Living With the Temperature Sensitivity of Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndro

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Living With the Temperature Sensitivity of Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

http://chronicfatigue.about.com/b/2008/12/02/living-with-the-temperature-sensitivity-of-fibromyalgia-chronic-fatigue-syndrome.htm

Temperature sensitivities that come along with fibromyalgia (FMS) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS or ME/CFS) can make this time of year especially hard. I find myself spending more and more time planning how I dress - not to look my best, but to be able to deal with the heat and cold.

If you're cold sensitive, of course the trick is to stay bundled up. If you're heat sensitive, you don't dress as warmly as others. When you're both, though, it gets more complicated.

My temperature is all over the map, and heat and cold each make certain symptoms worse. This time of year, things like family gatherings and holiday shopping pose a special problem - it's FREEZING outside, so I need to dress warmly, but will the house/store be hot or drafty?

The best thing I've found is to dress in layers, and shop in stores where I can put those layers in the cart so I don't have to haul them around. My feet are often the key to my overall temperature, so I make sure to keep them warm and dry, but if they're getting too warm I slip into a bathroom or dressing room to take them off and cool down for a few moments.

At family gatherings, the house generally gets too hot, so I make sure to avoid anything heavy, and I step outside now and then to cool off, or go into the bathroom and run my wrists and hands under cold water. I also think a lot about the temperature of what I'm drinking. What are your tricks for staying not-too-hot but not-too-cold? Share them here, or in About.com's Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome community forum (under Newsletter & Blog Topics.)

Suggested Reading:

Symptoms of Fibromyalgia

Symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Living With Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome