17 replies to this topic

[lonebobseytwin]

I'm not sure if this has been covered somewhere else. Or if this is a common thing for everyone, I haven't really had other SCI people to ask this.

This year we seem to be having a really cold fall, soon to be a pretty cold winter. And I've noticed that I lose all my heat every time I enter somewhere with a new temp.
That and I seem to only be as warm as the amount of layers I have on, otherwise I am literally room temperature, even my skin will feel cold to the touch.

Last year the only heat related problem I had was when sleeping so we got me a level five comforter, which has 4-5 blankets on that and I sleep with a faux fur trapper hat.
But even sleeping this year I find that's not even helping, I in desperation last week put on a down coat and crawled into bed, I was so annoyed with my body that night. (I have since stuffed a sleeping bag under my bed in case this happens again)
I know when my nose goes cold when there's a problem and a bigger problem if my whole face is cold, that seems to be the only indicator I have.

Is living like a human thermometer common? Does everyone lose the ability to produce enough body heat to keep warm?
Does anyone have any tips on what to do, or how to stay warm?

I could really use some advice.

Thanks for reading!

[eujei]

Having cold is one of the biggest issues of a SCI.

If your lesion is higher then T5, you lose control of your sympathetic nervous system (parth of the autonomic nervous system), the one responsible for vasoconstrition of the capilaries of your skin. Therefore, your warm blood circulates near the cold outside and returns to your body colder. This is why quads always have warm hands, only turning cold when Autonomic Dysreflexia happens.

The only thing you can do is cover yourself or heat up the environment.

[khalgren77]

Staying warm is one of the pitfalls of SCI...I try to keep warm by wearing a hat at night(usually when we're camping), drinking something warm to warm from the inside out, maybe try an electric blanket to warm the bed before you get into it- I wouldn't sleep on it tho as it could burn during the night and you not know it. Fleece blankets warm me up the best, or thermal blankets. I an a T-12 para and get cold easily too...I sleep with a sheet first, then a thin sheet blanket and 2 fleece ones. Of course during the night the old temp rises and I have to pull everything off as I'm cooking- lol...hope you can find something that works well for you.
Karen

[xxm]

1. When I'm cold I make some gym before going to bed and then under the blanket I try to move/tremble everything I can - body, shoulders, arms, hands - to improve blood circulation.
2. It is very unpleasant if you sweat and I think that this is your case. Even a mild hardly felt SCI related sweating can make you freezing. In this case I use a soft towel to keep dry.
3. Having no sensation never give yourself to the temptation to use electric blankets.

Rudy

[dreamerr]

I am a low level para and have a huge issue with body temp. I know what all the stuff says about it being a issue with high level injuries but does anyone really know how SCI effects the body. I have some upper body issues that I shouldn't have according to the medical field. I know it isn't in my head because I didn't know anything about SCI when I started having these issues.

To your question, my feet feel like they are in buckets of ice and nothing I can do to warm them. I can put a thousand blankets on and it doesn't help. I never had cold feet before SCI. I can be ice cold in 86 degrees in my house which is sooooooooooooo strange. The only thing that has helped a little is putting a heat pack on my lower back and keeping my chest warm. This helps to stop my body from locking up and making things worse. I do notice that if it is damp out like today there is no hope at stopping it.

Sorry I have no answers but we are all different which is what the medical world fails to understand. We have spinal cord injuries why do they think that you can only get issues below the injury it makes no sense in my brain. If you have an electrical problem in your car and the symptom is your lights don't work then why is it so hard to find the issue. I will tell you why because a symptom is just that and it is hard to find the issue when it comes to wiring just like our spinal cord. Our cord is our electrical system and is misfiring below and above an injury in my opinion cause all the wires are crossed and sending false and strange signals.

[Apparelyzed]

Just took me 3 hours to thaw out after getting my hair cut!

Heating on full, plenty of hot drinks and pain killers to kill the pain in my neck and shoulders from the cold!

That's it, I'm hibernating into my mancave!

Simon.

[jscott92064]

lonebobseytwin, on 13 December 2011 - 08:45 AM, said:

I'm not sure if this has been covered somewhere else. Or if this is a common thing for everyone, I haven't really had other SCI people to ask this.

This year we seem to be having a really cold fall, soon to be a pretty cold winter. And I've noticed that I lose all my heat every time I enter somewhere with a new temp.
That and I seem to only be as warm as the amount of layers I have on, otherwise I am literally room temperature, even my skin will feel cold to the touch.

Last year the only heat related problem I had was when sleeping so we got me a level five comforter, which has 4-5 blankets on that and I sleep with a faux fur trapper hat.
But even sleeping this year I find that's not even helping, I in desperation last week put on a down coat and crawled into bed, I was so annoyed with my body that night. (I have since stuffed a sleeping bag under my bed in case this happens again)
I know when my nose goes cold when there's a problem and a bigger problem if my whole face is cold, that seems to be the only indicator I have.

Is living like a human thermometer common? Does everyone lose the ability to produce enough body heat to keep warm?
Does anyone have any tips on what to do, or how to stay warm?

I could really use some advice.

