I'm Always Cold

[horsegirl]

I feel like I'm always freezing cold, deep inside my body, even when others say it's comfortable or they're even hot. I dress in layers, drink warm beverages, snuggle under blankets, etc but I'm cold probably about 90+% of the time. This past summer I wasn't cold all the time, but still got cold much faster than I ever used to. I've always been sensitive to the heat too, & feel like I get overheated quickly in the summertime.

My thyroid has been checked several times (most recently about 3 months ago) & it's all fine.

I'm not anemic (low normal lab values), my hormones have checked out OK, & other labs are OK too.

My vitamin D levels are low, so I'm taking supplements.

My triglycerides are very low, but the doctor's not worried about that.

Could this be related to recovery from gluten intolerance? Could it be from the fibromyalgia?

I just want some possible solutions, because it's miserable to be cold all the time. Even at night, with

flannel or fleece P.J.s on, then flannel sheets, blanket, quilt, & another blanket, I'm still cold much of the time.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

BRRR!

[mamaw]

I have no answers but I get that & have thyroid problems & raynauld's... Do you get the free T-3 Checked ? Most doctors do not check that for the thyroid. Do you check your pulse & temp. when you awake in the morning? Just some suggestions. Iblame mine on my health issues

mamaw

[skyepie]

I'm with you on the always being cold!!!! Most days I shut my office door at work and crank my space heater. It gets up to 87* in my office and I'm still shivering. Everyone gives me grief about the "sauna room" I work in. I blame it on my anorexia - yeah, I'm an overweight celiac, but that joke usually gets people to stop giving me crap about being cold. Or else it causes an awkward silence.

When I was in high school my mom suspected that she and I have Raynaud's, though we never had it diagnosed officially. But I was able to get excused from outdoor PE in the winter. (I live in MN.)

I sleep with my electric blanket cranked to 10, my hubby never turns his on. Sometimes I wear mittens in my house.

[HAK1031]

yep! I'm always cold. my mom has raynaud's and I suspect I do too. PS-horsegirl if that fresian in the picture is yours I'm jealous

[MrMark]

I feel like I'm always freezing cold, deep inside my body, even when others say it's comfortable or they're even hot...

I'm often very cold too. I never used to be that way until I went gluten free.

[evie]

I feel like I'm always freezing cold, deep inside my body, even when others say it's comfortable or they're even hot. I dress in layers, drink warm beverages, snuggle under blankets, etc but I'm cold probably about 90+% of the time. This past summer I wasn't cold all the time, but still got cold much faster than I ever used to. I've always been sensitive to the heat too, & feel like I get overheated quickly in the summertime.

My thyroid has been checked several times (most recently about 3 months ago) & it's all fine.

I'm not anemic (low normal lab values), my hormones have checked out OK, & other labs are OK too.

My vitamin D levels are low, so I'm taking supplements.

My triglycerides are very low, but the doctor's not worried about that.

Could this be related to recovery from gluten intolerance? Could it be from the fibromyalgia?

I just want some possible solutions, because it's miserable to be cold all the time. Even at night, with

flannel or fleece P.J.s on, then flannel sheets, blanket, quilt, & another blanket, I'm still cold much of the time.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

BRRR!

Have you tried wearing socks to bed? I have the same problem of needing extra heat and clothing, has been worse since I was diagnosed 2 yrs ago. my heart rate is quite low, Dr. says could be from some of my neccessary meds...hope you are better soon...evie

[sickchick]

I too am always freezing, and my thyroid tests were normal. My fingers & toes turn white too I am pretty positive I have Reynaud's.

[JustMe75]

I am cold all the time too and I thought it was my thyroid but my doctor ran the tests and they are "perfect". Has anyone found out they had a thyroid problem after their blood tests were within range? Is there anything else they can test? My TSH was 1.39 (smack in the middle of range) and they did something else called 3rd generation w/ reflex to FT4 that was within range as well. I am so cold I sleep in flanel pjs, socks and a heated blanket and when I took my basal temp every morning it was from 96.4-97.9. I also have like 9 outa 10 symptoms for hypothyroidism, but doc says can't be it.

