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Anyone else REALLY feel the COLD!?

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Posted 12/10/2007 3:45 PM (GMT 0)
Just wondering why I am SO SO COLD ALL the time!? No-one around me appears to suffer this as much as me, I first noticed it being really bad last winter and this winter is the same. I just can't warm up whatever I do. My hands are like ice. I wear layers and layers of jumpers and scarves inside and am basically continually connected to an electric heater when at home. It feels like it's coming from inside my body! this can't be normal, but is it connected to UC or meds???
Posted 12/10/2007 3:59 PM (GMT 0)
I'm the same way! My hands are always cold and the winter weather is painful for me.

Are you also thin? It's a particular body type and metabolism type that Chinese medicine theory describes as "yin". I think Western doctors will just say, "yeah, you're cold all the time."

I believe -- and I haven't tested this out a lot-- that deep breathing exercises can help your circulation and hence, warm up your body a bit. I think there's some info about this on Dr. Andrew Weil's website. He mixes a lot of Eastern medicine with Western, and I think his work is well-researched. It's worth a try.

I'm thinking of trying some of the different foods that according to Chinese medicine are good for "yin" types and especially good in the winter. I have to dig out my book on the subject.

Sorry, I guess that wasn't very helpful but I just wanted to say that I've had this problem for years and I swear it's getting worse as I get older. I'm thinking of wearing fingerless gloves when I'm inside.

By the way, it's very important to keep your feet warm. I suggest going to a ski shop and buying some serious socks. That seems to make a difference for the rest of my body.
Posted 12/10/2007 4:45 PM (GMT 0)
I'm the opposite! Burning up. My poor hubby walks around bundled up all the time!
Posted 12/10/2007 4:59 PM (GMT 0)
I'm always hot.  At my colonoscopy last week, I was told I could leave my socks on.  I chose to remove them and my Mom who went with me could not believe how toasty my feet were under the sheet.  The summers are miserable for me, but I rather enjoy the the cold weather.

Posted 12/10/2007 5:19 PM (GMT 0)
Joz - Are you anemic, by any chance? Low iron can cause one to be cold all the time.
Posted 12/10/2007 5:48 PM (GMT 0)
Absolutely. I'm sitting at work right now with my winter coat on and a space heater sitting about 6 inches from me. Granted, everyone comments about how cold it is where I sit at the front desk but I still just feel ridiculous. But I'm pretty much always cold, I figure it's because I'm smaller and don't have much meat on my bones to protect me! >_<
Posted 12/10/2007 6:21 PM (GMT 0)
I really feel the cold now compared to my younger years, I figured it was because I was getting older that the cold was becomming more bothersome...I hate being cold, living in Canada doesn't help, here it feels like 10 months of winter and 2 months of spring LOL.

I don't think being skinny is the problem either because I was thin as a teen and handled the cold alot better than I do as a thin adult at 40 yrs.

:)
Posted 12/10/2007 6:40 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, I am always cold too and for some reason when I'm close to my period I get especially intolerate of the cold. I hate the cold with a passion. Then there are other times when I am just burning up like hot flashes or something.
Posted 12/10/2007 7:03 PM (GMT 0)
I was very cold all the time when I was flaring and anemic but now that I am not in a flare and not bleeding all of that has subsided. Perhaps as someone else recommends you should be checked out for anemia...Stay Warm!
Posted 12/10/2007 7:34 PM (GMT 0)
I'm always freezing as well. My hands and feet are like ice most of the time. I just bought some new winter boots that are supposed to be warm to -25 Celsius my toes are freezing at -10 outside. We'll see how they work when the temperature gets down to -30 in January.  I seem to becoming more and more sensitive to the cold every year.

Tara

Posted 12/10/2007 7:40 PM (GMT 0)
Im dying.. Its 80 degrees here in Virginia today..
Posted 12/10/2007 8:12 PM (GMT 0)
Uh huh, sure rub it in Harpo while us here in Michigan just had an icestorm :P
Posted 12/10/2007 8:14 PM (GMT 0)
We just topped 80 here in NC. I swear I may have to turn the air conditioner on! It is crazy!!!
Posted 12/10/2007 8:19 PM (GMT 0)
Quit bragging about the heat you buggers!!!!! nono You're really making me mad !


LOL :)
Posted 12/10/2007 8:20 PM (GMT 0)
80 Degres in NC???? WOW! It was 5 degrees BELOW zero here in Montana 2 mornings ago... LOL I think today's high is supposed to be around 24.. and YES, I have the same problem, especially with my feet. What warms them up the best is to put my UGG's on and walk around, or I bought one of those toasty bags filled with Flax seed and I heat that up in my microwave for about 4 minutes and keep that on my feet...

P.S... I just had to add, for a laugh, that I found out that when it's Rreeeeeeaaaally cold, and you inhale through your nose, your nose hairs freeze and it feels like you have boogers in your nose... It took me a couple of days to figure that out because I've never been in such a cold place before... YIKES!!! LOL

Posted 12/10/2007 8:59 PM (GMT 0)
I'm cold all the time, maybe it's the UC.... I just assumed it was the meds, especially the cyclosporine that I am on, it is one of the FDA listed side-effects.