Thanks for reading!

I am finding different materials work better than others for my husband. I went to an outdoor camping store to find what is seeming to work well. "Smartwool" long sleeve shirts- these are different weights and seem to keep the body temperature even - whether it is hot or cold. So with something underneath (these shirts can be slightly itchy) these seem to work well. "Smartwool" I think is the brand and the material is a blend of wool and something else. The store I went to was REI.

Also bought a Snugfleece wool pad for the bed and that helps too. So far that seems to be helping alot too. Snugfleece is also a brand and I found several vendors on Amazon.com who sold this. I think this is working much better than our down comforter and I have also ordered a wool comforter so we'll see how that works too. Only because the down comforter we have seems heavy and maybe we can get better temperature regulation with wool and a lighter feel to it.

Also got him a Smartwool hat and that too seems to insulate and wick away moisture as it is advertised to do. Wicking away moisture is very important because you can sweat and then as you stop sweating, the sweat gets cold and there you have a vicious cycle.

As for pants, we found these ski shell pants that unzip on both sides. These work GREAT!!! Easy to get in and out of. These are wind and rain resistant. Not as warm as I'd like, but they seem to keep the body temp regulated too. Got these from REI too.

For emergency, like you are out and thought you had enough stuff and don't, you can keep some "hot patches" with you. These are small adhesive strips that get hot when you remove the backing and place them on your clothes. REI sells those, though I am sure other camping/outdoor stores do too.

We live in the San Diego area so it only gets down to about 35 degrees, but hopefully this helps. As you can see, we have to deal with the cold for his body too. :-(

[willowt]

My BF uses a heat lamp, he has a few in his room - It seems to warm up the room quite well and it is a bit safer than a small electric heater or electric blankets.

When I am cold I always think of the beach, seldom really works but its a nice thought!

lonebobseytwin, on 13 December 2011 - 08:45 AM, said:

I'm not sure if this has been covered somewhere else. Or if this is a common thing for everyone, I haven't really had other SCI people to ask this.

This year we seem to be having a really cold fall, soon to be a pretty cold winter. And I've noticed that I lose all my heat every time I enter somewhere with a new temp.
That and I seem to only be as warm as the amount of layers I have on, otherwise I am literally room temperature, even my skin will feel cold to the touch.

Last year the only heat related problem I had was when sleeping so we got me a level five comforter, which has 4-5 blankets on that and I sleep with a faux fur trapper hat.
But even sleeping this year I find that's not even helping, I in desperation last week put on a down coat and crawled into bed, I was so annoyed with my body that night. (I have since stuffed a sleeping bag under my bed in case this happens again)
I know when my nose goes cold when there's a problem and a bigger problem if my whole face is cold, that seems to be the only indicator I have.

Is living like a human thermometer common? Does everyone lose the ability to produce enough body heat to keep warm?
Does anyone have any tips on what to do, or how to stay warm?

I could really use some advice.

Thanks for reading!

[dreamerr]

I use ones like these http://www.google.co...ved=0CH8Q8gIwAA . The company I bought them from seems to be out of business. I like them cause they are hotter then the patches, they last longer, and they are reusable.

I used them daily when I lived in colder weather. I moved to get away from it but still highly recommend them. I literally put them in my pants across my lower back.

[Zack]

Ok I'm the Freak here.
I love the cold. It sure beats being over heated to me. The one care giver I'm close to comes in from outside and wraps her hands around my foot, saying "Omg your feet are warm, they feel so good!" I'm left shaking my head trying to figure out how I became the AB hand warmer!

[lonebobseytwin]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

Again if anyone else has more tips I could always use them! haha

I live with my parents, (my injury hit in my junior year of college, I'm 4 years out, but it seems things keep shifting around every year)
my parents aren't really use the heater people, we live in southern ca, so the weather isn't really extreme, but it sure feels like it to me. but we have been in the 30's at night, which is colder than usual.

I ended up with the heavy down comforter since they are afraid to use any of the small space heaters (my dad lost everything to a candle fire once) so there's no way I could convince them otherwise.

I have been thinking of going back to REI, I've been there a few times look things over, I've seen the smartwool stuff, they look wonderful but are pricey, I guess I should probably suck it up and get some.
While I'm there I'll look for those heat strips, I've never heard of them, but it's been a while since I went camping, so that's probably why. haha. They sound like a good idea, only my body doesn't seem to like adhesives anymore, so I'd have to test them out.

So far this season I've gone kinda balistic on the winter gear, I didn't really own anything prior to my accident, before I couldn't even wear long sleeve shirts because I got way too warm in them.
It's been a real 180 from that. I got myself a down coat, and a wind/rain proof coat. and a 2 down vests. But I still only have a handful of long sleeve things. It's hard work my stock up from one very thin, very short down blazer.

My SCI is kinda weird, I don't have the paralysis, but I have almost everything else that goes along with it. My hands now radiate heat, which is hilarious because I've never had warm hands before.
and the AD kicks in when I'm either too hot, or while I'm sleeping if It's too hot in the summer, or too cold in the winter ( I've since remedied this by sleeping in a vacuum and keeping my window shut at all times.), and then sometime it just kicks in to let me know it's still there, for fun.