Oh and he said I'm not anemic. My hemoglobin was 14.6 (range=11.7-15.5) doc says very high for a menstrating woman.

[wolfie]

I am always cold as well. I also get the white toes, sometimes for no reason. I often wear multiple layers topped off with a fleece jacket in the winter. I always bring a sweatshirt or jacket whereever I go in the summer. My thyroid is normal. Iron stores were a bit on the low normal side. When I do get hot though, I seem to overheat quickly.

[confusedks]

For everyone who has had their hemoglobin checked...what about other numbers? That's not the only way to diagnose anemia. You can be iron defieient also. My regular dr. told me I wasn't anemic for months, until I went to a Hematologist and he told me I was "deathly" anemic because I was severely ferritin (and other things) deficient. I was also very cold.

[JustMe75]

For everyone who has had their hemoglobin checked...what about other numbers? That's not the only way to diagnose anemia. You can be iron defieient also. My regular dr. told me I wasn't anemic for months, until I went to a Hematologist and he told me I was "deathly" anemic because I was severely ferritin (and other things) deficient. I was also very cold.

I was wondering about that. I don't see ferritin on my lab results. They tested for a ton of things that I don't know what they are, but I don't see ferritin. Also, what would the results say if they checked my calcium and B vitamin levels, do you know? How'd you get to a hematologist? Did you have other symptoms?

[Glutenfreefamily]

What is your diet like? Im a vegetarian with a few cheats during a year. I notice if I eat mostly cold foods that I stay cold. I believe my thyroids fine last time I checked.

[confusedks]

I was wondering about that. I don't see ferritin on my lab results. They tested for a ton of things that I don't know what they are, but I don't see ferritin. Also, what would the results say if they checked my calcium and B vitamin levels, do you know? How'd you get to a hematologist? Did you have other symptoms?

Both calcium and vitamin B levels will have a number (your result) and a reference range. I have no idea what the ranges are beause they are different with every lab.

Ferritin often gets overlooked, but for me it caused a lot of problems. I had a huge blood loss and my hemoglobin along with every other iron number got realllly low. My ferritin was at zero, that is unheard of! It was NOT good. I had to have Iron IV's because no amount of iron pill could do anything to a number that low.

Then, 6 months went by and I had a normal hemoglobin, but low everything else. That is iron deficiency, NOT anemia. I had iron IV's again (this was about 3 weeks ago). I go back to the Hematologist on Friday to see if they "took" or not and whether I need more or not.

My symptoms were EXTREME fatigue and I was cold all the time, but only when I had low hemoglobin. I also get severly pale, like I look dead. LOL! My Dr's can even tell when my numbers are low because I'm so pale...and I'm not a pale person usually.

I went to a Hematologist because like I said, no amount of oral iron could get my numbers up. My PCP suggested one and I got in I think the next day because it was urgent.

If you have any more ?'s feel free to PM me.

[sneezydiva]

I'm completely the opposite. I used to always be hot. When I was a kid, my mom had to cut the feet off my feetie pajamas, because I always complained of being hot and my feet sweating.

About a year or two ago, when my chronic feeling ill and tired was at its worst, I started feeling cold all the time. Wearing socks to bed, lots of blankets, etc.

Since going gluten-free, I'm gradually warming back up. Still need to wear socks to bed, but the thermostat has been much lower this winter.

[horsegirl]

Thanks for all of the responses, everyone! I guess I need to pull out my lab results again & pour

over them more thoroughly to find out about ferritin & part of the thyroid function too.

I've caught a few "low normal" or slightly below-normal values before, but my doctor always

says they're "fine" & not to worry about them.

I haven't checked my temp in the morning ever before; maybe I'll try that.

