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Why am I always cold?

I hate this time of year, I really struggle to keep warm ! And I have to have extra bedding at night because of it but I'm still cold. Now I'm getting stiff painfull joints in my hands and feet.

Sorry to go on but it gets you down.
 

Crohn's 35

Inactive Account
I used to get like that in my early dx days. I was in a hot tub in the middle of summer trying to get warm but no fever... it is your body fighting off the disease vicious circle. Have you had your iron levels checked? It will pass, it is part of the disease, at least for me it was.
 
Mmmm always suffered with the cold but it seems to be getting worse, maybe its an age thing ? I don't think living by the beach is the best place to be when the east wind blows across from frozen europe, lol
 

ekay03

My dog has hands!
I hate this time of year, I really struggle to keep warm ! And I have to have extra bedding at night because of it but I'm still cold. Now I'm getting stiff painfull joints in my hands and feet.

Sorry to go on but it gets you down.
Me too. For me I think it is caused by low iron. How are your iron levels?
 
I am vegatarian so I take a multi vit with iron every day, but somethings not right :eek2: not sure what to do about my stiff fingers either ?
 
Me too. And I have been freezing all day at work too ( even tho it's indoors in an office. ) When I get home, I light the fire, grab a hot water bottle and get under a duvet.
It's this time of year I wonder why on earth I picked the Hebrides as my home!
 

Terriernut

Moderator
Helen, if anyone deserves to complain, its YOU.

I've been having alot of trouble with my bloods. And freezing. BEFORE it got this cold. You need to have your full blood count done. Most likely you are anemic, and the cold snap isnt helping! My RBC was 7 a couple of days ago, and I was an ice cube!
 
Hmmm you might be anemic, I agree with Misty. Also, you could be having some Crohn's related joint arthritis. Let me ask you, do your joints feel cold from the inside?
 
I don't know really ? If I do manual work they stiffen up. My feet seem to be stiff in the toe joints if u know what I mean. Anyway decided to use a sleeping bag under my duvet tonight so shouldn't be to cold tonight.
 

rygon

Moderator
I think that the UK dont really understand cold. It approx 3-5degrees at the moment yet you still see a lot of people in town (me included) without coats. I think we think that we can handle it where we should really be thinking lets wrap up.

Ive got a duvet and a fleece throw (from dunelm -£30 iirc) and wear T-shirt and socks to bed as well. If my heating hasnt been on for a while I still feel the cold
 

Terriernut

Moderator
Just ring and ask for a FBC, full blood count so you see whats going on. They need to check your inflammation markers as well. CRP. Check Iron, B12 and vitamin D.

If you have inflammation in your bowels, its likely you have it in your joints as well. Unfortunately, that's what happens. Rheumatoid Arthritis and Crohns are both immune disorders. No point suffering, get in there and get your bloods done. We dont want you sick in the summer now do we?!
 

Terriernut

Moderator
Rygon...I'm from Golden Colorado...I understand cold!!!! :ywow:

Yes...I have several forms of long johns...whatcha call em here...thermals! As for joint issues..high pressure system, shouldnt be bad joints unless flaring a bit.
 
Location
texas
I stay cold all the time. I have a heater under my desk at work and I put a heating pad in my bed at night! I hate being cold, makes my body ache. Luckily, we are having a pretty mild winter in Texas so far. It was is the low 70's today. :)
 
I'm always cold I can never get heat into me but when I was sick with an abscess last year I was freezing that was one of my tell tale signs for not being well and my iron was really low. Now that I'm In Remission I've warmed up a little but still cold!
 

Lisa

Adminstrator
Staff member
Location
New York, USA
My feet get cold all the time (like right now!)...the worst part is I get cold sweats with them - everything else will be warm except my cold and clammy feet.....I've just decided I'll have to live with it....sigh.....and I put socks on when hubby is home so he doesn't kick me out of bed! lol
 

David

Co-Founder
Location
Naples, Florida
Just ring and ask for a FBC, full blood count so you see whats going on. They need to check your inflammation markers as well. CRP. Check Iron, B12 and vitamin D.
This.

In addition, a multivitamin isn't going to provide anywhere near enough iron for many Crohnies. And being a vegetarian complicates things more as non-heme iron (the iron in veggies) is harder to absorb than heme iron.

I'd also do the yoga poses I have posted in the Diet/Fitness forum to improve circulation to the extremities.
 
I will call the docs and have a chat, a lot better sleep last night with the sleeping bag and duvet, and it snowed in the night so it was a cold one !
 
Dave, I noticed you are vegetarian-do you mind if I ask is it a health or ethicical choice for you? If it is for health reasons you might consider eating red meat/liver for maybe a month or two to raise your blood count.

