There’s no doubt that weather can have a marked affect on MS symptoms, but the question we posed to the MS community is: which season is worse for you? The community was evenly split between the two seasons-–for some, the summer heat can be unbearable, but for others, the bitter chill of winter is enough to make you research human hibernation.

See what they had to say and which faction you below to:

Baby It’s Cold Outside

• Everything is sensitive
  • Even a slight chill causes bone-shattering pain for me
  • Even temps of 50° can leave my feet blistered with frostbite. My shoes in winter are 2 sizes bigger, just to accommodate extra socks.
  • My skin feels like it’s covered in needles
• Can’t control the spasms
  • Cold causes major muscle spasms in my feet, legs and back!
  • My legs hurt from muscle spasms and I’m even more clumsy because my hands are numb
  • Cold makes me spasm more
• My muscles are stiff and painful
  • Just being outside for 10 minutes in the snow and I lock up like a mannequin in a window
  • The cold kills my hips
  • My cold body feels stiff and won’t move
  • My legs are in constant pain in the winter

It’s Getting Hot in Here

• Humidity is my kryptonite
  • Humidity is like wearing cement boots
  • When you add humidity to heat, I’m a dishrag – just done for the day
  • Humidity is intolerable – like having an anchor tied around my waiste
• Heat sucks the energy right out of me
  • It’s a struggle to walk; I feel weak like I’m melting.
  • It makes each foot feel like 200 pounds
  • I have such a hard time walking; I call it drunk legs
  • I wilt like a weed in the Sahara!
  • Heat makes my muscles like wet noodles
• I can’t think straight
  • Heat shuts me down
  • Heat causes my brain to just go flat, like I’m in a steam fog
  • My brain just doesn’t work in the heat

Stuck in the Middle with You

• Any extreme temperature is awful
  • Extreme temperatures, either way, affect me very badly
  • Heat makes me feel rubbery and the cold makes me walk like Frankenstein
  • I hate extremes of both – heat makes me fatigued, cold makes me numb
• I thought I hated one, now I hate the other
  • I used to say that heat was my kryptonite. It still is, but now I find that any mildly extreme temperature whacks me out
  • It used to be just heat but last year the cold was very hard too
  • My MS hates the heat, but I hate the cold.

The general consensus amongst the community seemed to be that 65-70 degrees is the ideal temperature, so spring and autumn take preference. But how about you? Which camp do you fall in—hater of heat or contempt for cold? With the colder months approaching, here are some tips to ensure you’re prepared for the impending weather!