IS anyone else cold?

[Kathrynbaggott]

I have been taking levothyroxine 75mg for many years. I have regular blood test and i'm always told my thyroid function is within normal range. dispite this i'm still feeling the cold a lot. is this nomal do others in a similar situation feel the cold a lot?

[katbar]

Yes i feel the cold too, I am glad we have a mild winter just now, but in the Summer i cannot control how hot I get also, it is like having no temperature control.

[puncturedbicycle in reply to katbar]

katbar you too may be undermedicated. Do you get copies of your test results?

One of the first things that happened to me when I was first on a low dose of levo was that I went from being freezing all the time to being less freezing most of the time but sometimes suffocatingly hot. It's called heat intolerance. I could not keep my coat on indoors for more than a few minutes without having to launch myself out the door in a panic (previously I would have been happy wearing my coat all day at home). It doesn't really happen anymore, but I keep an eye on my bloods.

If you're not already looking into it, it's worth finding out whether or not you're on enough meds.

[greygoose]

Your thyroid function cannot be 'normal', or you wouldn't need to take levo, would you. If you're feeling cold, which is a hypo symptoms, my guess is that you are under-medicated, but your doctor is only looking at/testing the TSH - a very good way to keep the patient sick!

If I were you, I would ask for a copy of my results - it is your legal right to have a copy - so that you can see exactly what was tested, and exactly what the results was. And, then, act accordingly.

[puncturedbicycle]

That's a pretty low dose. As GG says, you are likely to be undermedicated (a lot of doctors mistakenly keep us just within the 'normal' range which is not ideal) but the only way to find out is to get a copy of your results.

[AiryFairie]

I am already taking a hot water bottle to bed - and, as always, wearing socks. Otherwise, my feet go so cold it keeps me awake.

[Hypopotamus]

All my life until I started on NDT.

[ElleBee71]

Yes - freezing, but I believe I'm under medicated and trying to resolve this with my doctor.

[Hidden]

I was never cold until I had my thyroid removed last October and was then put on Levo for the 1st time. I became very cold and my temp was only 35ish. Also bones ached plus I was putting on weight which never happen to me before. It took only 6 months for me to realize something was very wrong. I switched myself to NDT. I am now back to feeling warm again temp 36.7ish. No aches and my weight has been stable at 138 lbs. I have only been on NDT for 5 months. Do you take your temp maybe it would help.

[jamesal0 in reply to Hidden]

NDT is wonderful if you are prepared to do a little reading and understand it.

[Margjean]

Could be Wilsons Syndrome . Look it up . I am also feeling the cold all the time. Am going to try slow release T3 tomorrow . Will keep you notified.

[Margjean]

Had to get it made up at a compounding chemist.

[jamesal0 in reply to Margjean]

How did the slow release compounded T3 go. I struggled with T3. I would take 10mcg and feel great for 2 hours then begin to feel cold, particularly feet. So I would take another 10mcg and be ok again and so on. I never took more the 60mcg per day. But somewhere through the day I would start going hyper, head ache, pounding heart etc. But I still had cold feet. I tried 3-4 times for a few days each. I tried mixing it with Levo and NDT and still could not get it right. So I'd be interested in knowing how you go with slow release T3. I'm on 120 -150mg NDT per day now and pretty happy with it apart from the price. But I just couldnt do Levo anymore

[Margjean in reply to jamesal0]

I have only used it a couple of days,so far so good. I am only taking 2.5mcg. Was on 75 mcg levo

Will let you know how it goes.

I asked my doc if it was enough,he said to take that dose for 6 weeks then have a blood test.

I did try the other one ,not slow release, 5 mcg . a while back. It gave me chest pains, so discontinued it.

Have also tried ndt.got chest pains.

I am in Australia. It cost $65 for 100 capsules. I thought that's was quite reasonable .

I think you should let your Doc know what you are taking. T3 is really potent stuff. Which can affect your heart.

The levo used to be alright, took it for years then all of a sudden I don't feel good taking it. I think I am wearing out and getting to my use by date. I am turned 80 so haven't done too bad.

[Margjean in reply to jamesal0]

Also my temperature is nearly normal now.Was always cold.

[Margjean in reply to jamesal0]

If you are doing alright on NDT.why worry about changing. What price do you have to pay for it. Work it out daily. May be small price to pay for your health. Good luck.

[jamesal0 in reply to Margjean]

Hi Margjean Agree I have no intention of changing from NDT. It's the best of a bad bunch as far as I'm concerned. Re the price - I completely agree the cost is nothing per day , like less than the price of a takeway coffee. Just annoying Levo is PBS and NDT isn't.

