Does the heat bother you?

[Guest guest]

As a former Phoenix resident you would think I would know all about

how the heat can effect a person with chronic pain. Since I had air

conditioning at home and at work and NEVER did anything outdoors in

the summer it never seemed to make a difference in my pain levels.

I moved to Montana last summer. We had a few hot days but I worked

in ac then so only had to deal with it for a few hours at night.

This year I am working in an un-airconditioned office. We are having

a heat wave here with temps in the upper 90s. It is 88 in my office

right now. I opened the windows this morning when it was cooler but

have since closed them. I have two fans circulating the air and I

have been drinking plenty of fluids. By the time I got home last

night I was completely exhaused and I can feel it rapidly

approaching and it is only 2:30 p.m. I have fibromyalgia and I feel

like every muscle from the base of my skull to my lower back is

inflamed right now.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with the heat? I

feel like such a wimp because about a month ago I was on this site

complaining about all the storms blowing through and causing pain

due to changes in the barometer.

Thanks in advance for your advise/support/sympathy.

Georgia

[Guest guest]

Hi Georgia,

I'm in northern California north of the Sacramento Valley. It gets hot as

blazes here in the summer too. 3-digit hot, dry heat most days. I also have AC

in my home but the heat outside has knocked out my AC in my car so I dare not

drive anywhere at all except in the morning or evening after the sun goes down

until it's fixed. Thankfully my son is coming here tonight, a three hour drive

for him, to fix it. I am so grateful for him. This is the 3rd time he's fixed it

for me.

The heat knocks me over & heats me up internally as well if I'm outside, even

driving, in the daytime heat. So I stay in my home with the AC on about 75-78

most days. I can't stand it any hotter in here. I have hot flashes all the time

too so I sleep with the window open next to my bed & a fan blowing the cooler

outdoor fresh air onto me as the temp. outside drops considerably at night. I

can't do that in the daytime when I take a nap in there though. But I turn on

the fan with the window closed anyway & it helps.

I do think the heat aggravates the inflammation in my body from the arthritis &

bursitis or I may have undiagnosed fibromyalgia too. But strangely, in the

winter when the barometer drops & I feel freezing cold & aching to the bone, a

really hot bath warms me up nicely & makes me feel better. So there's a

difference between the hot water in the bathtub & the heat from the sun outside.

I don't know why.

I do need to get sun on me for the Vitamin D which builds bones & helps keep

them strong though. Besides I've always been a sunworshipper & get depressed if

I'm not in it for too long. So I try to do that in the morning hours when I

water my garden for about an hour. I can't stay out there long after 11:00 am &

sometimes earlier though. The heat just whacks me for the rest of the day if I

do & I get more hot flashes & feel miserable.

I don't know how you can work in that high of heat at your job all day. Over 78

degrees would just make me miserable, even with fans on & cause me exhaustion.

Fans & drinking fluids will help you, yes. You have to do that. But can't they

turn the AC on higher at your office? That just wouldn't work for me at all to

be working in 80+ degree heat all day. No wonder you're exhausted & feeling hot

inside. Hope you find a solution. Can't enough employees complain about it so

they'll turn the AC on higher for you?

Blessings,

Caroline

Georgia wrote:

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with the heat? I

feel like such a wimp because about a month ago I was on this site

complaining about all the storms blowing through and causing pain

due to changes in the barometer.

[Guest guest]

Georgia and Caroline,

I can relate to being overwhelmed by heat. Plus here in NY we get humidity like

you wouldn't believe. No, Georgia you are NOT a wimp for complaining abt how

the heat makes you feel. I don't know how you can stand to work in an office

where the indoor temps are so high. Can you tell your employers to turn up the

A/C?? OMG.

As Caroline mentioned previously, anything over 78 degrees and I start to feel

just awful. I am 39 yrs old and have been this way for the last ten years at

least (I also got dx'd with Fibromyalgia in 2001, have hypothyroid and also

perimenopause) so I am sure this just compounds my inability to cope with heat.

I definitely cannot go outside during the daylight hours except for late Fall

through Winter. I turn very red, very quickly from heat exhaustion when normal

ppl aren't even breaking a sweat. I have even fainted. So I can commisserate

here. I keep the A/C running starting mid-Spring when the temps start to rise.

I have to open windows in the Winter b/c I just can't take feeling so hot, I

refuse to put heat on in my bedroom. I have a small (battery powered) fan in my

bathroom because I can't even stand the heat when I take a shower (forget about

a bath).

I definitely agree that heat and hot weather in general aggravates and magnifies

whatever pain I am having! As for getting Vitamin D, I have to get it from

Milk, because aside from all the other things that it does to me, if I stand out

in sunlight for too long (like more than 20 minutes) I feel very, very weak.

Just my two cents : )

Carole from NY

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the advise and support. The only problem with the turn up

the ac advise is that there isn't any air conditioning in either my

office or home! I live in Northwest Montana so cold is usually the

concern here. I'm thinking about getting a room air conditioner for

our bedroom although since I take Ambien sleeping isn't usually an

issue for me.

As far as no ac at work I don't know what I'm going to do about

that. I work for a church and our office is in an old house built in

the 30s or 40s. I absolutely love my job but the heat and not having

any medical insurance may force me to look elsewhere for employment.

I really don't want to do that though because the work is easy and

the stress level is next to nothing compared to my last job. Oh

well, I guess there are trade offs all around.

It's good to know that others have trouble with the heat and I'm not

being a baby about it.

Thanks,

Georgia