Never felt so cold

[Davesugar]

Hi everyone :lol: Im a newbie here diagnosed earlier this year with diabetes 2.

Ive always been warm blooded so Id be turning the heating down going round opening windows & sometimes being used to warm the wifes cold feet !
After being diagnosed I started regular excercise 3 x 1hr sessions a week in a local gym & recently Ive been prescribed Gliclazide.
I have noticed my feet are like ice recently & my legs cold then chest upwards warm & after being at the gym cold sweats, just wondered if anyone else has experienced anything similar to this or has any ideas why this has happened ?

 

[jallsop]

Exactly the same thing! I actually had surgery nearly 30 years ago because of excessive sweating. It was so bad I became salt deprived. I still used to body sweat even in the middle of winter. However, since my diabetes diagnosis 2 years ago I am like a block of ice all the time. Heating on all the time and now it is my poor son and husband doing the sweating!!

Jackie

 

[brianb]

Have you had your thyroid levels checked. Im suffering the same, was always very hot but now freezing + lots of tiredness, just waiting for results of thyroid test.

They say thyroid problems and diabetes go hand in hand, may be worth checking out

Brian

 

[hanadr]

I'm always freezing. I do 2 sessions of water exercises perweek and end up shivering at the end of each session. I also do a couple of hard walks each week and sometimes I may even get warmed up after 1/2 an hour uphill. I'm Ok at the moment, because wearing pure wool trousers and jumper.

 

[Cameraman]

If your always cold try the Snugpak range of clothing. I was nearly 29 in the Army and used this kit extensivly in particular the sleeka jacket. Lb for Lb, oz for oz its the warmest clothing i've ever come accross and not that expensive for the quality. My jacket for example cost around £40 is about 12 years old and as good as new, packs about the size of two of my fists and weighs about the same

 

[totsy]

Hya,
as for the thyroid,ive had an underactive thyroid 12 yrs and have never felt warm since,even in summer im always wearing a cardy,all the autoimmune disorders can go hand in hand im afraid,my endo says my diabetes comes from the probs with my thyroid as noone else in my family has diabetes it seems a possibility,hope youre thyroid test is ok,but if not its easily managed with thyroxine

 

[999sugarbabe]

Hi Dave,
I too have the same. Never felt the cold before, now I''m diabetic I do.
I think it must go with the territory!

 

[hanadr]

I have a limited pension, so £40 for a jacket would be a rare treat. I find treasure in the charity shops. you'd be amazed at the amount of expensive Brand New stuff that turns up I am wearing some luxury pure wool trousers at the monet that I paid £4.55 for last week and I estimate the donor paid at least£100. My Merino wool jumperwas a TK MAxx find. If you don't have a lot of money, You need to be clever. I walk quite seriously and even found my Genuine Craghoppers Kiwi trousers in the local "Sue Ryder". Brand new. some people have more money than sense, which I benefit from

 

[Davesugar]

Its good to hear Im not alone troble is while my toes are like ice my head & upper torso is boiling, Im really not sure if it's the diabettes or the meds for it that are doing this, my energy is so low today & my mood not so much low as it has to be scraped of the floor
I may as well add I suffer with depression & severe anxiety.....I think God was havin a laff when he made me

 

[Cameraman]

I have a limited pension, so £40 for a jacket would be a rare treat.

Try Army surplus stores, they often come up second hand for little money. Snugpak softies are "unofficial" Army wear and almost every Soldier buys one nowadays for comfort and warmth. When skint they sell them on.

 

[witan]

Hi Dave,

Like you I was diagnosed only a few months ago and am on Gliclazide and Metformin (Ramipril and Aspirin too).

I suffered from cold feet and hot body long before diagnosis and suspect it was an early warning sign that was ignored. I was on business in the dusty heat of Cairo when it first became apparent that my feet were still cold!