Do I just use our ear thermometer? My mom has always run at least 2 degrees below

normal, & I'm usually low normal too. Plus I generally have low blood pressure, & my

blood sugars run about at the bottom of normal.

I don't think I have Reynaud's, because I don't get the ghostly white fingers/toes, or blue either.

I used to be hot all the time, when I was younger too. Then, I lost about 65# through Weight

Watchers (over 1 1/2 years, very slow & safe) & ever since then, I've been freezing. People told

me it's because I was used to all the extra fat on my body, but it's been over a year since I finished

the weight loss, & I'm still cold all the time. Not too bad a thing in summer, but terrible in winter!

I'll check out my labs & see if there's anything I missed.

Thanks again!

[Nyxie63]

The big problem with ranges on lab results (particularly with nutrients and thyroid stuff) is they show what levels are found in the general population. They're not necessarily indicative of where the levels should be for good health. There's a huge difference between "normal" and "optimal" levels.

Examples:

Thyroid - Its best to get your FreeT3 and FreeT4 tested along with TSH. TotalTs won't tell you much. The FreeTs are the unbound thyroid hormone available for use by the body. While the range for these will show "normal" levels, most people feel better when their levels are in the upper half of the range and more often in the upper 1/3. This would be the optimal level. Therefore you can still be having hypo symptoms and be considered "normal".

Ferritin - The optimal level for ferritin in an adult female is around 70. For men, its around 90. A lot of docs have no idea how to read this and think a ferritin level of 29 is "normal".

B12 - The optimal level for B12 is around 1000. This number is actually higher than the upper limit of a lot of ranges. The nice thing about B12 is that your body gets rid of what it doesn't need. There's no worry about overdosing with B12 like there is with other nutrients.

A few other things to think about:

Smoking raises the RBC, hemoglobin and hematocrit levels on a CBC. Therefore, its possible to reflect as not being anemic even if you have an extremely low ferritin. It takes about 3 weeks after quitting smoking for these levels to reflect what's really going on. Of course, its possible to have low ferritin and not be anemic.

Adrenal fatigue - While not necessarily recognized by many conventional medical practitioners, it does exist. AF is very common among anyone who's undergone long term stress, whether its emotional or physical as the result of an illness. While many docs will order a single serum cortisol lab to be done, this really doesn't give a good overall view of what the adrenals are doing. A 24-hour cortisol saliva test will do that. Here are a few links to check out if you're interested:

www.tuberose.com/Adrenal_Glands.html - excellent overview

www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/adrenal-info - includes several home tests to try

www.drrind.com - this site has a very good metabolic (thyroid/adrenal) symptoms chart

Hope this helps.

[wolfie]

For everyone who has had their hemoglobin checked...what about other numbers? That's not the only way to diagnose anemia. You can be iron defieient also. My regular dr. told me I wasn't anemic for months, until I went to a Hematologist and he told me I was "deathly" anemic because I was severely ferritin (and other things) deficient. I was also very cold.

Yes, this was me too. The ferritin was low, but other numbers were okay. I went to the dr mainly b/c I was turned away when I went to donate blood. I now take Repliva and have been on it for almost 6 months. Still cold a lot, but I don't sleep nearly as much as I did. I will have my numbers checked again in Feb to see if they are now where they are supposed to be.

[blueeyedmanda]

I have many days like that, I sleep with a fleece blanket all summer long. Now the past few weeks I have been warm which is nice, even for bed I have been wearing shorts, which for me a odd. I usually am bundled even if my house is not that cold. We keep the thermostat at 72.

At work, it is always cold....even the other people I work with always have sweaters and things on since it is always cold....but sometimes my nose and my fingers are real cold to the touch....glad to see I am not alone.

[ebrbetty]

I'm always cold, just can't seem to get warm unless I workout. I keep my heat at 80 all winter, my hubby and son wear shorts in the house to keep cool

My Dr says its because I'm thin [5 feet 5 108lbs] everyone tells me if I gain weight I'd warm up...I realize ppl who are overweight don't get cold, they are insulated, but wonder if theres more to it

keep warm!