But being cold now is nothing like being cold used to be. And this fall/winter is still throwing me for a loop.

[jscott92064]

lonebobseytwin, on 13 December 2011 - 09:15 PM, said:

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

Again if anyone else has more tips I could always use them! haha

I live with my parents, (my injury hit in my junior year of college, I'm 4 years out, but it seems things keep shifting around every year)
my parents aren't really use the heater people, we live in southern ca, so the weather isn't really extreme, but it sure feels like it to me. but we have been in the 30's at night, which is colder than usual.

I ended up with the heavy down comforter since they are afraid to use any of the small space heaters (my dad lost everything to a candle fire once) so there's no way I could convince them otherwise.

I have been thinking of going back to REI, I've been there a few times look things over, I've seen the smartwool stuff, they look wonderful but are pricey, I guess I should probably suck it up and get some.
While I'm there I'll look for those heat strips, I've never heard of them, but it's been a while since I went camping, so that's probably why. haha. They sound like a good idea, only my body doesn't seem to like adhesives anymore, so I'd have to test them out.

So far this season I've gone kinda balistic on the winter gear, I didn't really own anything prior to my accident, before I couldn't even wear long sleeve shirts because I got way too warm in them.
It's been a real 180 from that. I got myself a down coat, and a wind/rain proof coat. and a 2 down vests. But I still only have a handful of long sleeve things. It's hard work my stock up from one very thin, very short down blazer.

My SCI is kinda weird, I don't have the paralysis, but I have almost everything else that goes along with it. My hands now radiate heat, which is hilarious because I've never had warm hands before.
and the AD kicks in when I'm either too hot, or while I'm sleeping if It's too hot in the summer, or too cold in the winter ( I've since remedied this by sleeping in a vacuum and keeping my window shut at all times.), and then sometime it just kicks in to let me know it's still there, for fun.

But being cold now is nothing like being cold used to be. And this fall/winter is still throwing me for a loop.

Yes, the Smartwool is pricey, but it seems to hold up well. REI has some sales here and there. You might get lucky.

For those heat strips (i know that is not the right name for them) -you don't put them on your body. You put them on say your undershirt.

Sounds like you live close to me -- in the San Diego area? My husband never wore long pants or long sleeves before SCI. You sound like his twin --ha ha!

[qbounce]

I use my wife . . . . warmest thing in the house.

[goose]

INSIDE TIPS...

Oh, one of my most dreaded topics , being COLD. First, I HATE being cold. Just the slightest bit of cool and I freak out. My body loves being warm. I either wear sleeveless tops or turtlenecks...nothing in between.

Drink plenty of hot liquids and avoid anything cold.
I know your dad isn't big on space heaters but Holmes makes an infrared heater that makes you feel like you're seating in the sun. I know they are much safer than in the past. They have automatic shut offs in case they're tipped over or get too hot. They feel amazing and really do a nice job warming you to the core.

Another thing I use is warming throws (mini electric blankets). They don't get very hot and only stay on for a couple of hours then have an auto shut off. I like to use it in the bed so really there isn't an over heating problem. It always takes me about 3 hours to get warm so the timing is almost perfect. I've also used it while in my chair but the cord is a big hassle but so is being cold.

Layering doesn't work for me because it makes me sweat even when my body thinks it's freezing. Sweat and being cold IS miserable. Hoodies work ok with the hood on IF you don't care about your hair.

Ouside or going somewhere like the movies or the mall is so much more harder to deal with.

I do have a scarf that has rice sewed into the lining and can be heated in the mircowave which is good for short periods of time. It only stays warm for about 30 minutes. I have used it at a friends house where it can be reheated . I have found for me fleece ponchos work better than jackets or coats.

I know bikers have vests, jackets etc that are battery operated to stay warm but I haven't tried them yet.

I tend to hibernate in the winter and would LOVE a new/better way to stay warm.

Edited by goose, 14 December 2011 - 03:16 AM.

[McTavish]

Lots of layers work for me and fur lined boots, I also wear leggings under my trousers and over the knee socks and I am as snug as a bug. The only disadvantage is that it takes me longer to dress in the morning, but that's a small price to pay.

[russ1]

Half hour in the hot tub and I'm warm for the rest of the day

[Christy]

I freeze anytime when the temp is under 80 degrees.. and live in a house with people that are always hot.. I hate it! I pretty much live under a big blanket (from chin to toes) and stay in my room when I'm home.. I have one of my vents shut and my room is the warm room in the house.. Use a little heater quite often too. Everyone else gets hot when they come in, but it keeps me comfortable.

Edited by Christy, 23 December 2011 - 02:14 PM.

[wheeliebear75]

I'm L2 para but I can't seem to stay warm for the life of me either. I sleep with 5 fleece blankets over me (I'd put more but I think it would start getting too heavy) + the main blanket. My heating pad is my FRIEND! And (be careful to check just how HOT "hot" can get with an area of skin that has normal temperature sensation) hair dryers work GREAT & some are even portable so you can plug it in using the outlet in any home or business.