Feeling chilled inside still.

[Janine159]

Sorry all I seem be on here a lot lately. But I am feeling chilled a lot esp evenings. I know it's a thyroid feeling as had it soon as started on thyroxine 20 years back. I came off them after 7 years of misery and was agreed by specialist at time . I am hoping this time I will get to take them and be ok my readings are still outside reference range a fair bit . Is this ok to feel like this . Normal ? X thanks

[FallingInReverse]

I haven’t read any of your other posts, but feeling cold is a hallmark of hypo.

Nothing to do with the temperature outside, our body just doesn’t have the hormone to rev your engine from the inside to warm you up.

Have you ever considered tracking your Basel temperature upon waking? It’s an interesting bit of knowledge to have about yourself.

[Janine159 in reply to FallingInReverse]

Thanks. Yes I am being treated. Can't imagine it all disappearing. The gp laughed at that happening but will see. X

[Benjipuss in reply to FallingInReverse]

How do you do this please?

[FallingInReverse in reply to Benjipuss]

To track your basal body temperature all you need is a basal thermometer (the kind that reads two decimal places).

When you wake up, before you do anything (no getting out of bed, no drinking water, I don’t even pick my head off the pillow), stick the thermometer under your tongue and take your temp. Do this at generally at same time every morning for consistency.

My thermometer has a memory that keeps 30 readings. I then write it down or plot it on graph paper to see the patterns.

The fun part about the patterns is (if one is a woman) to see how it follows a usual pattern against our menstrual cycle. Many articles you will find are about using it to predict ovulation. Temperature spikes as much as a degree the day before ovulation, and follows a predictable pattern the rest of the month generally.

The smoothness or erraticness of the line can reveal disruptions in our sex hormones, or in our adrenal system.

I started doing it partly for thyroid, but also to see what happens to it as I progress through perimenopause.

I think it’s fun and interesting to do. And the temperature itself can be very telling for whether your thyroid hormone replacement is working … ie, getting our engine running to make you less cold from the inside out.

It’s not a diagnosis, but it’s a helpful data point.

Make sure to do every day for at least a month, but even more, to help you find your current “normal” and impact of any Levo changes.

Best of all - it’s free once you have the thermometer!

[McPammy]

I’d suggest you need your bloods checking TSH, T4 and T3. Feeling cold from the inside is definitely a hypothyroidism symptom. The thyroid converts food to energy. Energy keeps you warm amongst other important factors. Get a blood appointment as soon as you can. Maybe you need to take levothyroxine T4 then see how you are a few weeks in. It doesn’t work over night mostly. You need to be patient with your replacement hormone T4 for your body to adjust. Hope you get it sorted, it’s certainly not nice having any hypothyroidism symptoms. The aim once started on thyroxine medication is to be symptom free and energised.

[Janine159 in reply to McPammy]

Thanks yes I am being treated for hypothyroidism dosage upped to 100 mcg only been on that for about a week. Just seems worse since. I am on thyroxine all been tested . Was 10.5 at start now 5.7 think tsh. Thanks replies x

[tattybogle]

Hi janine159 , for any dose increase ( or decrease ) you need to wait several weeks before you can really tell what that dose is going to feel like ..... don't get hung up on changes in your symptoms for at least the first 4/5 weeks ... how you feel will probably keep changing during this time ,, certainly does for me ... so i now don't pay much attention to how a new dose feels until at least week 4/5 .. then i pay more attention to how i feel from that point onwards.

[Janine159 in reply to tattybogle]

Thanks. I just wonder how much worse could it be as worse than before took them. Have had thyroxine in past pre menopause where I was made I'll . I started on them and had the chills start .and years of misery. Just hoping I don't end up like it again. The walking in particular is hard to put up with and the Dr reviewed my results by phone and said thyroid just makes you a bit fatigued am concerned that a Dr sees hypothyroidism as trivial it's certainly not for me anyway and loads of others ..but I guess a lot just feel a bit tireder than usual and take pills and that's all need . It's hard to cope with esp as walking affected. If t3 was tested and low. I don't think it will help with Gp would need see specialist to get treated correctly. I have little faith in Drs and even less after my last review. Everyone contradicts the last . Worrying really. I would like some up to date and proven advice. I get it from here but not from Drs.

[Tina_Maria]

Yes, feeling cold is a classical symptom of being hypothyroid.

Your thyroid hormones are the 'fuel' of your metabolism, which are responsible for many of your metabolic processes, including temperature control. So if your thyroid hormones are low, your body literally has not got enough fuel to keep you going and to keep you at a normal temperature, hence you are feeling cold. This is why many people feel tired as well, as they just don't have their usual energy levels. And for this and other reasons, you need an appropriate replacement of your thyroid hormones, in order for your metabolism to get up to speed again.

At the beginning of your therapy, you can have that feeling quite a lot, as your body slowly gets used to the small increases in hormones (usually 25mcg at a time), but they usually get used up quickly for important processes in your body (lipid and glucose metabolism, heart contractility etc.) and these will be prioritised over your temperature, until you reach your full replacement dose (generally 1.6 mcg levothyroxine per kg of bodyweight).

So when you start your therapy, bear with it and just try to keep warm (I know it is tricky with the temperatures we have at present 🥶), but it will get better and once you are on your full replacement dose, this should resolve.