does insulin make you cold?

[Lizzie G]

I have always been someone that is comfortable only within a narrow temperature range, i get cold really easily, and also incredibly hot. Sometimes I will be freezing, put on a sweater and the next thing I know Im actually sweating. I have always been like this, but since getting diabetes and taking insulin I could swear it's got a lot worse. Being a geeky scientist at heart I have several theories as to why this might be, but just wandering, does anyone else experience the same thing?

[Stuboy]

only when im going down with the flu... man flu or real flu.

i think it's pretty normal to only be comfortable in a narrow temperature range...

I prefer things a little warmer than my dad... he's worked outside most of his life so he's into the cooler temperatures...

[Subby]

Since getting diabetes some 15 years ago I have had temperature problems - mainly hot in my case. I seem to feel heat 4 - 5 degrees celcius hotter than most people around me. I walk around in tshirts while people have 3 layers on. I don't often get cold but when I do I get freezing. I remember this change in temperature first occuring when I was "coming down" with diabetes. I used to think it was a side effect of fluctuations but doesn't seem dependant on major blood sugar anomalies (in short term anyway). I've tended to wonder if it was a change in the brain that may have been parallel with the autoimmune response that killed my islets.

I would be interested in your theories. I for one will not bite if I disagree with them and I hope others don't either. :)

[dionh]

I completely agree with you! I was in Tasmania not long ago and walked around with just a t-shirt on when everyone else was in jumpers and i felt fine. Then other times could be just sitting watching tv and feel freezing.

[Lizzie G]

Hey Subby....so its not all in my head...mind you, 2 diabetics having temperature control issues which they think coincide with onset of diabetes is hardly statistically significant but hey, when has that ever stopped me drawing conclusions ;-)
well, feel free to laugh at me/ correct me BUT. theory 1. as we all know hormones can interact with each other in predictable and more unpredictable ways (eg we all know insulin and adrenaline pretty much 'counter' each other in certain pathways. body temperature is controlled by the thyroid as a result of the pituitary gland releasing thyroid stimulating hormone. i just wonder whether insulin can interfere with thyroid function? sounds outlandish but the more we see the more we see is possible. mind you i dont have any other symptoms of thyroid issues i always have tonnes of energy, but I do have a consistently low body temperature.
my other theory is even more dubious and i have talked myself out of putting it into print.

[ant hill]

Yeah, I find this too like I be just in a "T" Shirt and everyone else complaining it's cold? Strange? :confused:

[Subby]

My thyroid has always tested "ok" at least the basic tests. But doctors often suspect me of thyroid problems. Do you know if your theory would show up on those tests?

How is your BG control? Do you find it relatively predictable? Or lots of swings even with intense management?

I ask, becuase here is my maybe similar crackpot theory I am following up at the moment. I am exploring this kind of area (pituatry gland in particular) to see if there may be a link between hormone release and control, adrenal functions etc, and my very exacerbated background insulin resistances/insulin requirements I get through the day (as well as high insulin requirements for my BMI etc).

My theory is: maybe my pituatry gland is playing up or damaged, causing irregular hormone, liver etc release, thus causing in various ways my crazy insulin fluctuations and requirements and also perhaps my "body thermometer" problems.

I have just undergone a battery of blood tests and I am going to go to a GP next week to request a CT scan - it's a hugely blunt stab in the dark but it's a start :)

I have also suffered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome since 20 on and off. I seem to recall research that suggested the viruses and fevers that can bring this on may damage the brain. So maybe this is a factor/link as well.

Sorry if this is crackpot or way off, I am not knowledgable in such things. Forgive my blundering :)

[Lizzie G]

Hey Subby
Not crackpot at all and there are some similarities....I was only diagnosed 6 months ago and until about 2 months ago things were fairly predictable. However, what I have noticed recently is I can have a bowl of oatmeal made with water, one sachet, with some nuts and dried fruit, so overall pretty low GI. sometimes i dont spike at all, other times i hit 15 for no explicable reason, its very weird.
i also take a lot of basal for my size. im 5'4 and about 140 pounds and take 14 units basal.
let me know how you get on with the thyroid stuff....apparently my function is normal too but there are some definite signs that things are weird!
Liz x

[Subby]

Hey Subby
However, what I have noticed recently is I can have a bowl of oatmeal made with water, one sachet, with some nuts and dried fruit, so overall pretty low GI. sometimes i dont spike at all, other times i hit 15 for no explicable reason, its very weird.Liz x

Yes, this kind of thing happens quite a lot for me. It is extremely frustrating, and there are so many factors that "may" be at play with those reactions. I spent many years having it "blamed" on one thing or other by my doctors, and sent on control goose chases, yet I always suspected it was "in effect" variablity in the background but had no good way to prove it on injections.

With an insulin pump I can confirm that I do indeed have those kinds of spikes and it's not caused by injection sites, bolus dosage problems, specific events (although I have a big stress response)... I just have highly resistant/highly absorbant periods through the day that may have some pattern but tend to float or randomise throught the course of a few days.

Sorry for going on but I wanted to say, I know how annoying that kind of variablity is. Of course look at your diet etc too, there may be other causes at the same time that may be wholly or partially responsible, too. It's all so clear as mud isn't it? Make sure you get a doctor who takes it seriously and doesn't fob your variability off. I will surely let you know of findings if they occur.

