11 replies to this topic

[avelasco]

Hello, my husband is a paraplegic and his injury is T5/6. I was just wondering if anyone out there has any issues with his or her body temp. Sometimes he is freezing cold and it's not cold at all and sometimes he is so hot that he is dripping sweat. Does anyone experience this as well is there anything we can do? Or is that normal?? Help ....

[Illinois Boy]

Could be a sign of some sort of infection...... My body temp dropped from 98.6 to 97.1 after my accident.........

Jim

[City Girl]

Definitely check out the potential that it's an infection. Otherwise, I often feel very cold in my legs and feet but to touch them, they are warm. My PT said that my thermoregulation is working to keep my body temperature stable but the message being sent to my brain is a little mixed up. I do get very warm and sweat easily also because it's such hard work for my body to do what I want it to do. Wheeling, walking, lifting myself...it's all super hard work and I just get hot and sweaty...but it burns calories!!!

[eleanorigby]

When I was first injured I was extremely sensitive to temperatures. I was cold all of the time, even though it was during the summer and I live in Arizona. I would wrap myself up in blankets and still feel cold. I think spinal cord injuries throw off your body's ability to regulate the its temp, at least for me it did. It wasn't until years later that this went away. Now I'm pretty normal (at least temp-wise!). I would take his temp when he feels like this and see if it reflects how he says he feels. If he does have a temperature, he may have an infection and should see a doctor immediately, but if not it may just be his injury. Unfortunately, I have no advice if it's just his injury. I just had to learn to cope with it, but like I said, it did go away after my body adjusted to my injury.

Edited by eleanorigby, 21 July 2008 - 03:37 AM.

[kewlcatkez]

avelasco, on Jul 3 2008, 08:49 PM, said:

Hello, my husband is a paraplegic and his injury is T5/6. I was just wondering if anyone out there has any issues with his or her body temp. Sometimes he is freezing cold and it's not cold at all and sometimes he is so hot that he is dripping sweat. Does anyone experience this as well is there anything we can do? Or is that normal?? Help ....

Hello,
Ok, I am thinking of a couple of things when I read your post and if its ok, I willjust shove my thoughts out here? Just adding to what the other posters have written:

How long as your husband been injured? It could be that like the others said, his body is having difficulties adjusting and controlling his temperature. Please see below (OH).

One possible cause for the symptoms you describe is AD ( Autonomic dysreflexia). Autonomic Dysreflexia can happen to anyone with a spinal cord injury, especially those above T6/5. Please see the following http://www.sci-info-pages.com/ad.html

It states:

""Persons at risk for this problem generally have injury levels above T-5. Autonomic dysreflexia can develop suddenly and is potentially life threatening and is considered a medical emergency. If not treated promptly and correctly, it may lead to seizures, stroke, and even death.

If your hubby's symptoms are due to AD, the good news is that it can be controlled by using drugs such as GTN a Nitrate used in Angina (to dilate or open up the arteries to the heart, actually throughout the body) and can be stopped in its tracks by finding what is causing it..:

AD occurs when an irritating stimulus is introduced to the body below the level of spinal cord injury, such as an overfull bladder. The stimulus sends nerve impulses to the spinal cord, where they travel upward until they are blocked by the lesion at the level of injury. Since the impulses cannot reach the brain, a reflex is activated that increases activity of the sympathetic portion of autonomic nervous system. This results in spasms and a narrowing of the blood vessels, which causes a rise in the blood pressure.""

Has your Husband got a pressure sore?, a blocked catheter( if indwelling/suprapubic) or a Urinary or chest infection? Is he hydrated (getting enough fluids? espin warmer climates or after increased activity). Has he got anything like an ingrowing toenail, something such as a toe nail clipping sticking into his skin or any other areas of reddening? Any constipation? etc..

Other causes of AD attacks which can be looked into after the above are It could possibly be the Kidney stones -ruled out by Ultrasound to check for blockages in the kidney/urinary tract.

Other reasons could be( not just these though):

Have your husband's drs/spinal unit etc looked into this? if so, have they *actively* ruled out a Syrinx? (syringomyelia) Please see HERE!for further information.

Also, type 1 Diabetes (Diabetes Mellitus), Cardiac arrhythmias, certain medications, nausea, can cause sweating in ABs and Autonomic Dysreflexia in SCI/D etc. Also it may be wise to also check his Prostate, to rule out any enlargement etc.

If infection is ruled out, Dehydration, Low blood pressure and syncope and of course as above - high blood pressure- can also lead to the symptoms you describe.
Linked to this, does your hubby take any medication? Some medications have side effects which build up over time. Does he take any ßeta blockers, Ace-inhibitors etc? or anything for Blood pressure/water retention?

OH as a cause?

Another thing to consider after everything above has been ruled out is OH (Orthostatic Hypotension)***. Sometimes the situation can occur whereby there is low Blood Pressure on sitting moving abruptly etc and due to OH What I mean is, as you know when a person has a SCI, their body's ability to have the Vasoconstriction reflex (narrowing of blood vessels to keep blood in head and upper body) can be lost. This can be a major reason why OH happens. Also, having a SCI appears to be related to excessive pooling of blood in the abdominal viscera (internal organs) and lower extremities ( legs). Also due to lower limb inactivity, the pooling etc, there can be a lower stroke volume ( out put of the heart). Some drs give medication to counteract it if you are having increased symptoms..


***OH is defined as when the systolic BP has a decrease of 20mmHg or more, or a reduction in diastolic blood pressure of 10mmHg or more, when the person's body position is changed from a supine (laying) position to an upright posture. In actuality, it is irrelevant if the person has any symptoms. Other factors and their varying/no effects should be ruled out too.

