[catra121]

So...it's been two weeks straight of record highs here in the good old Chicago area and I am loving it. After so many months this past year trapped in the house I am enjoying just being outdoors, watching the new flowers blooming, taking walks with the dog, etc. And the heat feels so good for my RSD.

My problem is...and I have been noticing this for the past couple weeks as I have spent more and more time outside enjoying the weather...by the time evening hits I feel incredibly achey, weak, lightheaded, even worse headache than normal, and my heart is beating a million miles a minute (seriously...checked my heart rate and it was 168). Now...I've had all of these things before and they were all related to the RSD. But now I am seeing a direct correlation with the time I am spending outside.

So this morning I had an epiphany and read through the information for the Clonidine patches I started in January. It looks like this may be the culprit because it cautions these symptoms in hot weather. Figures...what feels great and makes me happy is also making me sick. Nice.

Anyway...I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this and if there is anything other than not spending extended periods of time outside that I can do to minimize the effects. Obviously a lot of techniques for "cooling down" probably won't work for me because of the RSD in my entire upper body and sensitivity to cold...but I figured I would ask in case you guys know of anything that might help.

If not...well...I guess I will have to limit ourdoor excursions to early morning and evening when it's warm but not necessarily "hot" outside. That would be sort of a bummer though...but I can live with it if I have to. The clonidine patches have been a HUGE help with some of the most debilitating symptoms so stopping it is not really an option.

Thanks everyone. Hope you all are doing well and hopefully have some nice weather to enjoy too.