Coping with heat

Living with Parkinson's Carers, friends and family
1

I need your advice my friends. We live in the north of England and rarely get a heatwave but this summer we had 2 and my HWP, who is in his 29th year of diagnosis, really suffered. I looked on google and saw this can be a problem in PD. I told him what I had read and dealt with it with fans and cold packs.

We have been going to Portugal in June and this time of year for a lot of years. In June while we were here we both caught Covid. We were both ok, my husband better than me but his PD seems to have got worse since. We are in Portugal now and it has been a bit of a nightmare to be honest. Up 4/5 times a night. Freezing in the doorways (there are 3 close to each other from lounge to bedroom and wc) loosing use of his legs etc. It is not particularly hot in the villa. Yesterday was a pleasant temperature so I coaxed him into sitting out a bit but within half an hour he had gone ‘off’ hour and half into his meds. Last night we were booked in for dinner at a beautiful restaurant in the garden but when we got there it had rained so we were seated inside. We had timed his meds so he should be ok. The starter came, prawns, ate them fine. By the time the main came I could see his tremor starting. He has full arm tremor and is really bad when it comes especially in his left side. He had only eaten some veggies when we had to call the waiter for the bill and a doggy bag. I managed to get him out to the car with difficulty and he said it was the heat that had got to him. It was warm in there. He was only hour and half into his meds. When we got home he came back on again which is rare after he eats his evening meal so I have to think it is the heat.

This has more or less started happening this past 6 months. I have noticed he gets anxious more now but does not have meds for it. We are doing a test at the moment. It is 10 am and he is sitting in the sun and has gone ‘off’ within 10 mins. Is it his brain? He can’t be overheated yet. He has also had DBS so don’t know if that is affected by heat.

I know you will come back with good advice. You always do. His meds by the way are Sinemet plus and Selegiline with mucuna

2

Hi Jeannie,
I’m sorry to hear of these heat-related challenges. It was a challenging summer for many, and people with Parkinson’s doubly so, and of course heat remains a factor in many locales. Just as a reminder, our Help Line has a variety of tools and resources to offer of which you may not be aware, so please do consider reaching out on 0808 800 0303. This is a free and confidential service.
With our warmest wishes,
Jason
Forum Moderator

1 Like
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Thank you. You have been helpful in the past.

4

It is my understanding, from research all over the internet, that extra heat or extra cold exacerbate PD symptoms and problems, and internal thermostat goes haywire. Husband had problems with anything over 22C decades before PD was diagnosed, and now he’s all over the place. I believe that if he has a really bad experience eg anger, confusion, heat, memory loss,cold, hallucination,haking, he does not recover completely, and sometimes his wellbeing just drops off a cliff, it is not a gradual decline.Everyone’s PD is different and apprently unpredictable. We can only travel together for necessary appointments as he just hates leaving the house . Awkward when half my relatives are foreign!