Friday 25 May 2012

Arrghh Heat!

Well those of you in the UK will know that we are experiencing a heatwave at the moment. To my friends over seas you will be laughing your heads off that temperatures of 25 degrees Centigrade are considered a heat wave when you have to put up with temperatures much higher!

Those of your with POTS or dysautonomia will know heat is the absolute enemy of our condition! One day of the heat was fine but this has been going on since Monday, its now Friday and I have seriously had enough! I'm not only having to cope with swollen feet but my skin has become incredibly light sensitive and I'm burning in a matter of minutes. I'm having to wear factor 50 sun block and I am still burning!

The first few days were OK for me although some of my POTSY friends were already struggling. I actually felt quite smug that I was coping so well in the heat and then yesterday it hit me like a hammer. Every time I stood up I felt like the world had turned into a merry-go-round and it didn't stop until I was seated again. Even indoors there was no escape. Today its around 1120am and I feel sick with the heat and I am spinning! I checked my temperature and its running a little hot for me. As usual my crazy autonomic nervous system isn't working and giving my body all the wrong signals.

I have taken midodrine today (after another break because of bladder issues) in the hope it will provide me with some relief. It hasn't so far but every time there is a small breeze I'm covered in goose bumps! My toe nails are blue despite the rest of my body feeling like its going to melt. What fun!

We have had a bit of a stressful week here my mother in law has just been diagnosed with cancer and we are waiting to find out what stage it is at. Hubs is very up and down as its the second time his mother has been diagnosed with a cancer. The last time was over 25 years ago and she sailed through. This time however its different. This type of cancer has no cure, isn't treated aggressively in older people and will eventually lead to the inevitable. It was found totally by accident and the consultant believes its been caught very early. My mother in law is very sad obviously about the diagnosis there have been more than a few tears. Its going to be tough all I can do is be there for my husband and try and support him.

It makes the challenges I face in my life quite insignificant, here I am moaning about a little heat when she is facing this.

I don't want this post to be all doom and gloom so I will let you know I have been out in the garden and managing to potter around a bit. We have been preparing the pots ready to get some bedding plants in. We are really behind this year as the weather has been very cold, last week the temperature barely got above 12 degrees centigrade. The temperature has been really dropping at night and would have killed off anything we planted so we have been putting it off for as long as possible. I am getting quite excited now about getting some plants in and adding a splash of colour to the back garden!

A solitary strawberry plant has survived so when it bears fruit Mollie will be able to steal them! Shes obsessed with the pink broom (plant not a sweeping implement!) and spends each morning sniffing it before she finds the perfect spot to sunbathe! The other two dogs only go outside when I am out there, they have never been into sunbathing!

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend what ever they are doing.

1 comment:

em said...

hi rachel

sorry about the news of your mother in law. tough times, take extra care.

the heat touch wood at the moment im coping. although im not doing very much, thats probably why. yet when the temp goes up a notch or two then i will be suffering. i get the goosebumps too! my body will by hot and the feet like ice cubes.

strange but now the heat is here i can have a yoghut or ice cream, usually i have one in normal temps my whole body will freeze and not warm up, unless i have a bath! so now i can have some. strange is pots.

take care. x