A thread for anyone who feels the cold!

[TheChosenTwo]

I’m permanently cold, always have felt the cold and can’t see that changing.
But other than dressing like the Michelin man every day in 23 layers does anyone have helpful tips of what they’re wearing to keep warm?
I appreciate lots of people don’t think it’s cold yet, fair enough, but I do and I’m struggling in the office mainly. Luckily we don’t have to be smart!
today I had thermal leggings (fleece lined, M&S) and a thermal long sleeved top (Uniqlo heat tech, absolutely shit, bought loads of it last year and will never buy it again!). Thermal socks and normal ones over the top. Trousers, a shirt and a wool jumper over the top of that and still my hands were frozen!
What am I missing?!

Even if the appointment is 4 weeks away it’s worth it surely?

It’s normal for me. I’ve had all the tests. I feel the cold really badly.

I still get cold in those tops

To be so cold indoors in a mild September that you are struggling to do your job properly? They might not have found anything yet but that definitely isn’t normal.

I'm similar - thyroid borderline but not under active enough to treat yet. For clothes I find cashmere to be the warmest fabric. I can't tolerate any other wool against my skin but even a light cashmere jumper is warmer than a thick synthetic hoodie. Wrist warmers for desk work as people have said - cashmere again, it's not cheap being cold! Sheepskin mittens for outdoors. Mittens are much warmer than gloves.

The game changers for me have not been clothes but rather things like heated shoe insoles, USB rechargeable hand warmers, heated blanket plugged in under my desk, special hot water bottle with a pouch to put feet in. I had USB heated fingerless gloves that plugged into the laptop. They just burned the back of my hands and it's my fingers that suffer most but you may be different. I work from home so when my hands get unbelievably cold I fill the bathroom sink with warm water and soak my hands for a few minutes.

I’ve found my big scarf, I had totally neglected my neck and it’s a good way to help keep me warm so thanks to everyone for reminding me about scarves! I think I just hadn’t considered it because no one else is wearing scarf yet.

and @Jk987 yes it is, I’m going to call them tomorrow after the slot for making an urgent appointment, i think it’s like after 11 or something like that but yes even a month down the line it’s fine - not like im going to magically warm up in the meantime.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow sorry you’re also a sufferer and that it’s totally normal for you. It’s just awfully debilitating I find. Not in a serious illness kind of way obviously, I’m just cold after all, but I get so cold (mostly hands when I’m at work) that I struggle to concentrate and can barely use my hands which isn’t very conducive to, well you know, working!

@Wheech when I wfh I’m not so bad as I have the heating on and can layer up as much as I want under my joggers and sweatshirt and also have my electric blanket over me. Plus I can get up and change according to temperature! It’s when I’m going to work that I really struggle as mostly people are understandably not freezing and I understand that putting the heating up makes others too hot and uncomfortable.

I used to teach DT and art.

My hands would be so cold l couldn’t do demonstrations. I used to wear so many layers in that freezing room, but still the cold crept in.

Wrists, ankles, nose. Any gap in clothed and it would creep in.

I find it debilitating too. People just get annoyed with you. But l get too cold to function.

It’s not mild though. It’s been cold round here.

I hear you. I worked in an office once where the air con was so fierce I had to wear my winter coat all day every day and was still freezing. Some of the men were fine in just a shirt. My last office job was in a building with lots of floors and when the cold got too much I'd do a brisk walk up 10 flights of stairs and back down. Even if you don't have that option, getting moving can really help.

Yes I don’t want to piss people off anymore than I already must do by bleating on about the cold! My colleagues are all genuinely lovely but most of them are baffled that I get so cold when it’s not cold to them at all. My nose too does get incredibly cold!!
the idea of an exposed ankle makes me shudder and I can barely believe that younger me would leave the house dressed in so few clothes for a night out - these days I’m covered head to toe multiple times 😂
walking up and down the stairs a few times is a good idea, I could feasibly do that and also incorporate a few ‘doing jobs’ in to my work day to get me moving more.
I do feel like it’s worse because I’m just sitting working. I got home this evening and although my house is warmer than the office I was also busy doing stuff most of the evening and even removed the top layer of all my clothing.