[Electra]

Please have your B-12 level checked!! I am constantly cold too and I have Pernicious Anemia. I had that inside cold feeling all the time and my hands and feet would go numb, tingle and be so cold that I had to put a heating pad on them to function. It's nothing to mess around with. I may have permanent nerve damadge now because they didn't diagnose me in time. I'm actually still struggling with it comeing and going even when I'm not contaminated, so I am scheduled to go to a nerologist on Jan 29th. My GI specialist is concerned about MS even though I've already tested negative. I really hope it's just that it's taking a while to get my B-12 levels back to normal.

Oh and I was overweight for years and was still freezing all the time, so it really has nothing to do with how thin or fat you are ;-)!!

By the way my B-12 was slightly low for years but not really below average and they did nothing, so now I may have permanent nerve damadge because of it. If you have Celiac then IMO any slightly low levels need to be checked into a little more.

I also have a history of iron deficiency especially when pregnant. During my last pg'cy I was taking prenatals and still had to take 4 iron pills a day and my iron would not come up. Well now that I know I have celiac it's all explainable, but I probably should have my iron looked into again as well.

Good luck and I hope you get some answers soon!!

~~Angie~~

[loraleena]

In addition to the other thyroid test listed, make sure you get your thyroid peroxidase antibodies checked. They should be under 20. If high this means you have hashimotos hypothyroidism and autoimmune version of the disease where your body attacks your thyroid. I have this. My THS was normal but the peroxidase antibodies were 799. TSH is useless and only catches about 45% of thryoid disease. Check out Dr.Lowe.com for great thryoid info.

[binky1246]

I was talking to my nutritionalist about my wife being cold all the time. She said that iodine could be a problem. When my wife did the iodine test, it disappeared in about three hours. It is supposed to take 24 hours to disappear. Maybe you are iodine deficient. The two way she suggested finding out were with iodine for the drug store and taking your basil temperature under your arm pit first thing in the morning. On the first, put the iodine on the top of your wrist. It should be about a quarter size spot. If it is gone in less then 24 hours the you are lacking iodine. On the second, if your temperature is low, under 98.6 that is also a sign.

The first iodine test has info available on the net. Just Google it. I was surprised at what I found out.

Hope this helps.

[pattij]

JustMe75, I heartily second the advice Nyxie63 gave about thyroid testing. Her paragraph about "normal" vs "optimal" levels of thyroid hormone should be laminated and hung in every doctor's office in the country.

The ignorance that abounds within the medical profession about thyroid disease is astounding. Most doctors diagnose TD solely on the TSH level, which is at best an inaccurate measure of thyroid function, rather on how the patient is feeling. (Don't get me started...!)

Another excellent resource is Mary J. Shomon's book, Living Well With Hypothyroidism, published in 2000 and updated in 2005.

I hope you'll follow up on Nyxie's suggestions.

[blueeyedmanda]

Maybe I am just cold-blooded, all my lab has been in the normal ranges. My dad is always cold though....I inherited it

[confusedks]

The big problem with ranges on lab results (particularly with nutrients and thyroid stuff) is they show what levels are found in the general population. They're not necessarily indicative of where the levels should be for good health. There's a huge difference between "normal" and "optimal" levels.

Ferritin - The optimal level for ferritin in an adult female is around 70. For men, its around 90. A lot of docs have no idea how to read this and think a ferritin level of 29 is "normal".

Nyxie, I agree with you about the first part, but the ferritin range is SO different for everyone.

According to my Hematologist, for me, my ferritin needs to be about 150 for me to feel good. A typical range for ferritin is about 5-300. It really varies for people depending on their height, weight, age and sex.

90 for men, that may be ture for a 12 year old, but that's not true for an average 30 yo male.

Just wanted to clear that up.