Hi mehuspon,
Thank you for your patience while awaiting your answer! Before I
begin, I must remind you that this answer is for informational
purposes only. The contents of this answer are not intended to
diagnose or treat or to replace sound medical advice from a licensed
physician.
I?ve researched this very question in the past, and the answer was
?No one knows for sure?. We do know that some drugs and disorders can
cause some people to feel cold, but the reason was a mystery. While
researching this question for you, however, I came across this
interesting article:
?Scientists have found a reason why some people never seem to get
warm while others never seem to feel the cold: some nerve cell
receptors deep in the body are stimulated by signals other than
temperature.
These cells never come in contact with environmental signals like
those near the skin but are studded with receptors that appear to get
sensory input from hormones, proteins and other biochemical compounds
within the body.
'That could explain why it is that you and I can sit in the same space
and you will feel comfortable and I may feel cold, yet the
environmental stimuli are the same.'
Other scientists have only recently identified hot and cold nerve cell
receptors in the peripheral nervous system located just beneath the
skin. This is the system that tells the brain to pull the hand back
from the flame or to bundle up when it's cold outside.
But what Gu and his colleagues found is that there are receptors so
deep in the body that they literally chill to the backbone. 'In
addition to under the skin on the peripheral side of the nervous
system, there are also cold receptors on the central side of the
peripheral nervous system within the spinal cord,' he said.
The finding that the cold receptor is present in a functional form at
nerve terminals within the spinal cord is potentially quite exciting,'
said Dr. Michael Caterina, a researcher at Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine who was the first to find hot receptors in the
peripheral nervous system sensitive to heat and capsaicin, the
chemical that makes hot peppers hot.?
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=5711
I have gathered some information on medications and conditions that
can make a person feel cold.
Drugs/Medications:
==================
You didn?t mention what medications you are taking. Some
prescription and over the counter medications can affect how the
hypothalamus portion of the brain regulates our body temperature.
Antipyretics such as aspirin, Tylenol and Advil can lower your body
temperature, as well as alcohol consumption, some anti-depressants,
Imitrex (Sumatriptan), Clonidine and Chlorthalidone (Combipres),
Coumadin, blood pressure medicines, particularly beta-blockers and
many more.
http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mm_geriatrics/tables/67t2.jsp
http://health.yahoo.com/drug/202665/precaution
http://health.yahoo.com/drug/202153/precaution
http://www.healthscout.com/rxdetail/68/111/2/main.html
You can look up the side effects of drugs you are taking by going to
www.google.com and typing in [side effects + name of drug] without
the brackets.
?Certain drugs cause hypothermia by depression of the thermoregulatory
set point or prevention of heat conservation. By affecting the balance
of thermoregulatory neurotransmitters, drugs may prevent the signs and
symptoms of hot flashes.?
http://www.aacnclinicalissues.com/pt/re/aacn/abstract.00044067-200404000-00010.htm;jsessionid=Cwpndb1dyGA9NnBpvOjJAqC3i725MYn3rL0zNc6dei3N4Ok2reAF!-1158420941!-949856031!9001!-1
Conditions/Disorders
====================
?Possible causes of cold sensitivity include:
·Chills - see also causes of chills
·Thyroid disorder
·Depression
·Seasonal affective disorder
·Anemia
·Iron deficiency anemia
·Migraine ?
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/sym/temperature_sensitivity.htm#possible
?Can a low body temperature be dangerous?
An abnormally low body temperature (hypothermia) can be serious, even
life-threatening. Low body temperature may occur from cold exposure,
shock, alcohol or drug use, or certain metabolic disorders, such as
diabetes or hypothyroidism. Oddly, a low body temperature may also
occur in certain infections, particularly in newborns, older adults,
or people who are frail. Certain overwhelming infections, such as
Gram-negative sepsis, may also cause an abnormally low body
temperature.?
http://my.webmd.com/hw/health_guide_atoz/hw198785.asp
?In secondary hypothermia, the body's heat-balancing mechanisms can
fail for any number of reasons, including strokes, diabetes,
malnutrition, bacterial infection, thyroid disease, spinal cord
injuries (which prevent the brain from receiving crucial
temperature-related information from other parts of the body), and the
use of medications and other substances that affect the brain or
spinal cord. Alcohol is one such substance. In smaller amounts it can
put people at risk by interfering with their ability to recognize and
avoid cold-weather dangers. In larger amounts it shuts down the body's
heat-balancing mechanisms.?
http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/ency/hypothermia.jsp
Anxiety
=======
You did a good job yourself of narrowing down possible causes, Anxiety
can indeed cause both your trembling and the feeling of cold.