After diagnosis I was wondering if this was the start of peripheral neuropathy? Although as it is most noticable when lying down or with the feet up, I reckon some sort of diabetic circulation problem is more likely (although my blood pressure has always been high).

I have another theory though, based on the body's automatic 'survival mode'.

We rightly monitor and control BG levels as these cause the long term damage, but the lack of insulin (or effective insulin) can become a threat to the well being of the body in the shorter term - no insulin = no energy available = problems for heart, brain, breathing etc.

I can not believe that the body does not have a self protecting mechanism where the depleting levels of insulin (or effective insulin) are reserved for the brain and critical organs. You become tired so the last useful insulin is not wasted on physical activity but is available to keep vital organs functioning.

I know this tiredness was for me more than just sleepiness, it was a lethargy that completeley de-motivates you from doing even things you enjoy, which can only be the body protecting the vital functions by limiting activity. I'd say that even higher mental functions get impaired as the brain has to use all available energy for the autonomus functions like breathing etc.

The same can probably be said for the circulation and body temperature control around peripheral areas - your heart, lungs, liver, kidneys and head will always be warm, hand, feet, legs and arms can all be de-emphasised in survival mode.

It's just a theory, but for me the sudden on-set of the tiredness was almost as if a threshold had been exceeded and the body was shutting down to preserve itself. Shame it doesn't switch back as quickly

My feet are still cold after nearly three months of medication and a month of better BG control, but the tiredness is finally a little less and the 'fog' around those higher brain functions is clearing, so I remain hopeful of having warm feet again soon

 

[sugarless sue]

I've had cold hands and feet probably from birth!!
The menopause years kept me warm and snuggly but now I'm frozen half the time.Maybe it is the diabetes.

 

[Trinkwasser]

How curious, the opposite happened to me.

Well almost the opposite, I always used to have a "lag" in the system where if I went from warm to cold I would really get cold until my body finally caught up, especially the peripheral circulation would shut down and I'd get it in my fingers toes and nose, and likewise when I went from cold to hot I would sweat and steam profusely.

In the last few years I noticed this no longer seems to occur, my body now responds properly to temperature changes.

Both thyroid and circulation issues are things worth checking out if you suffer from the cold especially in the ends of your limbs. However some people just seem to do this, and others like my ex-wife are warm no matter what <jealous>

 

[goji]

Hi Dave

Definitely get your thyroid checked. Even with diabetes for ten years I was always hot blooded and needed to sleep with windows open, fans blowing etc.

Since diagnosis with thyroid disease I have permanently freezing cold feet and hands! The only thing that helps is microwaveable boots from Lakeland (sadly they're pink and furry so might not look so hot on a bloke :lol: )

Also you mention low mood, no energy and anxiety/depression as issues - these can all be caused by thyroid disease and it is more common in diabetics than in the general population. Type 2's are advised by the BTA to have a thyroid function test on diagnosis with diabetes so you could ask your GP.

Hope you're doing okay.

 

[Davesugar]

Thanks everyone for replying, my Dr did mumble something about thyroid but the results came back OK, Sue my wife must be of the same age I guess & her side of the bed is like a little furnace sometimes.
An Uncle of similar build to me was diabetic, (he was my hero when I was a kid, later when working for an engineering company I had dealings with him & he could be a right nasty piece of work) sorry just rambling .....look forward to chatting more with you all

 

[Jem]

as a kid I was always told I had "hot little hands" (read: sweaty paws that no-one wanted to hold!)

I have always had cold feet ... straight out of the sauna my feet are still cold ... no reynauds and thyroid "aparently" checks out ok although has been borderline for many years

for the last few years I have suffered with extremes of temperature (I consider myself hot blooded (HAH!!) but tend to feel the cold more easily than my husband YET I still wear fewer layers because I hate being too hot - maybe I'm just weird and don't know what I want (surely not!! a woman?? haha) ...

anyhow, feel free to ramble ... they say exercise is good at lowering bgs, and erm - rambling is good

x