Are PwPD more affected by the cold? - Cure Parkinson's

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Are PwPD more affected by the cold?

quirkyme profile image
19 Replies

My husband always used to be the warm one in the family. Now with PD he's cold

9 months of the year.

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quirkyme profile image
quirkyme
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19 Replies
maryalice profile image
maryalice

I'm usually too cold or too hot on and off all day. When it.s cold it's much more difficult to move also. I think my muscles tighten up more then usual.

quirkyme profile image
quirkyme

I think the cold makes our muscles tighten up even without PD. My husband doesn't want to go out when it's cold, and his balance is not as good as in summer. He has trouble latching his seat belt, putting on his gloves, all those things, whereas in summer he can do them easily.

quirkyme profile image
quirkyme

this is from two years ago.

healthunlocked.com/parkinso...

quirkyme profile image
quirkyme

this is also two years ago and makes a surprising (to me) link between shoulder pain prior to onset and later PD diagnosis. PD is sure a baffling disorder. Is anyone collating all these early signs of PD and all the quirky things PD patients feel as helpful subjects for future study?

Adele_D profile image
Adele_D

My understanding is that PD affects the sympathetic nervous system that manages, among other things, body temperature so we have lower tolerance to both heat and cold. One more thing to learn to grin and bear...

Pete-1 profile image
Pete-1

I find I am more intolerant of either temperature extreme. Probably the worst is overheating, Even in cold weather I find a summer weight quilt on the bed is quite often too hot and have to get up to cool off. I can't adjust the amount of bedding as I am not alone. Having said that my wife (not a PWP) i often too hot as well.

firefly0780 profile image
firefly0780

I have always suffered from cold feet, even as a teenager. Acupuncture has almost eradicated this problem for me. I would recommend that you try this as it helps to balance the body's symptoms.

grandmasanta profile image
grandmasanta in reply to firefly0780

My hands were always cold...acupcture helped me, too.

Aleagles profile image
Aleagles

Yes my right hand and foot get colder than before pd and worsens the tremor trying SAD lamp as aid plus yoga

quirkyme profile image
quirkyme in reply to Aleagles

thanks for your post. I'm going to get out my SAD lamp for my husband. That helped last year.

His right hand and left leg swell and don't work well since he had a tumor in his right wrist removed and the surgeon replaced it with a piece of bone from his lower leg. Since then his wrist action has been limited which now make it hard for him to feed himself. My point is that some of us have had injuries that make the PD symptoms harder to deal with. As another person here wrote, another 'opportunity' to 'grin and bear it.'

PatV profile image
PatV

Yes, meds take longer to kick in and wear off sooner when temp is cold !

etterus profile image
etterus

Having just moved from Arizona to Oregon this year, which is breaking records for low temps and snow, I can conclude that I don't tolerate heat or cold. I still think it is easier to bundle up than to strip down... just can't get enough off to matter.

quirkyme profile image
quirkyme in reply to etterus

we lived in NC and before that VA before moving back to Mass. We told ourselves that good warm clothing would make us comfortable. Layering, as you suggest, is the answer but I, for one, hate the weight of clothing. We have warm clingy garments close to the skin and that helps.

wifeofparky profile image
wifeofparky

My husband did not tolerate any extremes in temp. When it was too hot, he fatigued quickly. When it was too cold he stiffened up. Wish Spring and Fall lasted longer. AS etterus posted, when it is too hot, you can only take off so much. At least in cold weather, he could layer up and stay more comfortable.

wifeofparky profile image
wifeofparky

cuddle duds are great for layering. They are silky and light weight but keep you nice and toasty.

arwenmark profile image
arwenmark

Since getting PD my husband is cold all the time his hands and feet are freezing to touch, and when he is cold his shaking is much worse in spite of where he is in his med cycle. he wears a jacket and hat and blanket when sitting in the living room and in bed has electric blanket and a comforter over that.

quirkyme profile image
quirkyme

Are his hands blue and swollen? An RN told me once she'd seen a lot of PD patients with swollen/blue hands.

Will's think part of my husband's difficulty is inactivity of his hands and the fluids don't get

back into the veins and go back to the heart. So they swell. Our muscles tend to get cold and don't work as well, for many of us as we get older so those with PD have extra challenges. Thanks for writing.

PatV profile image
PatV in reply to quirkyme

Is he on sinimet or on a dopamine agonist? When I was on D.A. (the devil drug!) my feet were a lovely shade of lavender :P

quirkyme profile image
quirkyme in reply to PatV

yes, he's on dopamine agonist. Just today started carbadopa/levadopa

but coninues on amantidine.

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