The 3 Cs

[Sleepyachy]

Cold, constipated, crappy.

When everyone whose thyroid pills are actually working . Do you stop feeling cold!!! Constipated and crappy!!!!

[SeasideSusie Remembering]

I have had seemingly optimal results but have never stopped feeling colder than other people. And I'm still constipated, if I stop my magnesium citrate I stop going, simple as!

[Sleepyachy in reply to SeasideSusie]

Awe I was hoping would finally feel warm. Instead of ice maiden .

[nellie237 in reply to Sleepyachy]

You will for a while, when we eventually get some warmer weather. I saw something on the met office the other day ie It was the coldest April since 1922 - and not really getting any better yet. I've still got my heating on all day.

Roll on summer - I really appreciate it when I can kick off my sheepskin slippers and walk barefoot - bliss. 😊

[radd]

Sleepyachy,

Introducing T3 to my Levo about 6 years ago I experienced a delicious inner warmth, but it never lasted when I got tried, hungry, etc, and then the miserable inner cold would return that wouldn't even go in a hot bath.

Speed forward six years and this was my first winter in about thirty that I slept without an electric blanket on my bed. So in answer to your question, yes, I have stopped feeling that miserable inner cold and regarding constipation, can't do without plentiful fruit & veg but managing well.

[tesskate]

Yes, thankfully! But if I'm even slightly under-medicated then cold and crappy return quickly.

[Sleepyachy in reply to tesskate]

Then do you request a blood test and up dose ? Does doctor always apply? I feel like, they like to leave you to suffer on before changing dose

[tesskate in reply to Sleepyachy]

I self treated for many years (with NDT and T3) and so responded quickly to the return of symptoms. Levo was a disaster - always the 3 Cs plus many other symptoms. Now I'm in the early-ish stages of being treated by a private GP and am not quite optimal - so far they have cautiously raised my dose, so hopefully that will continue until I'm optimal.

[Kimkat in reply to Sleepyachy]

Being as I’m relatively new to Levo, I sometimes feel that yes they do like to leave you to suffer. I’ve been on it now for a year and I was made to believe that I would be able to discuss and increase/decrease my dosage with my GP and my endo made it sound so easy but in reality that’s not the case, as I’m finding out. I’ve just been told on Friday by my endo that if I increase my Levo too quickly I could encounter heart problems so another increase is not on the cards for at least 6 months.

[shaws Administrator]

Yes is the word I'd use. I feel normal warmth and have no bowel problems - thankfully. As long as I take the thyroid hormones that suit me. It isn't always a 'quick fix' and can be 'trial and error,

🙂

[Hidden]

I wrote about this in another post but I started taking my T3 in one go and it helped the warmth. Yes instill feel cold but my basal body temp has actually made it into the 37s!

Constipation - I drink plenty of warm water throughout the day; half boiled half tap. Seems to do the trick.

[SkiingSailor in reply to Hidden]

Me too with the water ! Because I have kidney disease I’ve moved to a plant based diet which has sorted the constipation completely! I go three times a day now !!

[Zazbag]

My feet became warm for the first time in living memory when I increased my dose of levothyroxine to 150mcg, but I felt crappy in every other respect. It wasn't until I added liothyronine that I felt good again.

[Buddy195 Administrator]

As my fingers & feet are always cold my endo suspects start of Reynaulds. I’m now supplementing with turmeric, black pepper & ginger to try & improve my circulation.....and after 2 months this is definitely helping. Others recommend ginko Bilbao, but I haven’t tried this yet. From past mistakes, I now only trial one new supplement at once, to keep a check on what is working!

[ComfyLotus in reply to Buddy195]

Hello Sleepyachy and Buddy195

So my partner has reynauds where two of his fingers just go white in the cold.

My partner started doing the Wim Hof method and since hasn’t had it happen!!

Wim Hof is all about cold exposure. If you google him it’ll tell you all the science behind it. So my partner does the breathing method aswell as cold showers.

I have Hashimotos and on thyroxine for it. Sometimes sit with a hot water bottle in work 😂 I’ve been having cold showers and on those days I do feel warmer!

It sounds bizarre but it’s worth a try if you’re up for it!!

[Buddy195 Administrator in reply to ComfyLotus]

Will look this up! Thankyou 😊

[SkiingSailor in reply to ComfyLotus]

Wow ! I read about him the other day. Extraordinary that it does actually work !

[ComfyLotus in reply to SkiingSailor]

My partner even stopped having cold showers for a little bit and his reynauds flared up. So ever since then he’s had a cold shower religiously!

The worst part is introducing yourself to cold showers, but I now enjoy them. I have a warm shower and for the last minute turn it all the way cold.

