I am always COLD! I can't stand it anymore

[Athena]

For the last few years since being dx with kidney issues, I have found winter time to a horrendous time for me because I cannot tolerate the cold. The temperatures here in my patch of Australia is at most about mid-teens degree celsius during the day and usually a few degrees above zero overnight. I truly feel scared when I find that, even in a heated room, I still feel a bit cold. There is something very abnormal here about my sensitivity to the cold.

it's not something that most people seem to complain about compared to itching, nausea & fatigue for example. I have none of the other symptoms but this intolerance to the cold really stands out. I am typically over-dressed compared to others and yet still find it's cold!

Can anything be done about this? Can anyone else relate to this? Can this get better over time?

[talker]

For the last few years since being dx with kidney issues, I have found winter time to a horrendous time for me because I cannot tolerate the cold. The temperatures here in my patch of Australia is at most about mid-teens degree celsius at worst during the day and usually a few degrees above zero overnight. I truly feel scared when I find that, even in a heated room, I still feel a bit cold. There is something very abnormal here about my sensitivity to the cold.

it's not something that most people seem to complain about compared to itching, nausea & fatigue for example. I have none of the other symptoms but this intolerance to the cold really stands out. I am typically over-dressed compared to others and yet still find it's cold!

Can anything be done about this? Can anyone else relate to this? Can this get better over time?

Ha , for me anything below 70 degrees F, is not welcome, until that first day I can do a sunbath so to speak. Once I get a good dose of sunshine Coldness is no problem. So maybe vitamin D.
also check out:
http://www.simple-remedies.com/health-tips-3/feeling-cold.html
http://scienceline.org/2006/08/ask-zielinska-cold/

[gotmoose]

I to suffer from the same cold you speak of. I'm the only person I know that uses a electric blanket during the summer

[noahvale]

^

[cassandra]

I also read somewhere that the amount of toxins in your blood causes you to feel cold.

I to suffer from the same cold you speak of. I'm the only person I know that uses a electric blanket during the summer

Now you know me too, using electric blanket whole year round 

[MooseMom]

This is really interesting because I felt the opposite in my pre-d days.  I live in the Chicago area, and believe it or not, I was/am always so much more comfortable in the winter, and this is despite being born and raised in south Texas.

Maybe noahvale hit the nail on the head; could you be anemic?  Oddly enough, I was never anemic despite my CKD4/5 status.

[Deanne]

I'm always cold, too. I can't remember when it started, probably when I was in my 20s, when my renal function was still probably at 90%. It can't alwaybe due to anemia or toxins. My body temperature back then was still 98.8, but for several years now, it's been 96.x - 97.7. I avoid air conditioning as much as I can, wear lightweight gloves to work on my computer, and keep a jacket or sweatshirt in the car. Exercise helps. If I can go for a brisk walk, I'll be warm for a while afterward.

[Rerun]

I'm cold then HOT then cold then HOT ...  never ending.

I am cold so I let my dog get on my lap and then I fall asleep, and wake up in a sweat and have to throw her off.  (Gently)

[kristina]

For the last few years since being dx with kidney issues, I have found winter time to a horrendous time for me because I cannot tolerate the cold. The temperatures here in my patch of Australia is at most about mid-teens degree celsius at worst during the day and usually a few degrees above zero overnight. I truly feel scared when I find that, even in a heated room, I still feel a bit cold. There is something very abnormal here about my sensitivity to the cold.

it's not something that most people seem to complain about compared to itching, nausea & fatigue for example. I have none of the other symptoms but this intolerance to the cold really stands out. I am typically over-dressed compared to others and yet still find it's cold!

Can anything be done about this? Can anyone else relate to this? Can this get better over time?

Hello Athena,
I also feel sometimes very cold and I usually make myself a hot waterbottle, which makes me feel a little bit better ...
Hot waterbottles are very helpful on those occassions and I have been told that feeling so very cold is a sign of ESRF...
Best wishes from Kristina.

[Athena]

This is really interesting because I felt the opposite in my pre-d days.  I live in the Chicago area, and believe it or not, I was/am always so much more comfortable in the winter, and this is despite being born and raised in south Texas.

Maybe noahvale hit the nail on the head; could you be anemic?  Oddly enough, I was never anemic despite my CKD4/5 status.

That is interesting Moosemum! And good to know that feeling cold is not necessarily a 'requirement' of having CKD. I am technically not anemic as I've been patched up with EPO shots as well as iron infusions. But what if these artificial methods don't really fix the problem entirely? My nails have become quite brittle and easily breakable as well over the last year or so ... I kind of have the feeling that anemia is something I still have, even though I've been successfully treated for it. I don't know if my thinking makes much sense here? 

[Jean]

It makes sense to me Athena. Like the rest of you I get cold very easily. A throw, A blanket, my bathrobe, and I am shaking from the cold. My feet especially, they are nearly always cold. Very uncomfortable. They tell me I am not anemic, but I feel tired all of the time and sleep at least 11 hours a day.

[Athena]

I'm cold then HOT then cold then HOT ...  never ending.

I am cold so I let my dog get on my lap and then I fall asleep, and wake up in a sweat and have to throw her off.  (Gently)

Yup, that's also something that happens with me too - the alternating chills and sweats! When we're cold, we're really cold but when we're hot, we're a volcano! There's only one constant it seems - I'm never truly comfortable wherever I am. It drives people around me crazy!

[Athena]

Thanks everyone who's replied, I'm glad I'm not the only one. Thanks Talker for those articles you posted, I have found them quite helpful ... There may be some Vit B complex deficiency that can be investigated along with the iron deficiency anemia. There could be more serious things like atherosclerosis to consider. My thyroid is always checked and the TSH levels are always normal.

