It’s not just feeling hot - i need to say that because everyone acts like MS in summer is the same as anyone else being tired in heat. it’s not. last summer i was unintentionally documenting it: i’d come home from the library in late july and my right side would be tingling wrong, my foot drag would come back hard, and the cognitive fog so thick i couldn’t manage basic reference questions. by august i was taking days off i couldn’t afford.
my neuro mentioned Uhthoff’s in passing like it was just something that happens, but she didn’t really explain how bad it gets, or that it might be more than just fatigue. the worst part? nobody sees it. i look fine.
but inside, the demyelinated nerves are just… slow. heat makes them slower. everything slows.
the fatigue that normally sits at a 6 becomes a 9 by midday. cognitive stuff i can muscle through normally becomes impossible. this year i’m wondering if there’s actually a window in june where my EDSS is stable enough to note as my real baseline, or if i should just accept that summer months don’t count. my neuro doesn’t really track seasonal patterns, so i’m kind of flying blind.
does anyone else basically become a different person in warm months? do you change how you plan around it, or does it eventually settle?