Another in our series where we look at Fibromyalgia, and with the temperatures over the past couple of days it is a great opportunity to give you an insight into how heat affects a fibromyalgia sufferer.
If you haven't read the previous stories that introduce you to fibromyalgia, I would ask that you take a few moments to find out more, before progressing with this one.
Fibromyalgia fighters do not sweat in the same way that non-sufferers do, we sweat, oh boy do we sweat and perspire, which can trigger a fever and mimic heat exhaustion, with the usual fibromyalgia symptoms and conditions. Also known as hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating), which is one of the 100s of elements of fibromyalgia, as it is difficult to cool down it is to warm up.
The technical stuff is that it is known as an autonomic dysfunction with the hypothalamus, the almond-sized area in the brain that controls sleep and regulates sweating, bowel movements and other automatic body functions. In the heat, everyone can't sleep, but those other functions that are automatic are confused and can cause enhanced issues for fibromyalgia patients.
Even though we excessively sweat, which usually helps the body cool down, it doesn't help us, and only confuses other bodily functions, that many take for granted. It then has a consequence of making you more sensitive to heat and may have to take more drastic measures to cool down, that might be several showers, running wrists under the cold tap or as you may have seen, pouring water directly over my head fully clothed to cool down.
So when we announce that the studio is too warm, we are doing it for our team's wellbeing, as heat exhaustion does follow, if we try and function in a room (studio) which is too warm. We also don't take assignments outside in the hot weather when there is an amber warning in place.