What is heat sensitivity? Many people with MS find that their symptoms get worse in hot situations. This can be triggered by hot baths, the sun, or exercise. The effects of heat are temporary, but heat sensitivity can be extremely unpleasant. Plain and simple, I hate heat of any kind!! Ever since my diagnosis in ’91 heat has been one of my worst symptoms. That includes the sun, hot tubs, saunas, sweaters, warm clothes, hot showers and fevers from colds or flu. Humidity isn’t much fun for me, either. I can only take off so much clothing before becoming illegal. lol

When I get too hot my skin starts crawling, my eyes can blur, I feel more tired and when I could still walk, my walking would be wobbly. Not enough to topple over and fall down but I could sense something wasn’t right! Some people with MS have the same problems with cold! For many people, being cold can affect nerve and muscle activity, resulting in discomfort and mobility issues.

Since my diagnosis, I’ve never minded cold weather until November 2020. In North Dakota, the winters can be cold and brutal. Lots of cold temps and high wind chills. When it’s cold like that I just don’t go outside anymore.

Dr. Wilhelm Uhthoff, a German ophthalmologist was the first to describe Uhthoff's phenomenon (also known as Uhthoff's syndrome, Uhthoff' symptom, and Uhthoff's sign) in 1890. He noticed that people with optic neuritis, a common symptom of MS in which your optic nerve is swollen, had a temporary worsening of their vision when they exercised. For people that suffer from Uhtoff’s, it can involve a worsening of their symptoms or triggering a full-blown MS exacerbation. The reason is that heat impairs the ability of demyelinated nerves to conduct electrical impulses.

One of my first noticeable MS symptoms happened when I was managing a health club in Northfield, MN. I would play racquetball with somebody. Every time I played my eyes would get cloudy or blurry for the first 10 minutes I was on the court. This seemed very strange to me. I was concerned but after 10 minutes my eyes would always clear up, so I didn’t panic.

My cloudy eyes weren’t just in Northfield, either. Wherever I played racquetball my eyes would cloud up. I thought it had something to do with the bright lights on the courts. In hindsight, I would always stretch and loosen up in saunas before playing. I was having what Dr. Uhthoff had discovered in 1890! The optic nerves in my eyes were being affected by the heat in the saunas.

Initially, both Uhthoff and other specialists believed that the exertion involved in exercising was the cause of this phenomenon. Researchers later discovered that the real culprit was the resulting increase in body temperature, not exercise itself. This observation led to the hot bath test. Doctors used this to help diagnose people with MS before the advent of modern imaging tests. Exactly as it sounds, the hot bath test involved placing a patient suspected of having MS in a hot bath to see if his or her symptoms worsened with the heat.

The hot bath test sounds kind of barbaric these days. However, when I think back to how I use to feel after sitting in a hot whirlpool I know what Uhthoff was talking about. My symptoms would worsen. However, at the time I didn’t know they were symptoms of something bigger.

Scooterjon

Weight cycling, often known as yo-yo dieting, is a trend of losing and gaining weight.  Yo-yo dieting is thought to contribute to long-term weight issues and an increased risk of obesity.  Several research studies have been conducted to see if these worries were justified.  Weight cycling and its association with obesity and diabetes were the subjects.   

A total of 19 research studies looked into the impact of weight cycling on obesity-related metabolic risk factors.  More than half of them (58 percent) discovered a link between weight cycling and increased weight and body fat, particularly belly fat, raising the risk of obesity.

Weight cycling appears to enhance the chance of future weight gain, according to three studies.  The majority of studies that looked at the risk of type 2 diabetes reported that weight cycling did not affect blood sugar levels or the risk of type 2 diabetes (76 percent).

As a result though, the researchers came to the conclusion that there is insufficient data to indicate a link between yo-yo dieting and an increased risk of obesity.   

I've been on a yo-yo diet since 1983!  That's not a misprint either, it's been almost 40 years.  I've gained and lost the same 20-30 pounds at least 10 times!  I'm 64 now which makes losing weight more difficult.  It's a fact that older people have a hard time losing weight.  The reason for this is that we lose muscle mass as we age.  Having less muscle means it's harder to use the calories you're eating. 

In the old days, I watched my weight by exercising.  I would simply put on my running shoes and take off running.  If it was nasty outside I would ride an exercise bike for 30-60 minutes.  When my MS took my standing, walking and my ability to run in 2011 I really started packing on the pounds.  

Since high school, I always weighed 180-190.  At a doctor's appointment in 2016, I weighed 200 pounds.  Since I can't stand up because of my MS I didn't weigh myself until late 2018.  When I finally stepped on a scale I was 250 pounds!  I almost had a heart attack.

I immediately put myself on a 1,500 calories a day weight loss program.  I got my sticky notes out and for two years I counted anything that went into my mouth.  I ate and drank anything I wanted to including pizza, Cokes, cookies, candy bars, ice cream and chocolate cake but I always kept up my counting.  In the end I lost 20 pounds with my calorie counting program which was good.  When 2020 ended I was at 230 pounds.  

However, as soon as I got back to 230 I quit counting cals and started eating more!  Like a true weight cycler I gained 12 pounds back to 242.  It was July of 2021 when I discovered The Smoothie Diet online.  I started the Smoothies, watching what I ate and riding my exercise bike.  I ended up losing 32 pounds by February of 2022.  More importantly, The Smoothie Diet has helped me get my weight under control. 

And this Is NOT just a big book of smoothie recipes.  You're getting the same proven 3-Week weight loss and health improvement program that's been shared with private clients.  The secret that makes Smoothie so effective is the Custom 3-Week Weight Loss Schedule.  All the smoothies are given in a very specific sequence and frequency to maximize your results.  For example, the nutrient and ingredient ratios vary week to week to make sure the weight keeps coming off and stays off. 

I still have 20 pounds to go to get to my goal of 190 pounds but I'll get there!  Try it out... The Smoothie Diet.  The smoothies taste GREAT and now you can save $10 when you join.

 Scooterjon W.

 https://bit.ly/3FQl6du