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Anybody got problems with low body temperature?

VeganMonkey

Senior Member
Messages
130
Location
Australia
Mine is 36.5 degrees Celsius on average, sometimes lower. My doctor told me it is a symptom of POTS (body has problems with regulation)
That's why I find it very hard to keep warm and I tend to 'hibernate' in winter. I can sleep up to 16 a day. Or in really bad cases I have had times where I slept 48 hours in a row. But that's extreme.

Is there any literature on low body temperature and causes and what it does to the body?
 

Ema

Senior Member
Messages
4,729
Location
Midwest USA
It's more a symptom of hypothyroidism than of POTS and is usually easily remedied with thyroid replacement. It's important to test the levels of free thyroid hormones as well as the TSH.

Here are some good websites:

stopthethyroidmadness.com

Nahypothyroidism.org
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
my temp most of the time is under 36c and if it does go above 36c is only like .1 or .2. It use to hover around 35c but since treating adrenals with dhea/pregnenolone this has increased my temp to just under 36 to just over and generally helped some with cfs/me energy etc. i think its all from hypothalmic dysregulation that causes further adrenal and circadian rhythym dysregulation has alot to do with body temps as well as our sleep and wake cycles. Thyroid can test normal in us but doesnt work properly if adrenal dysfunction is present.

Keep those ug boots handy:thumbsup:
 

VeganMonkey

Senior Member
Messages
130
Location
Australia
I had that all tested several times and even been part of a thyroid experiment to see if treatment could cure me. Lots of others got better, but I was one of the few that didn't. I spend most of my days under a doona, so that helps. And cats on top to keep my feet warm :) for very cold days I have an electric throw.
 

golden

Senior Member
Messages
1,831
Stop the Thyroid Madness is a Dr Barry Petefield link I think.

He had to relinquish his registration because patients who were showing all the signs and symptoms of thyroid dysfunction but were showing ok on blood tests, he was still prescribing thyroid medication and they were getting better.

Thyroid problems are very similar to M.E. symptoms.

The basal temperature can be a marker of thyroid problems, taken on day two to day five of menstruation morning and night.

Poor Adrenal function is poorly diagnosed and can stop thyroid medication working properly and also, he says, the synthetic versions often don't work for people and recommends, i think its pig thyroid.

The body can always convert T4 into T3 - and quite often tests only test T4. A full panel thyroid including reverse T3 is needed.

Finally - this is the last bit of information i have mopped up so far when trying to understand this - the reference ranges in the UK are bonkers - really wide.... The USA has it more accurate I am told. I don't know about Australia!!

I am mentioning this as even though you participated in the experiment - there may have been things missed.

My basal temperature was 35.1 ish for a long time . My body temp and basal temp are mostly 36 . something these days which is so much better :)

Thank God for Cats!!! :) Their loud purrs vibrating through my body, their 'kneading' of their paws keeping my blood flowing and the occasional injection of their sharp claws has kept me alive over the years ... ha ha
 

Shell

Senior Member
Messages
477
Location
England
I'm another one with chronically low temp 36.1 C usually. Back in the Summer when a couple of infections caused me to have seizures the medics were a bit thrown by the fact my temp was only 37.8 which to them didn't seem like much of a fever to produce the result. But for me that was quite high.

I took high doses of ...can't remember...something natural high in iodine to boost my temp believing it was thyroid induced and that worked for a while. TSH is 3.25 which the docs say is fine, but I'm under the impression that 1.5 would be healthy.(Can't remember why I think that - very fluff-n-fog today sorry).

I am constantly cold and wrapped in extra layers. Not helped by the Spring snow fall here at the mo. But if I get too hot it all goes to the wall as well.
Also have terrible Raynauds
 

maryb

iherb code TAK122
Messages
3,602
Location
UK
Mine ranges between 35.1C and 35.8C - this morning was 35.4C - If I reached 36C I'd think I'd won the lottery!! My TSH was 4 - doc says fine......
 

golden

Senior Member
Messages
1,831
http://www.well-women.com/stories.html

Nurse mis-diagnosed 6x including M.E. wheelchair bound sees Dr Barry Petefield, even though her thyroid blood tests showed normal- she fully recovered on thyroid medication!

I am not following this line of treatment but its another good success story for M.E.

Dr Petefield claims there will be a percentage of M.E. patients in a similar situation. :)
 

VeganMonkey

Senior Member
Messages
130
Location
Australia
Do you guys feel cold easily or do you feel the opposite? I get cold very easily and need warm weather to feel better. Winters are no fun. Of course I put on layers to feel warm and it helps to a certain extend but it's very uncomfortable to wear thick coats and sweaters. So I prefer summers (lucky for me it's going to be a real hot day tomorrow here and its not even summer anymore)

[quote="golden, post: 343502, member: 9948]
Thank God for Cats!!! :) Their loud purrs vibrating through my body, their 'kneading' of their paws keeping my blood flowing and the occasional injection of their sharp claws has kept me alive over the years ... ha ha[/quote]

They are very useful hehe, mine are always with me when I feel ill, they keep me warm :)
 

VeganMonkey

Senior Member
Messages
130
Location
Australia
Golden, when I was part of that test the specialist that did that had as theory that some people's thyroid levels are normal, but their bodies need more, so if you treat them with hormones they get better. Many people in the trial I was part of got better. For me it was not the case. The trial made me extremely ill. I was part of that for quite a long time.