?You may suddenly or chronically feel unusually cold or chilled. It
may become entrenched where no matter what you do, you can't seem to
get warm. You may also shiver or feel 'tight' or 'trembling' at the
same time.
These sensations may come and go on their own, or they may also be
followed by ill episodes.?
http://www.anxietycentre.com/anxiety-symptoms/chilled.html
?Panic attack symptoms
Feeling like you?re going to choke
Chest pressure or chest pain
Pounding heart
Racing pulse
Dizziness or lightheadedness
Shortness of breath
Sweating
Trembling or shaking
Nausea
Tingling or numbness in the hands or feet
Hot flashes or chills
Sense of unreality or dreamlike sensations
Fear of losing control, doing something embarrassing, going "crazy" or dying
http://www.cfpc.ca/English/cfpc/programs/patient%20education/anxiety/default.asp?s=1
?Anxiety is probably the most basic of all emotions. Not only is it
experienced by all humans, but anxiety responses have been found in
all species of animals right down to the sea slug. Anxiety experiences
vary tremendously in their severity from mild uneasiness to extreme
terror and panic. They can also vary tremendously in their length from
a brief, almost fleeting flash, to a constant, all day affair. While
anxiety, by its nature and definition, is an unpleasant sensation, it
is not in the least dangerous. It is this last point which forms the
basis of this article. The aim of the next few pages is to teach you
about the components (physical and mental) of anxiety in order that
(1) you realize that many of the feelings which you now experience are
the result of anxiety and (2) you learn that these feelings are not
harmful or dangerous.? ?In addition to increased activity in the
heart, there is also a change in the blood flow. Basically, blood is
redirected away from the places where it is not needed (by a
tightening of the blood vessels) and toward the places where it is
needed more (by an expansion of the blood vessels). For example, blood
is taken away from the skin, fingers, and toes. This is useful because
if the organism is attacked and cut in some way, it is less likely to
bleed to death. Hence, during anxiety the skin looks pale and feels
cold and fingers and toes become cold and sometimes experience
numbness and tingling. In addition, the blood is moved to the large
muscles such as the thighs and biceps which helps the body prepare for
action.?
http://www.algy.com/anxiety/files/barlow.html
PVD ? Peripheral Vascular Disease
===================================
Are you at risk for PVD? A short quiz.
http://www.integrisheart.com/heart/on-goingCareRehab/diseaseManagement/peripheralVascularDisease.aspx
Symptoms:
·leg pain (intermittent claudication)
o occurs with exercise (such as walking)
o relieved with rest
·numbness of the legs or feet at rest
·muscle pain in the legs or feet
·loss of hair on the lower extremities
·change of color of the legs
·paleness or blueness (cyanosis)
·the legs feel cold to the touch
·presence of open sores (ischemic ulcers) on the lower extremities
·ulcers on the feet and toes
·gangrene (tissue death)--see gas gangrene
·pulse, weak or absent in the extremity
·walking/gait abnormalities may occur?
http://www.healthcentral.com/mhc/top/000170.cfm
Anemia & Fatigue
================
?Chest pain, shortness of breath, pale complexion, rapid heart rate, feeling cold.?
http://www.prevention.com/article/0,5778,s1-1-74-200-4473-1-P,00.html
Do I Have Anemia
http://www.anemia.com/do/dotalk.html
http://www.anemia.com/
You say you?ve had routine blood tests, which would have detected
anemia, which can make one more cold sensitive. Thyroid tests are not
always included in routine testing? have you been tested for a thyroid
disorder or diabetes?
Autoimmune Thyroid Disease
==========================
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/a/autoimmune_thyroid_diseases/intro.htm
Thyroid Disorders
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/t/thyroid/intro.htm
Have you lost weight lately? Excessive loss of body weight can make
one feel cold A normal metabolism creates heat. A slow metabolism
will make one feel cold.
