Heat Intolerance

Interestingly (or not), I have discovered that the super hot winter weather in Bali tends to exacerbate my symptoms of neuropathic pain. As the day enters late afternoon and the heat/humidity grows to the height of its intensity, the pain/stiffness in my neck, shoulder and back intensifies as well. I find that a cold shower will reduce the pain, or lying down in an air-conditioned room. It's odd -- for the first 8 years or so of my journey with MS, I had no awareness of heat sensitivity at all. Of course, there's not that much heat to be sensitive to in Portland, Oregon; but even here in Bali, I went probably four years, at least, without being any more bothered by the heat than anyone else. But for whatever reason, that common MS symptom decided to come to life in my body. It is also different than one might have imagined. One might have thought that he would simply feel extra hot, but it's more than that. Aside from being extra hot, one suffers an increase in whatever baseline symptoms he already has. Baseline neuropathic pain will become worse. Numbness becomes worse. Lack of coordination becomes worse. Cognitive malfunction becomes worse. So, it's more like a frying of the whole system, not just feeling hot.

Ah, the multitudinous avenues by which MS travels through the system!