[tattybogle in reply to ComfyLotus]

ComfyLotus SkiingSailor Buddy195 on the subject of the benefits of 'cold water' you might find this an interesting listen. healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

I'm a fan for all sort of reasons.. i used to do :- steam room till hot ..followed by (bravely ! ) standing under cold shower including head till properly cold .... repeat a few times .... then do slow breathing exercises and see how far i could swim under water with one breath .... unfortunately the gym with a convenient cold shower right outside the steam room on the edge of an empty pool is no longer available to me... and my current bathroom is usually baltic with dodgy plumbing, and so i've got out of the habit .. but something about the going from hot to cold, quickly, and back again really did used to make me feel good .

I once knew a bloke with ME who was advised to go in the river first thing every morning... i saw him walk past on the way to the river each day for a year....... he got significantly better.

[Topkitkat in reply to tattybogle]

My (healthy) sister in law swims in the Oslo fjord through out the year and has seen numerous health benefits so feel there is something in it. I was advised to cold shower as it stimulates the nervous system to work efficiently. I didn’t try for long enough.

[penny]

Sorry to hear this; not very pleasant being cold and feeling ‘crappy’ all the time (but not in the bowel department ). Happily I am generally as warm as toast, my husband tells me that I am like a radiator at night, and take 200mcg of T3 per day.

[hjh88]

As things improve for me I find I’m much warmer but that immediately changes if I over do it. Becoming cold again is one of the ways I know I’ve pushed myself too hard. And I’m generally constipation free unless I get a low. I get the sense that getting myself on an even keel long term will probably eliminate both but couldn’t say for sure just yet as I’ve not quite made it.

[Kimkat]

I’m always asking the same question to my husband “are you cold or is it me”? During this cold spell he normally says yes it’s a bit chilly but my hands and feet are sometimes so cold (on cooler days) that I use my heated beanbag to warm up.

[birkie]

Hi sleepyachy❤️

You know this is a strange one for me, I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism (graves) one symptom I hated was feeling hot and sweating all the time, eventually my thyroid was removed (2019) I asked my surgeon if this symptom would go along with the rest he said you will become hypo and for a time have hypo symptoms, cold, constipated ect, I'll tell you I was looking forward to being cold👍.. No it never happened nore have I had any symptoms of hypo.. 🤔 Even when my bloods were saying I was hypo.. Its weird, I am seeing a endo soon for primary hyperparathyroidism so I'm putting all these symptoms down to that diagnosis, but it's strange you want to be warmer and I want to be colder... 😁😁😁😁

[Lovecake]

3 c’s are often with me if my levels are low. I have to be on top of everything, including vitamin and mineral levels. I do get some days where I feel warmer and actually fairly human. But I’m afraid it rarely happened when I was on thyroxine only. I have a small amount of T3 now and it made a huge difference. But I would like there to be a longer length of time where I feel great with no symptoms. I’m one of these people who answers “to be well” if asked what is the one thing you’d like to do if you win a million pounds?

[MariLiz]

When my low B12 was treated I warmed up a lot. Before that I was a very chilly mortal. No changes to my thyroid meds, just getting my B12 levels up did the trick.

[Sluggishandtired]

Bless you! This is probably how most of us feel. I just have a couple of things to share. I do not have a thyroid gland and am on 175 mcg Levo for 3 days a week and 200 mcg 4 days a week. This puts my T4 on the high end of the scale and, although I am cold a lot, I swing back to being too hot - especially in the summer with no AC (East Coast of Scotland). However, the winter and cold rainy days are still difficult to stay warm.

The other is about the constipation and I may be able to suggest a couple of things for you. There are two things I take - one is OxyPowder made by Global Healing Center. You can look at other 'Oxygen' products on Finchley Clinic's website thefinchleyclinic.com - there are several different kinds, but this one works for me. It isn't cheap, but one bottle lasts me 2 months and this is definitely worth it to me. You can get Oxy-Powder on Amazon and, if you are a Prime customer, you get it in a day or two without delivery charges. Finchley's charges for delivery and I have had to wait a long time for the product to come thanks to the Royal Mail. Otherwise they are a great resource for health and wellness products and information. If you have questions about any product, there is a live person on the end of the phone to speak to.

The other product I take is Ionic Magnesium which my Kinesiologist/Chiropractor recommended. This makes life sooo much nicer and helps me feel less 'crappy'!

😅 It is liquid and you dose with a dropper in water - you can adjust till it is working for you. This supplements the magnesium in OxyPowder and also is amazing for muscle cramps - I think a lot of people with Thyroid problems suffer from muscle cramps in legs, feet, etc. This absolutely is one of my favourite products and I could not live without it. The only place I have purchased this is on Metabolics.com website - they are quality products. I think there are other brands on Amazon, but this is the one I use and it is not expensive.