?There are three types of hypothyroidism. The most common is primary
hypothyroidism, in which the thyroid doesn't produce an adequate
amount of T4. Secondary hypothyroidism develops when the pituitary
gland does not release enough of the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)
that prompts the thyroid to manufacture T4. Tertiary hypothyroidism
results from a malfunction of the hypothalamus, the part of the brain
that controls the endocrine system. Drug-induced hypothyroidism, an
adverse reaction to medication, occurs in two of every 10,000 people,
but rarely causes severe hypothyroidism.?
http://www.chclibrary.org/micromed/00052400.html
Other disorders:
================
http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/sym/temperature_sensitivity.htm#list
Raynaud?s is an unlikely cause, but I?m including it as a possibility.
?Raynaud's is a condition that causes some areas of your body ? such
as your fingers, toes, tip of your nose and your ears ? to feel numb
and cool in response to cold temperatures or stress. It's a disorder
of the blood vessels that supply blood to your skin. During a
Raynaud's attack, these arteries narrow, limiting blood circulation to
affected areas.
You can have Raynaud's without any underlying disease associated with
it, in which case it's called Raynaud's disease or primary Raynaud's.
Or it can be part of another disease, in which case doctors may refer
to it as Raynaud's phenomenon or secondary Raynaud's.?
Signs and symptoms of Raynaud's depend on the frequency, duration and
severity of the blood vessel spasms that underlie the disorder. Signs
and symptoms include:
·Sequence of color changes in your skin in response to cold or stress
·Numb, prickly feeling or stinging pain upon warming or relief of stress
http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/DS/00433.html
http://www.ohiohealth.com/healthreference/reference/BEC8E664-5EE6-41C1-8955642FA71A0EEF.htm?category=disease
More information:
===================
How the Hypothalamus Functions
http://www.hhmi.org/cgi-bin/askascientist/highlight.pl?kw=&file=answers%2Fgeneral%2Fans_037.html
?A special temperature control mechanism inside the body constantly
works to keep the internal body temperature at exactly 98.6 degrees F.
What an amazing system it is. An understanding of this system will
give us a much better idea of how a climate control system can work
with the human system rather than against.?
?The control point or command center is an organ in the brain called
the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus works with nerves located at the
skin. The nerves send signals to the hypothalamus which uses the
relayed information to take the appropriate action to effect good
temperature control both internally and at the surface. On a hot day
when body cooling is impeded by the low temperature differential, the
hypothalamus signals blood vessels to dilate or expand, causing blood
to run closer to the skin's surface where heat is rejected. The
hypothalamus also signals the skeletal muscles to relax. This results
in less activity, so less heat is produced. If it is such a hot day
that little or perhaps no temperature difference exists; or worse, if
the temperature difference is reversed and the air is hotter than the
body, then the hypothalamus kicks in another system. The hypothalamus
sends a signal to special glands called the sudoriferous glands
causing an increased production of perspiration. This amounts to a
finely tuned evaporative cooling system. On a chilly day the
hypothalamus signals blood vessels to constrict or narrow so as to
make the blood run away from the skins surface thus losing less heat.
Another signal increases muscular contractions (shivering), which
increased activity produces, more heat. The hypothalamus can also stop
the perspiration process so no heat is lost through this method. Once
again, regardless of the conditions, the body is always controlling
the rate of heat loss, but it is always a loss. It is the job of air
conditioning and heating professionals to control the indoor climate
so as to aid the body in its quest for comfort.?
http://www.bacharach-training.com/norm/comfort.htm
I could find no literature relating your appendectomy to your being
cold sensitive, and it is probably coincidental. I do believe in
?Never say Never? though, so it?s always a possibility that massive
doses of antibiotics interfered with your body?s heat regulation. I
could not find documentation of this however.
This previous answer of mine may interest you:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=354326
Please check again with your doctor or obtain a second opinion. More
specialized tests can be run to detect or rule out thyroid disorders.
Your doctor can treat you for anxiety, should this be diagnosed, or
refer you to a specialist. Stressful life experiences or work
environment can make all of us feel anxiety at times. This is
treatable and is usually short term. Eating a healthy diet and daily
exercise can make significant differences as far as treating anxiety
(and many disorders for that matter). I?m with you on avoiding
?quackery? therapy, and if you eat well, vitamins are considered
unnecessary, barring a nutritional deficiency.
I hope this is the information you were seeking! If any part of my
answer is unclear, please, before rating, request an Answer
Clarification. This will enable me to assist you further, if possible.
I wish you well.
Sincerely, Crabcakes
Search terms
PVD + feeling cold
antibiotic overdose + hypothalamus + temperature regulation
hypothermia
feeling cold
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