Always freezing - could it be my thyroid?

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I am always cold, the cold just gets into my bones and I never seem to warm up. Right now I am wearing a long sleeved thermal vest, long sleeved t shirt, cashmere jumper, cashmere cardigan, wrist warmers, opaque tights, socks, jeans and shoes. I am sitting in a room with the central heating in full blast and I still feel shivery and my hands are cold to the touch.

It seriously impacts on my life from October - April. Even in the amazing summer we just had I had to wear a cardigan to keep warm.

I had my thyroid tested a couple of years ago, but nothing showed up. There is a family history though. My granny, aunt and mum all had or have thyroid issues.

I am taking dd to the gp later, should I ask for another blood test?

I'm the same but it seems it's anaemia in my case, I'd ask for bloodwork if I were you

i was tested for very same and my thyroid came back in the normal range. I am so nesh, last night had a hot water bottle and blanket while watching tv and the room wasn't cold as my DH was sat there in his shorts! Maybe go for the test and get checked

Dotty, did increasing your iron make a difference?

Vicki, it's such a pain isn't it? My dc are wandering around in t shirts. They take it in turns to hug me to warm me up!

I think I will ask for blood tests just in case

Def get blood done. My iron is low and thyroid borderline. GP says iron most likely cause of being cold. My entire life I have had people ask me if I am not staying cos I never take my jacket off. Its horrible being cold. I get very bad tempered . One GP told me it was because I was thin. Exercise warms me up though.

Well taking iron DID help I think, but it was when the weather was warmer (was diagnosed mid June and took iron until the end of August), but the GP told me to stop taking the tablets....my levels had gone back to within the normal range and he wants to test again after 3 months to see if they have dropped. I'm FREEZING again now, am due to have bloods done at the end of this month so we shall see (had thyroid testing and was all "within range".....)

Ghost, have you been given any medication for your thyroid? I know from reading here it can be difficult to get right, but if you are borderline surely it's worth trying to see if meds would help?

Being cold makes me grumpy too, takes all the joy out of life. I've been freezing for decades now, getting fed up with it.

Usually there are other symptoms like weight gain so I was told. Does this apply to you OP?

I have been borderline since my first test 4 or 5 years ago. No medication though. I do take iron occasionally to get my levels back up but tbh I never notice any difference. I used to be very energetic. I am very tired these days (years really) I have been cold for as long as I can remember. people don't realise how miserable it is. DH does cos when I am very cold and can't get away from it I become a different person

I have been anaemic in the past, but I find iron really upsets my stomach. Will eat more steak and spinach! Good reminder to exercise too, I don't do enough.

No weight gain, but I do get tired very easily. My blood pressure is v low too, but always has been.

Sorry to hear that you are all suffering like this too. I know that in the greater scheme of things there are far worse problems to have, it's still annoying though!

Some GPs are not actually all that up to speed when it comes to detecting potential thyroid gland problems

I would look at this website:-

www.thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/index.html

The blood test for thyroid problems is called a Thyroid Function Test. The most usual tests are:

TSH, TT4 AND FT4
There is a range, which is used for the tests. These vary sometimes which is why you must always ask what the range is, so that you can see where you are in the range.

TSH = THYROID STIMULATING HORMONE
This hormone comes from the pituitary to stimulate the thyroid gland into making more hormone. TSH rises when the thyroid is struggling.
The approx. reference range for this test is 0.4 to 4.5.

TT4 = TOTAL T4
Thyroid hormones bound to proteins. TT4 lowers when the thyroid is struggling.
The approx. reference range for this test is 50 to 160.

FT4 = FREE T4
Thyroid hormones not bound to proteins. FT4 lowers when the thyroid is struggling.
The approx. reference range for this test is 10 to 24

FT3 = FREE T3
T4 converts to T3 and is the only thyroid hormone actually used by the body's cells.
The approx. reference range for Free T3 is 4 to 8.3

We at Thyroid UK believe that you need to know your Free T3 level too because this will often show low if you are not converting, and high if you have blocked receptor cells. Even if you are converting, the body needs the extra T3 that a normal thyroid produces. There has been some research to show that people feel better on a mixture of Thyroxine (T4) and Triiodothyronine (T3). Effects of Thyroxine as Compared with Thyroxine plus Triiodothyronine in patients with hypothyroidism – The New England Journal of Medicine Feb.11, 99 Vol. 340. (Click here for this article).

With all of these tests, your results could be anywhere within the range and you would be classed as "normal". If you are at the very edge of the range, either at the bottom or at the top, you could be classed as "borderline". Neither you nor your doctor truly knows what your normal is, if you did not have a blood test done before you became ill. There are also particular reasons why the blood tests remain in the normal range. If you are not converting from T4 to T3 or if your cells are not taking up the T3 normally, your T4 levels and your TSH levels will still show as normal.

The Broda Barnes Foundation tell us "Dr Barnes found that the primary reason for the inaccuracy of the blood tests for thyroid function is that the thyroid hormones are not utilized in the blood, but are utilized intracellularly. Therefore a patient can have enough thyroid hormones circulating in the blood to give a "normal" reading, but if the hormones are not getting into the cells, the patient will be hypothyroid.

Also, there is a problem of low blood volume in hypothyroid patients. This means that any blood test value will appear higher than it actually is because the patient has a lower than normal blood volume. In many patients with "normal" or "high" thyroid blood levels, but many clinical symptoms, the patient's blood levels actually drop lower once the patient is given thyroid hormones simply because their blood volume increases

I get bloody cold, always have done, I also have under active thyroid.

BUT my mother also gets very cold and her thyroid is fine. And I am on medication to correct my thyroid and I still get cold.

So there may be no link.

I think being fit helps a lot with keeping warm. My mum and I are both slim but from a cardio point of view we are unfit (get exhausted running for a bus) I am sure this doesn't help.

I'm always freezing and have weight problems , hair falling out bad and terribly dry skin along with depression and anxiety. I've been boderline thyroid for 7
Years how can I get GP
To listen ? :(