It's 13 degrees here, damp in the way that gets into your bones and blowing a hoolie. Not exactly mild.

But I find it hard to understand the hoards of MNers who are wilting when the temperature exceeds 25 degrees. I feel so alive at those temps and higher. We are all different.

See the doctor.
One of the effects of my longstanding and normally well-controlled atrial fibrillation is that when it kicks off I start to feel cold, even on relatively warm days.

Have a high protein breakfast. Seriously high protein- like a chicken breast! I know it’s a weird thing to eat for breakfast.

Trust me it makes a difference!

Agreed. I feel the cold badly. I have had blood tests and for one week of the month some of the coldness I feel is probably the low iron I experience around my period, but aside from that there’s no health issues.

Everyone who works with me in an office knows me as that one who is always cold. It’s not always a health issue and yes exactly we are all different!

That said I was initially mildly surprised the OP is feeling it so badly already and I’m not since I am usually the first in any given group to feel the cold lol but then when I think about it that could be because I WFH most days that I’m alright !

The last few times I’ve been in the office was during spring/summer on quite warm days, so I can’t remember quite what it’s like in colder months. I only go in once or twice every couple of months.

When I used to work in schools and offices full time I remember wearing a jacket and
scarf indoors from Sept/October onwards until the heat came back in during spring. Then when I worked in a fancy office in central London I used to wear my jacket in summer too since they blasted the aircon haha

I am with you. I don’t wear synthetic thermals. Ever. That “wick your sweat away” means to me “wick your body heat away”. It’s merino against the skin for me. Then a wool turtleneck and often a scarf and then a coat if I am out of a large fleece that covers my bum if I’m around the house. But I’m in Australia where houses aren’t built for cold weather and our house gets very chilly.

I eventually crocheted myself a headband to cover my ears. I was amazed how much warmer I felt.

Decent shoes. At home where we don’t have carpet, I will often put down a folded blanket to keep my feet off the floor even if I’m wearing my fuzzy socks. I don’t need to if I wear my Ugg boots.

I don’t wear them either. They make me feel colder. Thermal synthetic socks just leave your feet cold.

Unfirtunateky I’m allergic it wool so have to buy silk😡Uniqlo used to do cotton thermal vests but l haven’t seen any this year.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow I think there’s bamboo stuff around but I’ve never tried it.

For cold hands, I use cashmere wrist warmers. They bridge the gap between sleeves and fingers, leaving fingers free for keyboard work. Not so useful if you’re a chef! I have a battery heated soft fleece scarf, and battery heated gilet too.

Bamboo is just posh viscose though. And that makes me itch.

Is it? That's news to me!

Oh, being in the style and beauty I thought this will be a thread about how to be all stylish but still dress warm. I see that’s not going to ever happen, it’s just layers and layers and electric blankets.
I will again save lots of money by not buying good looking clothes that I wouldn’t be able to wear because I’m too freezing cold. 😁
OP, can you plug in an electric blanket at work. I don’t retain body heat at all when I don’t move, those things are a life changer for me. I put it on my lap or on my shoulder.

Yeah it is.

I used to teach Textile Science. It really is posh viscose. Just made from bamboo instead of trees.

Joining the See a GP! chorus. (I see you’ve said you’ll book an appointment.)

I remember begging for blankets on a flight back from the Caribbean, and spending a boiling UK summer shivering under a duvet. Eventually dragged myself to the GP, who, on examining me and hearing my symptoms, himself turned pale. He took my blood, then ordered me to go home carefully, rest, and await further instructions. That evening an ambulance arrived to take me to hospital for a blood transfusion. I had anaemia so severe consultants were popping into the ward to gaze at The Woman Who Should Be Dead.

🤷‍♀️

I’ve been like this all my life though.