I see you are Australian too - so you are probably on Tertroxin 20mcg tablets.

Great to see your temp has stabilised. I still fluctuate allot but I'm now mostly between 36.0 and 36.5 if I keep plenty of NDT onboard. The problem that started 12 months ago on Levo and still exists on NDT was I started getting head aches and peripheral neuropathy when I took enough Levo or NDT to get a TSH in the ball park. So everyday I balance tingles against temp by how much NDT I take

regards

J

[Margjean in reply to jamesal0]

Day 3 ,woke up with headache,took t3, still got headache hour later,chest pains as well,took my BP 191/107/80. Not good. Went for walk with neighbours dog. Took 1/2 Beta blocker. Blood pressure now come down 137/81/74. Can't take BB all the time as they affect my circulation and breathing, have got raynards as well. Also got Emphasema . Can't win. Won't be taking anymore t3. Back to T4 Will have to put up with cold,although now the weather is getting warmer should be right.

Will have to eat more Brazil nuts.Ah well, can't live forever.Good luck to you all. Hope you enjoy your Chrismas wherever you are.

[jamesal0 in reply to Margjean]

Hi Margjean. Try some Mega Magnesium ETHICAL NUTRIENTS. Also you sound like you went hyper on the T3. Have a break for a day and then take half the quantity T3. Agree re BB

[Margjean in reply to jamesal0]

Can't take half the quantity, it is in capsules.I do take magnesium,vit B and b3, niacin. Will have to stop magnesium as I am now lactose intolerant and need to take calcium and vit D.I understand you shouldn't take magnesium and caltrate. Someone may advise me what else to do. I also have B12 every 3 months.

[jamesal0 in reply to Margjean]

if you want to keep going on T3 just pull the cap apart and pour out some powder. Your other choice, other than Levo, is NDT. You sound like you have a good doctor, so it shouldn't be hard to get a script.

Re lactose intolerant - have a look at the Low FODMAP diet from Monash Uni. It got me through when I was in crisis the first 3 months this year. You don't stay on it forever, just until your gut recovers and you can then slowly re-introduce things

[eeng]

Your thyroid function being 'within the normal range' rings alarm bells. The 'normal' range for TSH is something like 0.3 to 5.5. This is the range for diagnosis not treatment, and is very high at the upper end because sometimes having a virus or infection can artificially raise the TSH and the NHS don't want to diagnose people as hypo unnecessarily. (In fact I sometimes think they would probably rather not diagnose anyone with hypo, especially not women). The normal healthy population have a TSH of between 0.5 and 1.5 according to a published study. So if your doctor is keeping your TSH above 1 by undermedicating you then he is allowing you to suffer unecessarily. Get a copy of your blood test results for your records (we are legally entitled to have them) and post the TSH, FT4 and (if it has been tested) FT3 results here.

I was diagnosed with TSH of about 7 and I was always cold. Now I take plenty of levothyroxine I am lovely and warm again. Normal for me is having to put my feet out of the end of the bed at night to get to sleep. I look around the office and I have an average amount of clothing on - a few summers ago I sat wearing two fleeces all summer.

[teasel90]

My OH calls me "thermostaticly confused". I'm either cold especially hands/feet/nose or in the summer too hot. Yesterday evening he came into the lounge and said "wow its hot in here", I was sat there with a blanket round me shivering. Thankfully its quite mild weatherwise, I have even been out for a walk this morning without having to wear a coat, am dreading a winter.

[jamesal0 in reply to teasel90]

Hi teasel90

Total guess because I know nothing about you but I'd say you're not getting enough thryoid supplement in Winter and too much in summer. You may want to tweek the dose a little and see it you feel better. You can cut pills. Example if you are on 75mcg perday - try 85 for a week. Does the Temp improve ? Take your temp 2-3 times per day at the same time with a digital mouth thermometer. Does extra thryoid supplement make you feel warmer or do you really get a physical increase in temp? We burn more thyroid when we are cold or exercising or stressed. The Doctors always play conservative dosage as it slowly accumulates in you over 4-5 weeks and they could overdose you if you weren't looking out for it and or didnt know what to look for.

I loose temp very quickly and feel like I'm going to flop on the floor if I miss a dose of NDT. Very different drug though.

j

[janveron1]

Bet they do not test your Fee T3 do they? There seems to be a conspiracy nowadays in labs just not testing properly. I assume that if they did patients would ask for proper treatment when they saw a less than optimum T3. The whole thing is pathetic and almost criminal.

janveron