Cryo and me. Cold Soaked!  

By: Marianne Vennitti

This is especially for our newbies and also to share a bit about Cryo and how I flare. This is me, in my bathroom, sitting under a special lamp that immediately warms up the room.  I was fortunate to find an electrician than took an interest in me and Cryo. The electrician found this lamp – it is not the normal heat lamp found in bathrooms. As you can see, I am wrapped in 2 blankets.  In my hands is a hot bean bag and I also have one underneath my blanket. There also is a hot bean bag on my feet.This flare occurred because I was out working in my yard, enjoying having energy and the nice weather. As the day went on the sun was less intense and the temperature dropped . . .When I say dropped I’m talking about 65-69 Fahrenheit.   I didn’t really pay attention since I was so excited to be enjoying the outdoors. The problem got worse because I was washing down one of my patios and the hose had a leak.  I was walking in the water although I had on sneakers. Between the slow drop in temperature, the hose leak and the water under my feet, all of a sudden my body gave me the signal that I had to get in the house real quick. I ran past my husband and said, I have to get in a hot shower NOW.

I noticed that my hands and feet were white while I was in the shower, not like Raynauds – white.   As the warm shower water hit my hands and feet it felt like a was being attacked by sharp objects, not pins but something bigger. I immediately got out of the shower, wrapped a towel around me and headed for my heated bath, as you see me in this picture. I yelled for my husband, Chris to come. When he saw me on the floor he knew just what to do. He grabbed all my garb and there I sat for at least 30 minutes. This is what me and my friends call “Cold Soaked.”

I have been “Cold Soaked” several times.  What I find amazing is how I have learned to listen to my body and know what is happening. I can’t tell you exactly what the signals were but I know that I immediately felt frozen and my head felt woozy.  I also suffer from mini strokes and possible seizures therefore I have to be especially careful. It took about 2 days to get the numbness out of my toes and fingers.  But something unusual happened this time! I was laying in bed about 5 hours later, I felt a strange sensation going through my entire body: it felt like I was completely defrosting.   Sounds crazy right? Almost like science fiction but it really did happen, no kidding. It was so noticeable that I sat up in bed and with an OMG look on my face, as Chris waited in anticipation for me to say something, I actually burst into laughter after experiencing something so freaky and at the same time exciting. It’s a great feeling to understand these complicated machines/bodies we walk around with. And I think technology is hard!  Understanding your body can save your life when you are living with Cryo.