Freezing cold

[Looneytunes]

I have had Myxedema for 40 odd years and as I have got older I find I get so very cold. Deep down to the bone and find it hard to warm up again. The only thing that can warm me up is hard exercise. Does anyone have advice on this? I take 75mcgs of LevoThyroxine daily.

[shaws Administrator]

Change your doctor Looneytunes because whoever has been treating you has actually be under-treating you.

Your dose of 75mcg is very low and your treatment probably occurred around the time the 'blood tests' were first introduced along with levothyroxine as the 'modern way to treat and diagnose.

All these years later thousands of hypothyroid patients are either dead due to their poor treatment or quite unwell like you. Freezing cold to your core is a clinical symptom but nowadays it is doubtful if any doctor is aware of one, never mind cold.

Please get a new qppointment with the tests suggested by RFU.

Request a new appointment and get the earliest possible and fast (you can drink water) and leave about 24 hours between your last dose of levo and the test and take levo afterwards.

Next, get a print-out of your blood test results. Some surgeries charge a nominal sum for paper/ink. Make sure the ranges are stated as labs differ throughout the country and it's necessary for members to comment.

No more waiting for action, you have to be pro-active (I think the word is) to make sure you at least get some decent medication and also some T3 added to your meds.

The Free T3 is the most important and will tell exactly how much you have in your receptor cells. Levothyroxine is only useful if it converts to T3. T4 (levo) is inactive and only T3 is the driving force for our metabolism, controls heart, heat, metabolism etc etc.

hormonerestoration.com/Thyr...

When we have myxedema also called hypothyroidism we need sufficient hormones for us to function properly, heart, brain - every single thing.

[Hidden]

Hello Looneytunes,

I am sorry to hear you have been so terribly cold as this is a classic symptom (together with Myxoedema) of under medication.

Ask your GP to test TSH, T4 & T3 and post results complete with ranges (numbers in brackets) for members to comment.

Also ask GP to test Vit B12, Vit D, Folate and Ferririn as deficiencies are common in people with low thyroid hormones and optimal levels are required for good hormone synthesis.

Low thyroid hormones and other multi-factors (such as gut issues causing malabsorption) can cause hypothyroid symptoms but be reversed when you have optimal nutrients, iron and meds. You should not have to live a cold existence. I have been there and it is miserable.

I hope you feel better soon.

Flower

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Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and this information is not intended to be a substitute for medical guidance from your own doctor. Please check with your personal physician before applying any of these suggestions.

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[MariLiz]

Like you I have always felt the cold very badly. Everyone else is warm but I'm shivering. Well I recently had a trial of adding T3 to my Levothyroxine ( reducing the Levo, but adding in some T3), the first thing I noticed was feeling warmer. My endocrinologist has asked my GP to prescribe T3, but they have been refusing to do so. It looks as though I will be sourcing my own from abroad.

You are on quite a low dose of Levo, perhaps they could try increasing that first, to see if it helps?

Best wishes MariLiz

[Looneytunes in reply to MariLiz]

I am reluctant to start self medicating as I feel this is dangerous as I'm not medically trained.

[MariLiz in reply to Looneytunes]

I am also feeling very reluctant to do this, I had hoped to have the backing of my GP. The endocrinologist monitored the trial of T3, doing blood tests before and after. I did pay privately for this. Can you approach your doctor to ask them to try a higher dose of Levo to see if that helps you? Perhaps 100mcg might be enough to help you feel a bit better?

A lot of us aren't medically trained, we are just trying to help ourselves to feel well again. Best wishes MariLiz

[Looneytunes]

I haven't always been on 75mcgs. I started out on 300 and it's decreased with time.

[Looneytunes]

I'm taking a look at the website now and will also go back to my GP with info that all of you have shared with me.

[Hidden]

I too feel the cold but from the waist down and mostly sweat buckets up top. I have two foot circulation boosters which I use daily. A TENS machine is helpful too. I sometimes wear a magnetic back belt said to help with circulation. Bistogal