--Keith
Posted 12/10/2007 9:48 PM (GMT 0)
I'm cold a lot, too. I think it's a side effect of the Imuran/6MP, which i notice the first two posters also are taking.
Posted 12/11/2007 5:12 AM (GMT 0)
I am super cold all the time, too. I've always gotten really cold easily and always hated cold weather, but this winter it seems my hatred of all things cold has grown to an extreme level (ok, not all things cold because that would include ice cream...just cold weather =)

ediekirsten - My workplace is the same way. Half the time I'm sitting at my desk with my winter coat on just to keep from freezing and my co-worker has a space heater.

I have also always been thin, so maybe that plays a part in being cold all the time.

80-85 degrees outside is my ideal temperature. I never once turned my air conditioner on at all last summer. Ah, I'm ready for summer.

Posted 12/11/2007 10:08 AM (GMT 0)

Thanks for your replies - I'm not alone!!   Maybe I'll ask to get tested for anaemia...I am quite slim and small, but have also been in remission for 18 months...

Another strange thing is that, although I FEEL cold a LOT of the time, my body actually seems to be giving off a lot of heat - my boyfriend says that I am really HOT! :) no seriously, as in I give off a lot of heat like a hot water bottle. Seems like I'm giving it out but can't feel it myself, strange...

We were in Poland at the end of the summer and got absolutely soaked in a huge downpoar running for a train, and we got on to an unheated carriage. There was actually visible STEAM rising from my legs as the heat I was giving out dried my trousers!!! It was as if someone was holding a cigarette under the seats - you could actually see it rising off me!! and all the time I was FREEZING!!

Thanks julee, I will look into the links, I think there is something in it. I have been meaning to try fresh ginger in hot drinks as that is supposed to heat the body and there are probably other foods that do the same.

I have also noticed since last winter that my feet will go numb and get pins and needles a lot so it could be a circulation issue..?

Posted 12/11/2007 3:37 PM (GMT 0)
numbness/pins/needles, ect could all be linked to low B12, you should get your levels checked.

:)
Posted 12/11/2007 5:50 PM (GMT 0)
I use to freeze all the time till I started going threw menapause. now I freeze everyone else out. this is just so much fun (not) anyhow now I feel like Im sitting in the oven most of the time. But at least I dont have to wear big bulky coats anymore.
Posted 12/12/2007 12:18 AM (GMT 0)
Joz - Being really cold all the time and having pins and needles in your hands and feet are both symptoms of thyroid problems. You may want to get your thyroid checked out just to make sure (it's a blood test). My mom has hypothyroidism (underactive) and she complained of being super cold all the time, too. The thyroid regulates metabolism. I'm not trying to scare you and I'm not a doctor, but it might be something to look into. I was just at the doctor today and she ordered a thyroid function test for me. Thyroid disorders can also be autoimmune, and, having one autoimmune disease, unfortunately, increases our chances of getting another.
Posted 12/12/2007 10:37 AM (GMT 0)
thanks Sara, think I'll try to get an appointment and ask about these things, better to be checked and know for sure...

Posted 12/14/2007 4:15 AM (GMT 0)
I am always freezing. I wear my cuddle duds all the time, even in bed.  I am also thin.  I don't know if UC has anything to do with it, because I have had UC for 17 months now and have been cold-blooded for the past 20 years.    I have a different thought.  I am wondering if it has anything to do with my heart and the circulaton? For the past 4 years I have had a tightening in my chest.  GP thought it was just panic attacks and prescribed Paxil, which I only took a week.  During times of stress and cold weather I get more of these twinges in my chest.  They sometimes grip my whole back.  My legs hurt also and this is a pain that comes and goes.  The hair on my legs and arms just isn't growing.  I noticed that over 2 years ago, but no one could explain it to me.  Oh, and I had terrible varicose veins after having 4 kids. ( I was diagnosed with UC after I stopped nursing the 4th baby at age 39)  My varicose veins in my legs are better, but my veins in my hands are terrible especially in hot weather. 

I have an appointment with a cardiologist Dec. 26, and am hoping to find something out.

Snookiebow

 

Posted 12/14/2007 4:52 AM (GMT 0)
well, its summer here on the gold coast in queensland and im still cold.

its really bizarre, i thought it had to do with maybe being skinny now that i lost all body fat from UC.

i love summer and i just want to be warm!!
i dont like being cold.
my husband will be sweating and i'll ask "is it chilly in here?" and he looks at me like im a nutter for sure!

maybe it is a UC thing?
i dont think im aenemic.
i believe that ive gone into remission in just the last 4 days as i have no more colitis symptoms at all.
just dealing medicine/prednisone side effects at the moment while i taper off..
or could it be the meds that are making us cold?
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