If it is ethical, I hear organic grape juice as well as apricots and red wine work well, too. I try both approaches concurrently so I can't speak to how effective one is over another; though I will say once I started eating liver my RBC shot up within a week. (Thanks once again David :))
 

Terriernut

Moderator
I can vouch for liver (blech!!) I had to have liver pate as my RBC was 7.3 :ywow: (still only at 9.0 today)

And spinach!! Lotsa spinach!
 
Ethical I'm afraid, I'm bit of a hippy on the quiet, lol
Can't get to the docs today now, both kids off school with colds. Oh well try and get it sorted next week.
 
That's cool. My doctor recommends Cream of Wheat, organic grape juice, apricots, red wine, and beans for iron, just a few options. And as Misty said, spinach!

Hope you and the kids get to feeling better soon :)
 

Terriernut

Moderator
Oh...so right beans (but they dont like me!) Regardless, just to be naughty, yesterday I had refried beans and a big ol glass of red wine.

The dog has left the building. (well overdue for a revenge attack)

(but I feel much better today, I have pink in my nails again)
 
I get cold immediately after eating, particularly my habs and feet. It's like all of the blood rushes to my stomach or something. Anyone else know what I'm talking about?
 
Raynaud's often goes hand-in-hand with autoimmune diseases as well. My mother suffers from me, me and my bro both do, and it suddenly sprung on my daughter as well this winter, just on two fingers of one hand - right as she was starting to get sick.
My feet and hands are constantly iceblocks, even with a little heater in my office. THe hand I use to operate my mouse is the worst. I take a hot bath every night just to warm up my core, otherwise I can't fall asleep because my feet just won't warm up enough to let me relax no matter how long I'm under the blankets.

Hot water bottles are wonders. Or heating pads. My little brother knows that when he starts getting that bone-chilling, aching coldness, he is headed for the hospital very soon. Often ppl report being constantly too-cold-to-get-warm right before they get extremely sick with chronic disease. Check on yourself. ONce you figure out how to keep yourself normally warm, if you notice those tricks aren't working, or you're having to employ all of them at once (hot bath, then hot water bottle diving straight under the covers the moment you exit,, and you STILL wake up cold a few hours later - that kind of thing) it's time to get some bloodwork done.
 

Trysha

Moderator
Staff member
Could be Hashimotos thyroiditis an auto immune disease
Feeling cold always, is a symptom of thyroid deficiency so need a blood check for
thyroid hormone levels.
Trysha
 
I'm constantly cold.. All day at work I couldn't stay away from the fireplace in the office and when I had to I shook and shivered as well as chills..
I got home and was still cold so I got into my warm bed and was still cold
Now I'm planning a HoT bath.. The kind that you can't stand the heat..
I'm just so cold!!
 
As indicated by my username I too am constantly cold. I wear fleece lined legging under my pants, have a hot pad I heat up whenever I am home/in bed, and sleep with flannel sheets, a down filled blanket, a heated blanket, a comforter and my hot pad. I take iron supplements which seem to help somewhat but not entirely.
 
Yep- Cold most of the time- but then I'll go too hot and can't seem to get comfortable- body doesn't find a comfortable temperature- it's like having the flu where you're cold one minute, and overheated the next- and forget about nights- night sweats galore- where I wake up soaked head to toe, but am shivering- I'm too hot AND too cold all at once- I've said for years that my thermal regulator is broken- When explaini9ng it to doctors they just look bewildered because all the tests come out fine- Very frustrating being cold all the time- It's 65 degrees right now and I have a shirt on, a thick sweater, AND overshirt over that and I'm still chilled- But if I get into my car and crank the heat, I'll shiver for about 20 minutes, then all of a sudden I'll be too hot- sickly clammy hot- and have to shut the heater off- then 5 minutes later the sweating and clamminess has made me cold again- vicious cycle over and over and over again

Also- I take a nap around 5:00 to be able to make it htrough rest of evining- when I wake up I'm cold, then I eat dinner, and a 1/2 hour later I'm overheated- seems to be linked to eating- then by bedtime I'm freezing again-

After my first several operations, I began really feeling a lot better and was able to work- took a job working carpentry- which meant being outside in winter- 30 below zero weather- I dressed for it and was fine- worked all day in weather like that- and hunted in cold weather plus cold weather sports like snowmobiling - I could also work in high humidity hot weather around 100 degrees - never had issues with coldness OR heat- Now it gets down below 70 degrees and I'm chilled to the bone- over 85 degrees and I'm overheated-

I have to sit in my warm car watching people enjoy themselves outdoors in winter now- very frustrating not being able to be outdoors myself-
 
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