Cold all the time??

If you're very underweight, it'll be that. Need some subcutaneous fat for insulation.

Well, I dunno how tall you are, but 134lb certainly sounds underweight for a guy.

I notice you're taking folic acid. Are you anemic? That would make you feel cold all the time. I also wonder if taking methotrexate can affect you that way. If you can, try checking your temperature. We always think of checking it for fevers, but sometimes if you feel cold, your body just happens to be cold.

Actually I am no longer anemic as of my blood test a couple of weeks ago. My irons low and my vitamin D still though. Still got my colon so far ! Right now I'm taking iron pills and Vitamin D prescriptions.

ozonehole said...
The idea that you need fat to keep warm is a myth. Fat doesn't keep you warm, just fat.

Yeah, mate, I was just talking about being a normal weight, not morbid obesity. Glad you comprehended my post so well though.

And, yes, being cold all the time is a symptom of being underweight - look on a few anorexia forums. Being underweight is no more healthy than being overweight, not that anyone ever speaks about this. Might want to google the Minnesota starvation experiment while you're online as well.

Cyborg Ninja said...
But if your iron is low, then you _are_ anemic.

Not always. Anaemia is a decrease in red blood cells or haemoglobin. It's possible to be low in iron (ferritin) without having anaemia. That said, if the underlying cause of iron loss is not corrected or treated, then it will progress towards anaemia. Like scum, I'm low in iron. (Ferritin=14, which is not rock bottom but pretty low.) However, my haemoglobin is still normal, so I'm not yet anaemic.

The sites I've looked at on anaemia don't actually mention being cold as a symptom, which accords with my own experience of anaemia: my main symptoms were breathlessness, fatigue and RLS. (Even when I was underweight I didn't tend to feel the cold, but I think the internal inflammation was keeping me artifically warm: my disease was not under control and I was running a fever much of the time.)

www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Anaemia-iron-deficiency-/Pages/Symptoms.aspx
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron-deficiency_anemia#Signs_and_symptoms
www.coaching-for-health.net/eisenzentrum/AM3_e.pdf (This one is interesting for those who have low ferritin)

Whatever is responsible for scum feeling the cold, it's probably not low iron. Yeah, I know: I've got nothing better to do with my time to try to prove a point in lengthy posts that most people probably just skip past. Sorry folks, I'll take a break now.

It's obviously not a common symptom, though, is it?

cks.nice.org.uk/anaemia-iron-deficiency#!diagnosissub:1

NICE sets the standard for evidence-based clinical guidelines in the UK. It's a trustworthy source if you do not trust my three other links.

An extreme sensitivity to cold is a far more common symptom of anorexia than it is anaemia. I have seen how my dad has become so much more sensitive to the cold in the last few years and that's because he hardly eats anything and isn't at a normal weight for him - he looks rather gaunt.

PS: I am not saying that scum is anorexic; it's his illness which has made him lose a lot of weight. But the body does not differentiate between purposeful and unintentional starvation.

It could be your medications as some will do that. I think the steroids would play havoc with my" internal thermostat" and it always took a long time for it to settle down to normal, whatever that is being a postmenopausal woman. Even now 78 can be too cool for me, but other times I burn up.

My daughter's lung disease makes her cold intolerant breathing-wise and we keep our air-conditioning set on 82-83 degrees F, which gets hard for me as that's a bit too warm but we do what we have to.

I'm cold all the time, and I'm actually a bit overweight (gee thanks, prednisone). It gets worse with pain medications, so I think that's part of it. It's almost as if my body can't regulate its temperature. When I get cold, I start sweating like crazy (soaking through three sets of PJs in an hour) and get even more cold. I have to turn on a space heater, the fireplace, whatever and get the room super hot before it starts to calm down. That's been happening less frequently since I've gotten into better remission, but it still happens on occasion.

scifigal2k said...
I'm cold all the time, and I'm actually a bit overweight (gee thanks, prednisone). It gets worse with pain medications, so I think that's part of it. It's almost as if my body can't regulate its temperature. When I get cold, I start sweating like crazy (soaking through three sets of PJs in an hour) and get even more cold. I have to turn on a space heater, the fireplace, whatever and get the room super hot before it starts to calm down. That's been happening less frequently since I've gotten into better remission, but it still happens on occasion.

That sounds like a breaking fever.

But still, it's probably the pain meds now I think about it. I got cold sweats after coming off oxy as well.