Question:
Being Cold all the time since surgery
I am wondering if its just me or has anyone else had this problem, before surgery I was always hot natured now I am cold all the time, AND I mean cold I am not running a temp and I am 5 days postop and I am pretty sure I am getting in all my water.......can anyone tell me why I am feeling like this — Tammy 'Buckley McCool (posted on April 7, 2003)
April 7, 2003
It happens to most of us. your body is adjusting to it's new way of life
and your losing the fat and fat cells that have insulated you before. I
also used to be sweating all the time even in the middle of winter now i am
cold a majority of the time.
— Tammy N.
April 7, 2003
I was the same way as you before surgery - always hot or at the very least,
warm. Well, guess what? Since surgery I haven't changed at all! Every
one says they are always cold and
I'm always hot! lol I was prepared to get the cold front and it has yet to show itself.
— Tracy A.
April 7, 2003
being cold a lot is also a sign of
low iron.
i started getting cold a lot,
putting sweaters on when the thinner people were taking them off. then i
got my blood work done and there was an iron problem.
— Jennifer S.
April 7, 2003
I was the same way immediately post op! I live in Alaska, and I rarely wore
a coat. When I left the hospital, I FROZE! I came home, turned the heat to
80, and slept in a COAT! I'm not kidding! I stayed cold for about a month. Now I am cold when the rest of the people in my
house are cold, and hot when they
are hot, so I must be regulating pretty accurately. At first though, I was
scared! Just hang in there, it gets better. Maybe it has something to do
with the anesthesia (can't spell that).
— Diana L.
April 7, 2003
I have been cold since the day of my
surgery !!! It finally started evening out in the past few weeks. I still
get cold at work and in some
resturants....but I am not cold all
the time like in the past 10 months. I will be 11 months on Sunday.
— Sharon H.
April 7, 2003
I am 11 months post-op and I am ALWAYS cold! My Iron is fine and all of my other
blood word is fine as well. I think it's just one of those things. I was
always sweaty before surgery and that is just plain GROSS so I will take
the cold feeling anytime!!
— pam29922
April 7, 2003
Not to confuse you but I was diagnosed as anemic due to low iron at my 10
day PO visit and I'm never cold so I
guess not everyone gets the same symptoms. It MAY be the case with you
that you have low iron but I have low iron and I'm certainly NEVER cold. I'm ALWAYS hot - even when it was
ZERO degrees outside.
— Tracy A.
April 8, 2003
4/08/03 I was always hot prior to surgery. I stay cold now. My iron level is fine but I
freee. I barley owned a coat before and know I keep a sweater with me
everywhere I go.
— Jeanettie S.
April 8, 2003
I asked my surgeon abouth this at my 1yr visit and he said it's natural and
that it won't get much better. I am now 17 months post-op and always have
a sweater with me as well as small heaters under my desk and next to my
bed. You get used to it and it does seem to get a little better as time
goes on.
— Rachel M.
April 8, 2003
This question remindes me of when i was in 6th grade and we were in science
class and watching about whales and the boy behind me said, so rachel, does
all your blubber keep you warm? I was so upset. Well, anyway, it does. I
thought i was cold post op because i
was on blood thinners for a month but i'm now 10 weeks post op and still
colder then the north pole. I had
my heat cranked up to 75 last night. Its so funny, cause my dh use to call
me a furnace at night now i try to snuggle him to keep warm. I dont think
it gets any better. Sorry.
— rachel W.
April 8, 2003
At 5 years post-op, I've accepted that I'll be cold for the rest of
my life. My surgeon assured me that my body would adjust to the fat loss
and I'd be back to normal by the third anniversary of my rny. well, I
celebrate 5 years soon and I'm still sensitive to the cold. I've learned to
adjust, I always carry a sweater or a shawl and I look like the Michelin
Man when
I go out...bundled up and layered from head to toe.
— mandy S.
April 8, 2003
One other thing to remember, your digestive system is typically one of the
biggest HEAT producers in the body. (Think about the energy it takes to
digest all the food we ate as a pre-op.) After your surgery you are not
consuming the same amount of food, and therefore are creating less heat
from inside as well as loosing the insulation (fat).
I know what you are going through. I was cold to the bone for at least a month
after surgery, but lately have been getting closer to normal. My hands are
still cold most of the time though.
— Kelly V.
April 8, 2003
While significant weight loss will likely re-set our internal thermometers,
at only 5 days post-op, I can't help but think that you may also be
experiencing the residual effects of anesthesia, pain-killers (morphine,
etc), and the surgery itself. I am 26 days post-op, and when I was still
in the hospital, my internal thermometer was all over the map - sweating
one minute, cold the next. While
that has now stopped, I'm also beginning to feel cold or on the verge of being cold, whereas pre-op I was always hot.
Needless to say, my office-mate is thrilled with this new development. :-p)
Robin
— rebalspirit
April 8, 2003
I know this may sound silly, but I noticed that for the first month, or so,
I was cold all of the time...then it
seemed to get better for a few weeks. Then around weeks 6-8 I was cold again...then I okay for about a week
again. Now, in the last few days I am freezing again. Well, the point of
my story here is that I noticed that when I am loosing weight quickly, I
tend to be sooooo cold and when I am
at a plateau, or slow down, I seem to be warmer...but never completely
normal. I don't know if anyone else has noticed a pattern but there sure
seems to be one for me! And for now, I just keep hoping for that cold spell!!!
— eaamc
April 9, 2003
Hi Tammy,
I know for me at 2 yrs post op I'm cold all the time. However, it's because
I've lost my insulation(fat). I'll take being cold(standing in front of the oven to warm
up)over being MO anytime. I just throw on another sweater.
Now, for 5 days post op I don't think it's the same thing. I agree it's
possible with the anesthesia and all but it can't hurt a call to the Dr. to
follow up.
— Linda M.
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