I have other things that cause the CFS (I wouldn't call what I have ME as I didn't have a viral infection that caused it, if that makes sense :) ) so it makes sense that it didn't work. But that was only years later I found out.
 

Plum

Senior Member
Messages
512
Location
UK
It's important to look at functional blood test ranges. When your dr looks at his ranges he is looking for disease. Functional ranges look at your thyroid not working properly but not so bad as to cause serious disease. This book explains a lot of this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Still-Thyro...0402/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1364219185&sr=8-1

I found when I was on the Paleo diet (low carb) that my body temp was very low 35.1 'C. When I included potatoes twice a day it's now more around 36 'C on average.
 

Ema

Senior Member
Messages
4,729
Location
Midwest USA
Mine ranges between 35.1C and 35.8C - this morning was 35.4C - If I reached 36C I'd think I'd won the lottery!! My TSH was 4 - doc says fine......
Unfortunately, it looks like your doctor is using an antiquated range. The current range recommended by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (a VERY conservative organization) is 0.3-3. So your TSH actually does indicate hypothyroidism by this standard and could possibly benefit from treatment.

A better measure, however, would be to look at your level of free thyroid hormones - FT4 and FT3 - because that shows exactly what you have to work with and can indicate how well conversion is working in your body.

I encourage you to investigate this further! Chemical reactions in the body are dependent on functioning enzymes. And as any first year chemistry student knows, enzymes are nothing if not temperature dependent. This means that crucial metabolic processes may not work well in sub-optimal temperature states.

Ema
 

Ema

Senior Member
Messages
4,729
Location
Midwest USA
I have been thyroid tested recently, all fine :)

Yes I thought it was common for ME/CFS.
There is a big difference between "fine" and "optimal" especially considering typical doctors only test the TSH. Further the ranges are too wide and miss many people, especially those like us that may have subclinical hypothyroidism due to HPA axis dysfunction. Endocrinologists aren't accustomed to looking for this type of thyroid dysfunction for the most part.

I encourage you to read the links and understand how this relatively simple diagnosis may have been missed. No sense suffering with the cold if you don't have to!

Ema
 

golden

Senior Member
Messages
1,831
VeganMonkey,

When I re-read my post instead of seeing:

'my cats loud PURRS vibrating through me'

i mis-read it as:

'my cats loud PRAYERS vibrating through me' ....

but then I thought.... Same thing!! :)
 

golden

Senior Member
Messages
1,831
Just refreshing relevant info:

Dr Myhill uses reference ranges of:

T4 : 12-22
TSH : 0.27 - 4.2

In America the TSH is anyone above 3.0!!!!

I think the preference would be to get TSH below 1.


In 2006 my TSH was 6.93

T4: 17.7

In 2011 my TSH was 4.97
My T4: 14.4

In 2012 my TSH: 6.69
T4: 13.2


They won't do a fill panel or see if i can convert T4 into T3 etc.

Also they won't address any adrenal fatigue issues even though my blood pressure drops when I stand up etc.


:)
 

golden

Senior Member
Messages
1,831
There is a big difference between "fine" and "optimal" especially considering typical doctors only test the TSH. Further the ranges are too wide and miss many people, especially those like us that may have subclinical hypothyroidism due to HPA axis dysfunction. Endocrinologists aren't accustomed to looking for this type of thyroid dysfunction for the most part.

I encourage you to read the links and understand how this relatively simple diagnosis may have been missed. No sense suffering with the cold if you don't have to!


Ema


Could you tell me what is HPA axis dysfunction please?
 

Zensational

Senior Member
Messages
139
Location
Orlando, Florida
My temp runs around 96-97 degrees. I've had it as low as 95. My last TSH was 3.19.

Dr. Mercola says that the TSH reading is not accurate and that if your TSH is over 1.5 that you are likely hypothyroid even though you are well within the lab reference range.:cry:
This is a really informative video on hypothyroidism and iodine.

I am fairly certain that I am hypothyroid and am currently looking into iodine deficiency, B12 deficiency, and ferritin deficiency.

Dr. Mercola recommends SSKI potassius iodide that is a prescription med in drop form that can be rubbed into the skin daily.
I'd like to know if anyone has experience with this medicine. There is also Nascent Iodine and Detoxified Iodine. I'm still researching the difference between these two.
 

Ema

Senior Member
Messages
4,729
Location
Midwest USA
Could you tell me what is HPA axis dysfunction please?
Hypothalamus Pituitary Adrenal axis.

Though I suppose in this case it would be more appropriate to refer to HPT axis dysfunction because we are talking about the thyroid.

How about just calling it HP axis dysfunction? The brain isn't giving the appropriate signals to the target organs.

Ema