Hang in there and I hope you get to feeling better. After nearly 30 years of thyroid issues, I have gotten loads of great advice from this forum and am trying to implement the suggestions in my daily routine. I have just had a second opinion from another Endocrinologist as I wanted to see if additional T3 would be helpful for me and reduce my T4 somewhat. She has said that my levels are good and she would not change them. However, I am going to get my adrenals checked along with my other hormones to see if I can tweak a bit further. Sadly, thyroid disease seems to baffle so many doctors - our symptoms can mimic other problems and I have spent a fortune trying to find things to help me feel better. I would not suggest the two that I have if I had not had years of experience with them.

The best of luck and I hope this has been helpful.

😀

[dottyb09]

For constipation, try Inulin. I watched a programme by Dr. Michael Mosley about problems sleeping and this was one of his recommendations. I tried it and found that a side effect was that it got rid of constipation because it contains a prebiotic. I don't have a problem sleeping now but I keep taking it because of its other benefit.

[Hippopotamai]

Yes. I have always been on the cold side even before my diagnosis. My hands and feet were like ice. I've been on levothyroxine for 5 years. Now that my dose is higher I actually go the other way - feeling warm with occasional episodes of hot flushes, warm hands, sweaty palms, sweaty feet. Neither being particularly desirable at their extremes. There are a few habits that help. If you want a stable dose you should be mindful to take your medication at the same time everyday, take it on an empty stomach following rest to reset your metabolism, take it with a full glass of water, don't eat anything for a minimum of 30 minutes after taking your levothyroxine (an hour is better) be mindful that other medications if also taken on a morning can reduce absorption (I.e. Iron tablets), the tannin in tea blocks absorption of levothyroxine so best avoided near tablet time etc. My routine is that I don't eat after 10pm, I take my tablets at 06.00am everyday (I have an alarm and often go back to sleep), I eat breakfast anytime after 07.00am. I stagger my other meds throughout the day being mindful that my iron must be taken at least 4 hours after my levothyroxine. I only drink water on the mornings. I did switch to green tea at first after water but I don't drink tea anymore. I also work shifts but by taking my tablets at the same time and making changes to my eating habits I do feel I get a stable dose. I work shifts so this can be challenging at times but I have found it worth it because it made me stop feeling "crappy" and I don't have so many of the emotional symptoms.

On another side note being in UK and working indoor a lot I find that I struggle to maintain sufficient vit d levels. Taking a vit D supplement that I time with my evening meal has lifted my mood by addressing my vit d deficiency. I have done this for years.

As for constipation I try to eat a high fibre diet and drink lots of water.

It's not easy always being "good" and making these type of lifestyle changes as it can take the spontaneity out of plans but I have found the routine helps me and the payoff of feeling less crappy is worth it. I wouldn't say better because I'm always symptomatic of something but less crappy is still a win.

[iamdevo]

If you have enough T3 you will not be consistently cold. I take a small amount of T4 and a larger amount of T3 (cytomel) because my body makes RT3 (reverse T3) and it blocks the bio-active T3. Your body can only make RT3 from T4. My thyroid gland has been removed, and until I got a doctor who figured out to test me for RT3 I was still sick, cold, and all that. I do have spells of feeling cold sometimes, but I can warm up pretty fast and am not constipated at all, or sleepy. My freezing feet and hands are much, much better or are warm. If not for this doctor I would still be in thyroid hell. I do eat very well, lots of veggies, grains, etc and drink a lot of clean (distilled, filtered, and de-ionized) water. I think long-term thyroid disease does mess with your metabolism even when you have your meds regulated, because thyroid hormone is the regulator of metabolism, so it runs your entire body, pretty much. Good luck- I hope everyone can feel better. Thyroid hell is a real thing, and a lot of doctors do not believe it. Only disease I can think of where doctors will not go by the symptoms and do the right tests. Ridiculous. I also have treatment resistant major depressive disorder, which is made much worse by unbalanced thyroid hormones, and I'm pretty sure I would have killed myself by now, or just be in bed too sick to have any kind of a life.

[abirose311]

Posts like this make me so angry! Because if you are cold and constipated, then you are not being correctly medicated. I spent two decades of my life being cold and constipated, not to mention agoraphobic and chronically depressed and all I needed was T3! If you sort out your T3's, I believeyou will sort out your 3C's !

[Sleepyachy in reply to abirose311]

Yeh I feel very down at mo. Fed up of feeling like this. Feel like I've gone back to what I was like both I even started on pills. No energy , feel like walking through mud. Family dont realise. Some times I cant move or just move alot slower. Not cos I want to . Because I cant go faster