I do know that kidney impairment & renal insufficiency does lead to cold intolerance, as advised by one of my Nephs but I had hoped that while one is not quite seriously advanced there was a possibility that his symptom could be avoided. Obviously not.

My Chinese herbalist doctor described it as 'Yang deficiency', which apparently is not a good sign of health either as it is harder to bring the Yang up than what it is to bring up the Yin! 

My heating requirements have hit the roof, night and day I have a heater on as well as an electric blanket in bed. I would kill to have a really hot sauna at home - the Scandinavians sure know how deal with this and eliminate the cold from their bones.

[Charlie B53]

I've always been a big guy, a bit on the heavy side, not what I'd call 'fat', but my Dr does.  I can break into a sweat standing still.  Never got cold, LOVED the winter.  Growing up near the mountains of the Northwest, any excuse to get out in the snow and play. 

That ended two years ago.

Started PD end of May 2013.  Dr's finally decided to tell me I was Diabetic before the first snow, about Oct, Nov that same year.  I tried playing in the snow with the Grandsons and for the first time, I got COLD, and had to come inside.  Haven't been out to play since.  Can't take the cold no matter how I dress.  And I have some REAL insulated bib pants, parka, gloves.  It was nothing to see the temps warm up to ZERO on a good days growing up.  I learned how to dress for the weather.  Can't do it now, it doesn't work.

Even on decent days in Spring and Fall, I get a chill and cannot get warmed up.  I end up in bed with THREE blankets, at least one is wool. And it still takes a couple three hours, and one dog under the covers.  He's like a hot water bottle that never cools off.  Don't know what I'd do without him.

I'm beginning to read about magnesium in another thread.  Need to learn a lot more about it.  Find out if it may have anything to do with it.  Stranger things have been found.  I'll ask questions of my PCP, Neph, Nurses, and Dietician, see what they know and if they have an opinion.  Not sure if I'd try any supplement(s) without their approval.

Take Care, try to stay warm,

Charlie B

[Athena]

Thanks Charlie for sharing your experience with this problem. It's interesting to know that your intolerance only started once you started PD ... I don't know your history but I assume that you had CKD perhaps for many years beforehand where you didn't feel this intolerance? If so, it might suggest to me that my intolerance may be due to another cause. Either way I have a sneaking suspicion that no one will be able to look into this & fix it. The only time I have relief is when I'm having a hot flush - I believe they will become more and more frequent over the next few years 

Today when I saw my Neph, his office was as cold as an abattoir cool-room! But his secretary and nurse told me they didn't feel cold. It was me! 

[Charlie B53]

I don't know if it was starting dialysis, starting insulin, or the combination.  My kidney function has been declining for years, just never so much that anything could be done short of stopping the anti-inflammatory med (we did stop that long ago) and change employment occupations so to stop the daily dehydration at work.  For 30 years (at least) Dr's have been managing my BP fairly well.  I was taking a number of BP Meds twice daily, four times what other people I know where taking,  When Dr first ordered insulin she said that my blood sugars have been 'above normal' for years, that there really isn't a borderline diabetic, it's like pregnancy, either you are, or you are not, no in-between.  I simply had been managing somewhat acceptably until then.  Now it was time to add insulin.  Since I have started testing and injecting my A1C has dropped to 6.1 and stays there.  She says I am one of her best at staying near perfect sugars.  I try, I've seen the effect other diabetics have had with poor sugar control.  And I won't let that happen.

I used to have a decent tolerance for hot weather until I heat stroked one day in my front yard.  Since then I stay well hydrated but even then there are many days I just HAVE TO hide inside in the A/C, I just can't take it when it starts getting into the 90's and the high humidity here in Missouri.  The combination  makes my legs and feet swell even more than I normally swell.  Which hasn't been much since starting dialysis.

I can get chilled even in the 60's if I don't wear a decent jacket.  Temps any lower I start bundling up even more.  Never used to be like this.

I am beginning to read the links I've rec'd from muddygirl(I think) provided and also sent one link on gout to my VA Dr in the Rheumatology Clinic, asking him to read it and give me his educated opinion.  I think that I have pseudo-gout from very high calcium levels, a point and a half over then usual range.  He tells me my uric acid is also a little high and that I have gout.  I didn't get to see him until after the joint pain resolved and my Primary would NOT pull a fluid sample from any of the afflicted joints to have anyone in the lab LOOK to see if/what crystals were in there.  This is the first time I feel that a VA Dr failed to act on a valid question/problem that I've had.

Either way, I still have a lot to learn if I am to manage my health better.

Take Care,

Charlie B

[Athena]

We've had a few extra degrees of warmth over the last 2 days and boy, my poor shivering body felt instantly warmer and better! The nights weren't as cold as well so my electric blanket was actually switched off. My nasal passages are clogged up though & I've been sleeping by breathing through my mouth now - but that is a different problem.

Back to colder days and nights now with rain as well but, unless I'm mistaken, my cold intolerance seems to have improved slightly. Just only slightly.

[Deanne]

It helps me a lot if I keep my hands and feet warm. I almost always have ankle-high bootie slippers on and I wear lightweight gloves when I'm on my computer. The touch of the cold keyboard on my hands and wrists is very uncomfortable otherwise.

[Athena]

Deanne, yes those are good suggestions for how to combat the cold. Today I went shopping & tried on a goose-down coat that was down to the knee level, with a hood. Now that immediately made me feel warm! Only problem was that I couldn't afford it - it's on the saving for wishlist though.