating pads. they are wonderful creations lol. i always feel feverish. i read somewhere that low grade fevers was a symptom. i often have low fevers like 99.5 or around that. for no reason at all. and its weird that you say have chills but you are warm. this happens to me all the time. i thought it was just me. i guess not.
thanks for sharing and posting. i had just posted something similar
I same as you. Warm weather makes me on fire and inflamed with pain. Summers her on So Cal are treacherous for me. I have arthritis too which hurts in the winter, but not nearly as bad as fibro pain in the heat.
I have problem with extreme temps, either cold or hot. My pain is worse with cold and humidity. My body can predict rain.
I feel freezing during the day and feel feverish at night - which keeps me awake. My saliva test revealed that my cortisol level was reversed between day and night (it should be high during the day and low at night).
Yes, I get chills in the hot weather. I think the body is trying to cool by causing the chills.
all weather effects me , warm weather and humidity brings more pain , and the cold weather floors me , when its windy I could cry with pain , that's were iam today !!
Cold in any form makes the pain and stiffness worse, gray skies make me depressed and feel like I've gotten the flu, and the heat zaps my energy away. We moved to the Phoenix area a few years back and as hot as the summers are I handle it better. When the outside temps drops below high seventies my body feels it. Though their winters are mild I still find them extremely painful. I think there are other areas like that - where a small percentage jump/have the opposite effect.
Though come to think of it, when I have "heater" air blowing by me I have a more intense reaction than when the temp is just warm.
I can't handle ice at all, but knew a woman who preferred ice packs. Not sure I feel extremely warm, but have had time when I get the chills though there's no logical reason for it.
Best of luck!
Butterflydragon
Oh, and someone mentioned not being able to swim. I used to love doing that! But even in the dead of summer with 110+ weather the pools are still too cold for me. I get ridiculously stiff and the amount of energy it take now just isn't worth it! =(
I haven't yet found a real pattern with my fibro. All I know is that I don't deal well with weather changes at all, no matter in what direction, and I don't like the extremes.
In general, though, I prefer cooler weather. As my symptoms aren't that bad yet, I can't say the cold has a worse effect on me than the heat. In summer, it's the "swollen" feelin, in winter, it's the "stiff".
I think, however, that cold/wet is a bad combination for me and it's a lot of an psychological issue. (Sometimes, I really really enjoy walking through a muddy, windy, rainy and cold weather. The windier, the better. But sometimes, I get all depressive with that kind of weather and then I hurt more)
it's really complicated, I think.
Independend from the outside weather, though, I'm always in for a hot bath or curling myself around my fluffy hotwaterbottle :) Ice packs never do anything for me.
My body reacts negatively to the extremes of weather. I have had fibro for almost 4 years now, I have noticed that mid-summer is bad for me and January/February are bad. it seems that every July I end up spending more time in bed than usual---having to take naps/just plain exhausted. I have to have the air conditioning on, cannot tolerate humidity at all (which is difficult to avoid in Michigan). It is starting to get cold in MI now and my feet are usually a source of pain/numbness in the cold weather. They often keep me awake at night. I used to love going outside for walks and just spending time outside with my animals--now I only enjoy that on mild days during spring and fall. I used to enjoy sitting in the sun in the summer time, now it is too much for me.
I just posted a similar question..:) I feel much better in the summer! I love going to the beach and lying out in the hot sun and going into the ocean. I feel better mentally and physically. I am dreading the winter and the cold! My pain and stiffness is much worse and my SAD really kicks in. When the time changes and it gets dark at 5pm, I get really depressed. I think I'm addicted to hot and sun..lol
I am hoping and praying that one day I can move to Florida!