It's the main reason summers are so hard for me. Whenever I get overheated I get blurry vision, lightheaded and start to walk like I'm drunk (ok....worse than I already do ). If it gets really bad my vision will double. Since we have "summer" nine months out of the year here it's a pain in the you-know-where.

I was reading something I wrote in my youngest son's baby book back in 1987 (nearly 22 years ago!). I was about eight months pregnant and wrote that my vision kept going double or getting very blurry whenever I'd get into a hot car. This was in June! I also wrote that I was very "tipsy" at times and my legs felt like jello. Now....I was pregnant with a 10# baby so I attributed alot of it to that. Makes me wonder just how long I've had MS.

The vision is what happens to me in warmer weather. Not fun!

Mine has changed since diagnosis. At first, it affected my eyes, but I had an attack of ON in the right, then left eye. Vision would get blurry until I cooled off.

Later, it didn't bother by eyes, but my legs, instead. My legs would become shaky and weak.

Tracking the pattern over the past few years, I've found that the parts of my body affected most recently by MS are the places where the heat bothers it the most. It is most often weakness which happens until I'm cool.

Cherie, I haven`t taken a shower that most people would call warm in almost 5 years, my wife wonders how I can stand the cool temperature of the water. Any kind of heat messes me up. Hot dish water, sitting near the wood burner, opening the stove to get stuff out.

I even sleep with out covers most of the time. Never needed or had air conditioning in the house until this. No real vision problems but my legs and strength just disappear with heat.

A friend and I went to a lecture (and I'm using lecture because I cannot remember the real word I want here...) on ms a few years back.

One of the speakers advised to use an OTC fever reducer, your choice, whenever you might have an increase in body temp. The theory was, if the med would keep the temp down due to illness, it should do the same if you're doing a little exercise or whatever.

I'm sure drinking plenty of fluids - good and cold - would help more if it's hot outside. But the whole Advil before shopping thing does seem to help me. I have less fatigue and can finish what has to be done.

I feel the same, btw about the heat. It flares up some of my sx, like my balance is off, my vision is blurry, but at least it's not painful. I'd rather look drunk than grumpy from pain. This time of year, even if I'm warm, my body knows it's cold somewhere.

Interesting. For me it was the weakness/numbness for the first several years that this was a problem, and now it is my eyes (too). Glad to hear that it can change though. Thanks!

I know my heat problem has fluctuated over the years, and even during a season. I might have no other symptoms (not in an attack), but I can do poorly with heat for weeks, then have very little problem for a long while.

Like I said though, I don't mind turning to jello (or even losing my eyesight) so long as there is no pain. For that reason I will stay in a hot shower or sit in front of a fire to warm up, rather than ache with spasticity from the cold. So far the heat doesn't completely incapacitate me, but if it did, I wouldn't like that!

Now that is a very interesting approach!! I am going to try an Advil before I do physical exercise next time, to see if that works for my eyesight.

What a great idea, bgb. I'll let y'all know if it helps with that particular symtom.

Cherie

Hi, Cherie! Mine did but I don't know that I'm a great example since mine was a residual from ON only. It would actually be more accurate to say it subsided rather than disappeared but more often than not it's unnoticeable.

I know for me once my body cools down things go back to what they were. Drinking alot and keeping cool keeps it awa. Neuro always tells me stay cool.

Good luck

laurie f