Posted by BarbaraCat on August 7, 2002, at 12:21:23
In reply to Re: Bipolar, chocolate thyroid, posted by cybercafe on August 7, 2002, at 0:34:35
Yes, extremity coldness is a sign of low internal body temp. You're more likely to feel on the body surface cause that's where the most nerves are. Or it could be due to any number of other causes, one of which may be stress. Cold extremities is a sign of an overamped sympathetic nervous system. When we're under stress, blood gets shunted away from the extremities and abdomen, and into the large muscles of the legs, preparing us for flight or fight. Another cause may be Reynaud's disease, but this is uncommon. It's characterized by fingers and toes that turn blue when exposed to cold, or bright red as result of autoimmune reaction. At any rate, most cold skin surface symptoms can be helped with deep breathing, as this helps oxygenate the blood.
The fact that you have so many hypothyroid symptoms should give your doc a better clue what to look for. If it were just cold extremities and skin, that would be one thing, but you also have depression, tiredness, dry hair, etc. It's hard to imagine what else it could be if not related to the thyroid or adrenals (but adrenals don't cause coldness). Do take your basal temp, if even for a few days. It will be informative one way or the other.
> > Re the basal temperature test, it's very common for hypothyroids to show up on it. It can pinpoint a hypothyroid condition even when all blood tests come back normal. In fact, you could take your temp during the day too (just stick it in your mouth rather than the armpit). If your temps are either high or low, it would make you feel bad. This would be good data for your doc as well.
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> you know what? ... it's not so much my body temperature that is cold as it is my extremities and exposed skin... is that different than basal temperature?
>
> thanks again for the info :)
poster:BarbaraCat
thread:111115
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020807/msgs/115557.html