This isn’t some profound writing.

I’m just hot. I’m tired of being hot, and summer isn’t even here yet.

Growing up, I was always cold. It wasn’t warm out until it was past 80 in my book. I was the lady in the meme walking down the runway in a sweater onesie. Not really, but I felt that meme so deeply.

And then, MS hit me.

Not everyone with MS suffers from heat intolerance, but I do.

What happens to me is that my hands swell, I see flashes of light or get blurry vision, I get dizzy, and fatigue hits out of nowhere.

Honestly, the speed at which I can go from being okay, laughing, joking, and having a good time, to needing to sit down and recover can give you whiplash.

I avoid travel to hotter climates in the summer because even if an event is indoors, the walk from the car to inside the venue can trigger those symptoms. Instead of enjoying the event, I end up trying to recover the whole time.

Lately, drinking my morning cup of coffee has been a problem.

I’ve noticed brain shivers and overheating while drinking my coffee.

Now listen to me, MS. You have gone too far by ruining my morning coffee routine. LOL!

Admittedly, I cannot fully lay the blame for this overheating on MS.

In early May, I turned 51.

By the end of May, I started having hot flashes.

I’m tracking them to see if there is a pattern. Like, do they happen at a certain time of day or after a particular activity? I’m still trying to figure it out.

Between the overheating and, especially, the brain shivers, I can already tell that I may need to switch from hot coffee to iced coffee or frappes. But it may also be an opportunity to release myself from this caffeine addiction. We shall see.

So if you see me outside in the cooler months without a coat, mind ya business.

If you don’t see me in the warmer months, now you know why.