Have I ever mentioned in this blog how much I hate being cold? I have been writing this blog for over a year now so I'm sure that I have. I hate the cold. I love snow. I love decorating for the holidays. I love every aspect of the fall/winter season except the cold. I'll say it again, "I HATE BEING COLD."
Yesterday was a typical day at work. It was steady and everyone was busy. I was eating breakfast as the call came. "We will be needing a tech in surgery in about 40 minutes." Cool. Just enough time to finish eating and then go change into surgery attire. For those reading this blog who are not in the medical field, when one goes to the surgery area, you have to dress out in special scrubs and put on masks, hair nets, and shoe covers. As an x-ray tech I go to the surgery area to provide live x-ray for the physicians for various procedures. Yesterdays procedure was for an orthopedic case. Those typically require a longer stay and this one was no exception to the rule. The only different thing is that the scrub techs had to don a head gear apparatus and a head covering different from the typical attire. The techs were sheathed in layers, while I was in the typical scrub and jacket combo. The call came out several times, "Can we cool this room down some more? I'm sweating to death in this getup." So the temperature went down and down. The surgery nurse in the room and I were shivering by hour 3 of being in the room talking of how we could probably see our breath if we were not wearing masks. I literally could feel my feet losing feeling. It was not a fun day.
Normally getting cold isn't that big of a deal for a regular ol' chap. However, for a Fibromyalgia patient, getting really cold has mega side effects that most do not even think of. The main issue with Fibromyalgia is a hyper-sensitivity to general things. When our muscles tense up, we get muscle spasms. When we hit something on a wall, like a swinging hand or a pinky toe, our bodies react like we have broken something. Cold is no different. When we get really cold, our bodies react almost like we have been frost bitten. Of course we do not lose fingers or toes, but the feeling is similar. We live in a pins and needles type state as our bodies return to a normal temp. Yesterday, I dealt with a common Fibromyalgia symptom, Reynaud's phenomenon. Reynaud's is where you body actually thinks that you are dealing with hypothermia and draws all the heat away from your extremities and tries to protect the core body where the organs are. The result is red, itchy, painful hands and feet. Want to know what the cure is? Heat and lots of it.
As I clocked out and headed for home, it was snowing. Lovely right. I live close to the hospital so by the time that I got home, the heater had just started to really work. I made it inside and my husband had already started a warm bath for me. Warm baths, even hot baths, are the cure for Reynaud's. Getting your core temperature heated will return that blood flow back where it should be. It's actually one of the best therapies for the phenomenon. Getting the entire body warm at once is key to fixing the issue. I will say that my feet were still hurting this morning after sleeping yesterday. It is a crazy thing.
So my advice for this blog today is to work on finding ways to get warm and STAY warm. I have 2-3 pairs of really warm socks that I live in in the winter. I also have a nice set of warm gloves that I constantly wear. Dress in layers and work hard to be aware of when you are getting too cold. If you do pass that threshold of getting too cold, I suggest getting into a warm shower or bath and get your core warm again along with your extremities. Drinking something warm will help as well. A warm cup of tea, coffee, or hot cocoa is always great for warming your insides. Winter is hear in Arkansas even if it is still Autumn. Try to stay warm my fellow Fibromyalgia sufferers and enjoy yourselves in spite of the colder weather.
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