Im ALWAYS cold - could there be an underlying issue?

[Nvidiaguy07]

The older i get, the more this is becoming a problem.

I'm from CT, and have always lived here. I've always hated winter, but its been getting unbearable - even with the light winter we had this year.

When i was younger (up until i was maybe 19-20) , i was almost never cold. I would wear a t-shirt and shorts around the house and be totally fine. Then i started wearing a sweatshirt around the house, but still shorts.

Now i get home from work, and all i want to do is get warm. I usually take a hot shower, and then i wear sweatpants, thermal, t-shirt over it, heavy socks, snow cap, and i wear a pretty heavy microfiber bathrobe most of the time (yes i know it looks ridiculous).

I work in a school, and with mostly women - as the day goes on i get colder and colder, none of them seem to mind how cold it is (which makes me think theres a problem with me). The worst part is how drained i am from being cold all day. Completely sucks the energy out of me. I sometimes just wear my coat around all day :/

Someone mentioned to me possibly having low iron levels, but they also said if you eat a lot of meat your usually OK, which i do. I exercise regularly, and im in decent shape.

Its gotten to a point where all i think about is living the rest of my life in CT, and how miserable ill be because im so cold 75% of the year.

Could there be something medically wrong with me? I have never been this sensitive to cold. I almost thought it could have been because i went the whole summer without AC - which i didnt mind at all - but maybe it somehow made me even more used to warm weather, and lowered my tolerance for the winter.

I dont want to go to the doctor over something little like this, but im starting to think my coldness is out of the ordinary.

I should also mention i lost a considerable amount of weight over the years, if that might have anything to do with it. (weighed 170 in high school, then gained 100 pounds over 3-4 years, then lost that same amount over 2-3 years. Right now i weigh about 190 and have a pretty low body fat percentage - im 26 years old)

any feedback would help. Maybe im just being a pansy, but even if you have any tips on how to stay warm and get through winter it would help.

 

[Miramonti]

It's a classic symptom of hypothyroidism, an under-functioning thyroid. Very common in women (particularly in US), but also common in men, as a friend of mine is hypothyroid. That possibility doesn't necessarily follow all the weight loss tho, and this could be a factor in you feeling cold as well. I have low body fat tho and am much more often too warm.

 

[CottonRabbit]

If it's bothering you that much, go see a doc, it might be hypothyroidism. A blood test would reveal that or anemia.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

It's a classic symptom of hypothyroidism, an under-functioning thyroid. Very common in women (particularly in US), but also common in men, as a friend of mine is hypothyroid. That possibility doesn't necessarily follow all the weight loss tho, and this could be a factor in you feeling cold as well. I have low body fat tho and am much more often too warm.

If it's bothering you that much, go see a doc, it might be hypothyroidism. A blood test would reveal that or anemia.

thanks, i think im going to get checked out soon. I probably should have mentioned that my sleep schedule may have something to do with it as well, as i feel much colder on days i get no rest. Well at least it seems that way sometimes.

 

[Kaido]

I was cold all the time, in particular my hands & feet. Especially my hands. Turns out I had a gluten allergy. Not full-on Celiac's disease, just an intolerance. Basically, it made me (1) cold all the time, (2) tired all the time (like I could never catch up on sleep), and (3) gave me a constant low-grade anxiety (best way to describe it is I constantly felt bad or like I was in the wrong, or if I was driving like someone was going to hit me or something - really oddball feelings like that). I thought I had a thyroid issue as well, but my tests came out normal. Same with the iron levels. Doctors told me to suck it up and wear a sweater, haha.

Unfortunately, there is no good test for a gluten intolerance. You can do an IgE test, but they're not conclusive. Same with the biopsy. And gluten is really hard to go off of - it's in everything from deli meat to mustard (seriously). But for me, within a week of going off of it, those 3 symptoms started going away. I'm a year off now and feel MUCH better!

So, assuming you have a food allergy, and assuming it's gluten (I myself have 3 allergies - dairy, corn, and gluten/wheat), try going off it for a week. Or even easier - do a 24-hour fast (which is good for you once a month anyway) and see if you feel any better the next day. I seem to remember kinda-sorta being cold in the past, but the last couple years in particular got progressively worse - I would wear jackets indoors at work every day in the summer. I would get chilled to the bone on a light winter day. It just made no sense. So there's an avenue to explore.

Also shout out from Hartford!

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

I was cold all the time, in particular my hands & feet. Especially my hands. Turns out I had a gluten allergy. Not full-on Celiac's disease, just an intolerance. Basically, it made me (1) cold all the time, (2) tired all the time (like I could never catch up on sleep), and (3) gave me a constant low-grade anxiety (best way to describe it is I constantly felt bad or like I was in the wrong, or if I was driving like someone was going to hit me or something - really oddball feelings like that). I thought I had a thyroid issue as well, but my tests came out normal. Same with the iron levels. Doctors told me to suck it up and wear a sweater, haha.

Unfortunately, there is no good test for a gluten intolerance. You can do an IgE test, but they're not conclusive. Same with the biopsy. And gluten is really hard to go off of - it's in everything from deli meat to mustard (seriously). But for me, within a week of going off of it, those 3 symptoms started going away. I'm a year off now and feel MUCH better!

So, assuming you have a food allergy, and assuming it's gluten (I myself have 3 allergies - dairy, corn, and gluten/wheat), try going off it for a week. Or even easier - do a 24-hour fast (which is good for you once a month anyway) and see if you feel any better the next day. I seem to remember kinda-sorta being cold in the past, but the last couple years in particular got progressively worse - I would wear jackets indoors at work every day in the summer. I would get chilled to the bone on a light winter day. It just made no sense. So there's an avenue to explore.

Also shout out from Hartford!

Thanks, definitely will try. I kinda have this belief that most people are sensitive to many foods, just to very different extremes. so it makes sense i might be in the same position as yourself.

One question though: how do you deal with not having gluten in social situations? I think id be fine going gluten free, with the exception of being offered a beer, or going out to dinner. I know they make gluten free beer, but if it really came down to it, id rather just go without at all. The only real reason i drink if ever is just because we all are.

and how much did you hate CT until you fixed your issue? I personally dread october-april, and i think get seasonal depression pretty bad. Ive been considering moving to florida or somewhere warm, but i just cant leave my family and friends. Personally, I hate the seasons. Id take 100 degree weather year-round in a heart beat. Screw CT! lol

 

[interchange]

The first thing that anyone should think of with this complaint is hypothyroidism. Definitely worth a visit to the doc.

However, I think the most likely culprit is your prior weight loss. Unfortunately, we just don't reset our thermostats very well when we take away the insulation.

Regarding "seasonal depression", there is actually a diagnosis called seasonal affective disorder with an interesting treatment - light therapy. You can buy a light therapy lamp for about $50 and turn it on while you're using the PC in the winter.

Regarding gluten intolerance, food allergies, etc. -- this is really an emerging phenomenon without a lot of tried and true medical evidence outside celiac disease itself (which is classically a disease diagnosed in young childhood). Thankfully there are enough people with documented celiac disease that it is getting much easier to cut wheat out, though still a monumental challenge. Unfortunately, you generally have to be 100% adherent for it to work.