• Diagnosis​ ​Information​ ​and​ ​General​ ​Questions

  Adjusting to Fluctuating Temperatures with IPF.

  Posted by Charlene Marshall on May 1, 2018 at 3:45 pm

  

  To my fellow Canadians on this forum, I think many of us can attest that this is the first really nice day of spring/summer 2018. It has been a long winter, and the warmer weather is certainly welcomed. That being said, I am sad to report how much I am struggling today with the fluctuation and/or change in temperature.

  Just two weeks ago yesterday, many people in my province were digging themselves out after a terrible ice-storm that left many people without heat or hydro for days. In fact, the weather was so bad that three of my neighbours had to dig my car out when it got stuck in my driveway! I was also worried my flight to the west coast would have been cancelled due to such terrible weather conditions. Today the temperature is projected to be about 26 degrees with a humidex of closer to 29 degrees celsius. Normally, I love this weather and I don’t want it to change, however, I’m pretty sad that my lungs are not responding well to the change and I don’t remember this being problematic last year. Perhaps it is due to the progression of my disease? I’m not sure but I feel extremely fatigued, and my overall body temperature just feels so hot. My breathing is a lot a lot more shallow, my dry cough has increased and I get short of breath just talking to my colleagues. So much so, that I have left work for the day.

  Today I am just frustrated overall with my disease because I want to be one of the thousands of Canadians celebrating that the warm weather is finally here.

  I have never had allergies, so I don’t suspect that is what is causing problems for me. I do have all my windows open at home, and I have a defuser going as well to help clean the air using essential oils (I know some people don’t believe in this, but I really enjoy the scent if nothing else) so I hope this will help.

  I’m just not sure if adjusting to temperature changes is something else other patients with IPF struggle with?

  If so, what symptoms do you experience when there is a sudden increase or decrease in temperature? Even though the ice-storm I mentioned above was two weeks ago, which may not seem like a sudden change in temperature to the summer warmth today; the weather is still drastically different than even this past weekend. For example, on Saturday evening the temperature was -5 degrees, and today is only Tuesday with a +26 degree day.

  If you have experienced trouble with adjusting to temperatures since your IPF diagnosis, is there anything that helps you manage? 

  Thanks in advance to those of you willing to share your experiences with me. I’m pretty sad today that my lungs are giving me a hard time, when my favourite season is finally here after a very long winter. I look forward to hearing from you!

  Warm regards,
  Charlene.

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