If you have Cold Hands & Cold Feet, what helps?

[livingwithcfids]

If you have had any degree of success with a supplement or medicine to help with cold hands or feet, please share. My doctor is stumped and I favor experience and anecdotal testimony as opposed to plain information online. This is an incredibly frustrating symptom that appears out of the blue, so I would greatly appreciate any suggestions.

 

[urbantravels]

(1) Application of external heat is a lot more direct and efficient than any other method I know. I swear my my electric mattress pad on the bed, electric throw on the couch. And I live in Los Angeles! There are also heated mittens and the like that they sell for sportsmen, stadium use, etc.

(2) For the overall chills, I found I had less trouble with them once I was diagnosed with POTS and treated with beta-blockers. From Peter Rowe's talk at the State of the Knowledge conference, I gathered that constantly feeling cold could be one of the symptoms of POTS, owing to the system being flooded with stress hormones. Essentially similar to what happens when you go into shock. Beta-blockers seem to reduce this feedback loop for me - I still feel cold a lot, but it's not quite as severe as it was when my POTS was untreated.

 

[dannybex]

(1) Application of external heat is a lot more direct and efficient than any other method I know. I swear my my electric mattress pad on the bed, electric throw on the couch. And I live in Los Angeles! There are also heated mittens and the like that they sell for sportsmen, stadium use, etc.

(2) For the overall chills, I found I had less trouble with them once I was diagnosed with POTS and treated with beta-blockers. From Peter Rowe's talk at the State of the Knowledge conference, I gathered that constantly feeling cold could be one of the symptoms of POTS, owing to the system being flooded with stress hormones. Essentially similar to what happens when you go into shock. Beta-blockers seem to reduce this feedback loop for me - I still feel cold a lot, but it's not quite as severe as it was when my POTS was untreated.

I'm not a doctor of course, but after a very stressful year (let alone 13 years), my feet are almost always cold, until mid to late evening, or if I'm distracted by something pleasing or funny. Had a 24 hour salivary cortisol test done a few months ago -- came back very low in the am (the opposite of normal), then it shoots up high at noon, then comes down a bit to a more almost normal levels later in the afternoon and at midnight. Another test more recently suggested I'm in adrenal burnout, which is no surprise.

STRESS (especially prolonged, intense stress)...excess (and then eventually low) CORTISOL...might be causing your cold hands, cold feet...not to mention poor immune function, poor digestion, poor fill in the blank___________.

 

[Gavman]

hi living,

I've tried iron, b12 etc for red blood cells. What works the best for me is a good zinc supplement. Warms my blood quite effectively!

cheers,
Gavin

 

[livingwithcfids]

Me: I get extremely cold and stay cold, especially my extremities.
Doctor: Do you smoke?
Me: No...why?
Doctor: Because most of my heavy smokers complain of cold hands and feet.



FYI: I don't smoke and have never smoked. How bizarre. Somebody needs to find an answer for this illness.

 

[taniaaust1]

The only thing I found to help the cold hands and feet I used to get was to apply external warmth to them. Warm then and then insulate them (eg gloves) while they are still warm (to help them stay warm for a bit longer).

 

[Emootje]

Grape Seed Extract or Pycnogenol could work by increasing nitric oxide (vasodilator) and lowering endothelin-1 (vasoconstrictor).

 

[coldhands]

I'm not a doctor of course, but after a very stressful year (let alone 13 years), my feet are almost always cold, until mid to late evening, or if I'm distracted by something pleasing or funny. Had a 24 hour salivary cortisol test done a few months ago -- came back very low in the am (the opposite of normal), then it shoots up high at noon, then comes down a bit to a more almost normal levels later in the afternoon and at midnight. Another test more recently suggested I'm in adrenal burnout, which is no surprise.

STRESS (especially prolonged, intense stress)...excess (and then eventually low) CORTISOL...might be causing your cold hands, cold feet...not to mention poor immune function, poor digestion, poor fill in the blank___________.

Hi,

If you don't mind me asking, what is your daily eating routine? Have you considered this to be the cause of your fluctuating cortisol levels?

 

[Calathea]

My extremities have always been a bit chilly, though not so bad of recent years. Then I started losing weight (deliberately) and getting cold due to that, so I started taking 500mg ginger capsules once or twice a day. It's doing a good job of warming me up generally. Apart from that, the usual: heat pad, extra socks, nice warm bedding, and those fabulous boot slippers which are lined with fake fur for when I'm out of bed.

 

[Sallysblooms]

Astragalus is good for many things. I take it daily. It is good for circulation and helps many with cold hands and feet. You have to look into all reasons you might be cold and then take supplements that help.

 

[Whit]

My feet are constantly cold. I got a heating pad and I put that on my bed and rest my feet on top of it. It's just enough heat input that it allows my feet to stay warm. I also got down booties from REI. They're 35 dollars and they are super warm. I wear them all day every day. And I used to wear them at night too, but I dont find I need to anymore. I'd recommend those.

 

[Whit]

Here's a link to the Down Booties

Men's

Women's

 

[livingwithcfids]

nice! REI has some good deals from time to time. But I want to get to the root cause of my cold hands and feet not just warm them up with heat or insulated boots. I sincerely do appreciate the thought and thanks for the link, the duck down seems nice (I've had goose down jackets in the past)

 

[urbantravels]

The "root cause" being, most likely, the disease, I think the application of heat is probably the best we're going to be able to do for the time being.

I'd be desperate without my heated mattress pad - when I'm especially exhausted and chilled, piling extra insulation on top of me just doesn't get the job done. I also find the heated mattress pad or an electric blanket helps a lot with myalgias (muscle aches.)

One of the hellish things about ME/CFS is that your core body temperature tends to drop when you are over-exerted, exhausted or crashed (this is one of the findings from the Pacific Fatigue Lab). In a way it's comparable to what happens when someone goes into shock, and piling on blankets is standard first aid for shock. I really hate the double bind of being outside somewhere and wanting to rush so that I can get inside where it's warm, but knowing that the more I rush, the colder I'll get.

 

[ukme]

Salted water can help you if you have low BP/adrenal issues.

 

[Healthy Someday]

Supplementing with Cortisol has helped my hands and feet. The prescription hydrocortisone is too strong for me so I just take Isocort, a little bit as I need it. Too much will make me tachy. I buy it on Amazon. It is a plant-based Cortisol and is gentler than the RX stuff. It also helps with regulate my blood sugar so I don't feel shaky and it also helps with fatigue.

 

[Gavman]

Hypothyroid seems a common finding.. my doctor was telling me how its much more common now so that they lowered the average t3, t4 on the tests.

 

[triffid113]

Raynaud's causes cold hands and feet and that is according to my Dad's doc "an inflammation of the blood vessels" which diabetics get (but you do not need to be diabetic to get it. I get it whenever I am hungry - low blood sugar causs it for me. Because I no longer make enough HCL: for my stomach to growl so don't realize I'm hungry until I'm cold. It is inflammation which is bad for you. I suggest the trace elements that diabetics need such as chromium, vanadium, zinc, and niacinamide. I do not always get this as I take a lot of supplements...when I start getting this I just up the blood sugar trace elements and go my way...

but of course the simpler cause is anemia. I have been anemic most of my life...we women have employed desk heaters at work in self defense.