Have his drs looked into Heterotopic Ossification? Heterotopic ossification is a condition consists of the laying down of bone outside the normal skeleton, usually occurring at large joints such as the hips or knees.

I am presuming that your hubby has seen a dr, but this applies even if he hasn't. As,It is not very well understood either, so can be missed. There is a risk for joint stiffening and fusion in the latter stages, but early on, the signs are usually Spasticity and increased tone in the leg/joint, which in turn can lead to seating and AD symptoms.

Did your hubby have an MRI in the leg and pelvis and spine? Perhaps if he didn't you should get him to ask for evaluation/one, or if they did, perhaps they could review the films...it takes between 12 and 18 months for heterotopic bone to mature once it has developed, so it may have been 'missed' on MRI if in an interim stage..so I understand... Due to this, AD symptoms can occur, as obviously the body hurts, even if you aren't able to recognise it due to the paralysis.

Finally, another set of things to consider is that after years in a chair, sometimes dislocations or subluxations of the hip primarily (but also sometimes other joints in the leg) may occur. Joint dislocation and subluxation although not an everyday occurrence to people with SCI (unless other factors are at play), can occur in SCI/D people due to the loss of muscle mass etc at the joint...If it is a subluxation of the hip, it may appear 'normal' -take it from me,..lol.. I am not saying that your hubby is like me, (I have paralysis and I have a connective tissue disorder which means that I dislocate many joints, many times a day something which has worsened due to a few things)....But clearly, it *can* happen to people after paralysis.

If subluxation occurs, it is often missed since its not a full displacement of the joint. This too of course, causes pain and the body may respond by sweating and/or AD symptoms.

Ok, I think I have gone on far too much now, I hope that this is of some use to you and your hubby,

take care,

K

Edited by kewlcatkez, 21 July 2008 - 09:28 AM.

[nomis]

By now you're probably thinking you've got enough suggested possibilities to keep you puzzled for a long time...and here's another.

Actually, this goes alongside the autonomic dysreflexia Kewlcatkez mentions. An injury to the spinal cord above that T6 area interferes with the vasomotor system which includes controlling how much blood to let through your blood vessels - it reacts to changes in temperature and regulates the blood accordingly to keep things constant.

So, if the body is cold the vasomotor system might be reacting the wrong way and not doing it's job to help keep it warm, etc.

This seems to affect some more than others.

Edited by nomis, 21 July 2008 - 11:53 AM.

[Jason S]

I suffered from major temperature regulation problems initially after my incident. I would wake up in a pool of water (and I mean a POOL) or freezing cold. It went every which way. I thought it was something I had to live with, but realized over time that it was due to the pain medications I was on (primarily Oxy). I was lucky enough to only need that medication for a couple months, so I returned to normal after that.

[itsjustme]

I was freezing all of the time after my paralyzation except at 4:00 a.m. when I would wake up soaking wet, hair, pillow. The doctor did some blood work and it showed that my thyroid was out of whack. Now that I am on medication for that my body temperature is better regulated.

[Char]

I wish there was an easy answer to this. I am 17 years post injury and always cold. I will just be sitting and get instant chills with goose bumps on my ams. I live in Arizona. Today for instance, 88 degrees, but I am sitting in my office with my heater turned on. I am lower level SCI level - T8, so I do not think it is AD but I do not know how to get rid of it. My temp varies also - the day starts in the 97 degree range but by 7 pm, I am just over 99 degrees.

[twisted_ophelia]

At T8, I have issues regulating as well. I do better with warmth but if it's cold that really is a problem. If I get too cold, I find that I'm suddenly freezing and have a really hard time warming up. This has turned out to be a big problem on the scuba dives I've done this month because the water and surface air is chilly. My body temp drops and no amount of clothing and blankets seems to help. It's not pleasant. Most SCIs have issues regulating temp. Like Char, I find that I am also always cold. This could also be that I am a small person, about 100lbs. Combination of SCI and body type makes for a chilliness.

I find that when I exert myself a lot, like in rubgy, I overheat to the point where my whole face gets red and I feel like I'm about to pass out. The quads on my team spray their faces with a big of water and I just borrow their water and spray myself. It seems to help. If there are sudden dips in temp like for your hubby, you should def see a doctor. Sudden chills and sudden overheating can mean some kind of illness for anyone not just an SCI.

Edited by twisted_ophelia, 10 October 2009 - 05:24 PM.

[Scribbler]

avelasco, on Jul 3 2008, 08:49 PM, said:

Hello, my husband is a paraplegic and his injury is T5/6. I was just wondering if anyone out there has any issues with his or her body temp. Sometimes he is freezing cold and it's not cold at all and sometimes he is so hot that he is dripping sweat. Does anyone experience this as well is there anything we can do? Or is that normal?? Help ....

Its quite normal for me to feel cold most of the time. Of course, like everyone has said, there are other reasons so check those out.

I can only tell you that in my experience I hate being in a cold room, so my heating is on and off quite a bit.

I was told SCI's cannot control their body temp, if we get too cold its difficult to warm up, and if we get too hot we cant cool down. I don't sweat so have had heat stroke a couple of times...

I hate the cold..

Sctibb's

[pow76]

im usually cold also...i find if i wake up cold i will have a long day BUT what i have learned is the only thing warm me up is a hot shower lettin the water run on my head. May sound strange but if my ears are cold im in for it...Try a warm towel out of the dryer on your head and make sure ur feet is warm