I hope your variability goes back towards stability soon, I really do! Good luck. If it continues, really look into a pump if you can. Variable basal rates don't solve it for me but they give me flexibility that improves things no end (with a lot of work, that is :)

[Jan B]

Lizzie,

I also get cold easily. I've had a low-functioning thyroid for years, but that is well treated/in control, and I still get cold easily, especially if I'm sitting still at the computer for example. If I drink a cold drink, I get cold & if I drink a warm drink I get warm. However, I'm pretty normal in that if I move around a lot, I warm up.

I love oatmeal. However, I started eating omelets for breakfast instead of oatmeal and I don't get those often unexpected bg spikes. I stay very even. I haven't gained any weight either. It doesn't sound to me like you take too much basal insulin. It may to others though!?

You haven't had diabetes very long yet. You probably understand a LOT more already than most people who have had it for a short time. I'm going on 29 years . . . this forum (or these forums) have helped me tremendously and I'm really happy you joined. Now that I'm back on the pump, I'm doing much better and understanding more about how my body reacts. If I ever had to go back to MDI, I would cry . . . not really. I didn't start pumping again until I'd been on this forum for a while, and even then I was doing better.

Wishing you well - - - -

[JediSurfer]

I do often go from hot to cold and cold to hot.
The only explanation i can think of is that the carbs are not burning as adequately as a non diabetic persons would do. And when bg's shifts occur it creates a complete mess of the entire endocrine system. hmmmm

[Lizzie G]

Jedi - that is probably it, I suppose effectively, rather than smooth metabolic pathways like everyone else's ours are basically a bit stop start chaotic, like an antiquated rail system or something! LOL!:T

[JediSurfer]

Yeah I think thats exactly it. Unfortunately I have no way to prove this scientifically. Like most thing diabetic. No suprise there then. I suppose we are like a misfiring engine or something.

[parrotletzoo]

hrm, well in my case I'm usually cold. rarely uncomfortably hot no matter the temperature / humidity and that hasn't changed a a bit since I had the islet transplant and am off insulin.

My doctors seem to think its either neuropathy related or else a result of having had meningitis in college but can't really say for sure.

I also have no thyroid but my thyroid panels come out with in normal range when I'm on the correct dose of levothyroxine.

[Moreno]

I really do not get cold. I ain't for sure thou. Because I really do not pay attention to this thought. I know when I first inject insulin. I feel better, my body feels more aired out.

[orsaugen]

You have started a truly fascinating thread! I have discussed the "feeling cold" syndrome with my respected PCP and with my endocronologist, and neither of them know why I feel icy cold for hours after I have had a hypoglycemic reaction. I shall be following the discussion with the greatest interest!

[genie86333]

Hi, everyone.

All of my adult life, I was always the person who got wierd looks for wearing t-shirts when everyone else had on sweaters, but now I'm sitting in a 70-degree office with my jacket on. When I was a kid, however, I was always colder than everyone else, then a year or so ago, I noticed this starting again & didn't think too much about it because that's how I was as a kid too. Then a couple of months ago I was diagnosed wih Diabetes, so I'm wondering if the two are connected...sounds like I may have been right.

[MinimedPumper07]

finally i have found people like me!!! i have been complaining about this for months and everybody thought i was crazy. for a long time i felt hot ALL THE TIME. i got so paranoid i thought it was a thyroid problem so i went to my endo and he ran tons of tests and said i was normal. the weird thing is sometimes i get super cold and its usually before a meal for some reason. Before dinner sometimes i am freezing, and then i eat dinner and the food warms me up somehow. i am not able to explain it...

this all started about a year after diagnosis so i have a feeling it has something to do with not having perfectly normal glucose levels. i am in classes sometimes and i feel super hot and am wearing a t shirt and everybody is in f&^%$#* jackets. then sometimes i feel perfectly normal and can wear a sweater inside. Its almost like it relates to what direction my bg is going. I posted about this a few months ago on this board and nobody knew what i was talking about and people just told me it might be a thyroid problem.... but its not. I still have my doubts that it might be anxiety or depression related but i have no friggin clue...

[MinimedPumper07]

subby i have what you have exactly. i am always too hot and rarely super cold. i always wear t shirts, and i live in seattle where everyone has jackets and thick northface sweaters. its really annoying...

does anybody else have this weird heat phenomenon?

[SGT Shoutmore]

Hmm, it is varied for me, but now that you mention it, since taking insulin, I have noticed I have felt colder and have been dressing warmer, and usually, I am a POLAR BEAR, I shovel snow in shorts, a tee shirt and sandals.

[fgummett]

....so its not all in my head...mind you, 2 diabetics having temperature control issues which they think coincide with onset of diabetes is hardly statistically significant... are you kidding... so far 100% of test subjects in your International study have proven your point :D

Seriously though I have always been in T-shirts when everyone else was covered up in sweaters, but that was even before I was diagnosed

[ant hill]

I go to work on my bike and I am quite hot as I finnished riding however during the day the weather is still misuable and I am just in a T shirt while everyone else is in thier coats.
I have been known to walk in the rain and think nothing of it. :confused: