Do you find the cooling weather refreshing, does it ease the aches and pains a bit or ramp them up a bit? Is fall friend or foe of CMT?
Hi there SK;
It is another season of adjustment for me; In many ways I have more energy as I don't do well with heat and humidity; but, I have to be more careful about being cold and not knowing until damage sets in. I have more numbness, and its more prominent when sitting indoors more and not as active b/c out doors isn't conducive to going out for activity. So, when I get up and move around I must be careful not to fall as foot drop is more of a problem then.
~~~ baby steps and one day at a time CM
The cold weather is a foe for me, especially as I get older.
When it starts getting below 45F or so, l am quite cold and uncomfortable when out and about. l stay inside most of the time all year round. l am very allergic to outdoors! So fall for the most part is both for me. Friend with cooler temps that are not so draining and hot, but foe for the ragweed and other allergies out there.
~Tami
Definitely a foe for me. I grew up in Colorado but live in Northern California now and even high 40's (F) is too cold for me. CMT folks are unique in their reactions to cold as it turns out; "significantly increased average heart rate and decreased average arterial oxygen saturation (1)" as compared to non-CMT people. So it's not surprising we don't like it so much.
I keep a couple rechargeable battery powered hand warmers around when I just can't get my feet or hands to warm up. At home, I have a hot water foot bath before bed (my feet have always been incredibly icy - enough to startle even doctors who touch them) and sometimes put a heated rice bag in bed with me. I always double-up blankets around this time of year. I also start wearing long-underwear everyday along with "thermal" type long sleeve shirts over t-shirts and a hoodie over that and a jacket over that if I'll be outside for more that 10 minutes.
If my house is less then 69F I'm frigid and need a cozy fleece blanket. Energy prices are exorbitant where I live so I'm usually freezing in winter.
meh! Late fall and all of winter is my FOE!
Thank you Chad;
You gave reason for some of our differences; We do not metabolize as "normal" people ,therefore just like the difference in Microsoft operating systems in computers compared to DOS or Linux operating systems we can look the same in our computer case but our system operates differently. We are wired differently, and wiring is damaged so some times the circuits don't make it full signal.
The more we understand how our CMT system works and what affects our environment has on it, we can cope and compensate better. Thanks for sharing , as we all learn more, we are better able to deal with our CMTness!
I use rice socks and cozy fleece lap blankets, sometimes a heating pad taken to bed with me, warms my icy legs and feet so I don't chill my hubby down. I too, do a foot bath to get stimulation back and even rub feet with muscle cream with eucalyptus and then put socks on to hold the heat in, so as to stimulate circulation.
Knowledge empowers us to compensate so Share and keep sharing! ~~~~CM
Love winter because I can wear boots and walk reasonably normally!
However, I think my CMT is better in the summer months when I spend more time around home in bare feet.