Can't seem to get warm enough

Posted by ajh5285 @ajh5285, Feb 13, 2023

Can’t seem to get warm enough unless I’m lying directly in the sunlight, the more of me in the sun the better. I should mention that we live in snow country in an old steel sided farm house with a tremendous cold wall effect, especially in the room that I can use without taking a trip up our hazardous steep staircase (haven’t been up that staircase since I can’t remember when).
Husband has addressed this particular problem by jerry-rigging a clip on light that looks to me like a chick-warming lamp I once bought to keep my elderly stallion warmer in his run-in stall when he wanted to stand under it. It does seem to help some as long as it’s shining directly on me. It doesn’t really warm up the rest of me, however.
Pertinent medical information is that I was diagnosed a few months ago at age 73 with an inoperable pancreatic adenocarcinoma, and am currently being treated with Abraxane - Gemcitabine. My oncologist has adjusted the dosage down and prolonged the treatment interval thanks to various blips encountered - veins tended to “blow” soon after what seemed a successful phlebotomy (I now have a port) and my “elderly” bone marrow tended not to bounce back very vigorously.
I’ve now developed a somewhat unusual symptom of a sensation of having “tight feet.” I think this might be related to “chemo feet” since the first time after chemo I felt as if I had no idea where my feet were.
To stop this rambling trip down memory lane here, my questions are
(1) how many of you do experience difficulty in staying warm enough.
(2) if you’ve solved the problem to your satisfaction
(A) was another treatable cause identified? [I had thyroid testing at my last appointment and the result was WNL (within normal limits)]
(B) if you are dealing with this complication what are you doing that seems to work?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Cancer: Managing Symptoms Support Group.

I was told that my anemia causes me to be constantly cold. I have resorted to wearing long underwear and staying in front of my electric heater most of the time. Hot tea helps short term. I have had one blood transfusion so far.
Good luck to you.

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I have gotten terrible chills many times during chemo (Rigor) as a reaction to my drugs. But I am also easily chilled and I hate it! I use a heating pad in bed, OR I also have these kind of bean bag/flax seed filled tubes (Look on Amazon or in Bed, Bath and Beyond) that you put in the microwave. I pop that in the microwave for a few minutes when ever I get up in the night. By the time I've peed, it's nice and toasty and I use it to get warm and it helps me fall asleep. It's better than a heating pad because it will never get too warm. I also use hand warmers that you can find in camping supply stores. Hope this helps! Good luck to you.

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Hi, @ajh5285. Oh brrrr. This post of yours, about not being able to get warm enough with cancer, brought back a flood of memories of being wrapped in several hot hospital blankets trying to stop the bone chilling cold from within. It quite literally chills us to the marrow. In my case it was chemo induced.

A tough transition after being discharged from the hospital was not having a blanket warmer! I was so spoiled with this incubator right outside my hospital room. Every half hour or so a nurse would pop in with a newly ‘hatched’ blankie to wrap around my shivering body.

At home, my husband used to heat blankets or a load of bath towels in the dryer on high. Then he’d dump them on me on the couch, tucking in all around me. Felt so good!
I also used a hot water bottle or heating pad on my back and stomach.
If you don’t have one, a space heater as @rso suggested really helps warms up the airspace around you.
I also have a pair of spa slippers from my daughter. They go in the microwave to heat up the barley beads inside. But do be careful if your feet are feeling numb from the chemo induced neuropathy. Don’t overheat them.

Another idea…do you have something on your head? We lose so much heat through our heads. I was as bald as a cue ball and sent for these cute little chemo caps from Amazon. They were a great for very little investment. Around $15.00 for 4 caps! I think they’re called Slouchy beanie caps for women or something like that. They look like a sock hat but are stretchy, pretty fabric. They’re not only caps. They open up to be gators for the neck too!
For your feet, it’s most likely another side effect from the chemo. I got a lot of guidance from my doctor and nurses for foot care while going through chemo. Small amounts of our chemo can escape through capillaries in our hands and feet, creating burning, redness, tightness, pain, neuropathy… it has a name, Hand/Foot syndrome. I found an article you might find interesting related to that.
https://chemocare.com/chemotherapy/side-effects/handfoot-syndrome.aspx

I’m hoping spring comes soon to your area to bring some sun and warmth for you.

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My freezing feelings are eliminated at night by an electric blanket. I'm afraid to have it on all night, so it's on a timer. The bed is warm when I get in, and the timer turns off about 15 minutes later. I usually toss and turn for 30 seconds before falling asleep in my wonderful warm bed (Smiley face!).
To peel myself out of a warm bed is torture. My physical therapist taught me some vigorous exercises to do lying on the bed. About 30 minutes of this warms me up enough to face the Michigan winter-cold floors. I wear a long down vest over my usual clothes. If I get cold during the day, I get up and walk outside if there's no ice, or just around the house. I can't walk very far, but I can do short distances often. Warms me up and seems to help balance and neuropathy. Thanks for posting your question! All of us frozen people will benefit.

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@loribmt

Hi, @ajh5285. Oh brrrr. This post of yours, about not being able to get warm enough with cancer, brought back a flood of memories of being wrapped in several hot hospital blankets trying to stop the bone chilling cold from within. It quite literally chills us to the marrow. In my case it was chemo induced.

A tough transition after being discharged from the hospital was not having a blanket warmer! I was so spoiled with this incubator right outside my hospital room. Every half hour or so a nurse would pop in with a newly ‘hatched’ blankie to wrap around my shivering body.

At home, my husband used to heat blankets or a load of bath towels in the dryer on high. Then he’d dump them on me on the couch, tucking in all around me. Felt so good!
I also used a hot water bottle or heating pad on my back and stomach.
If you don’t have one, a space heater as @rso suggested really helps warms up the airspace around you.
I also have a pair of spa slippers from my daughter. They go in the microwave to heat up the barley beads inside. But do be careful if your feet are feeling numb from the chemo induced neuropathy. Don’t overheat them.

Another idea…do you have something on your head? We lose so much heat through our heads. I was as bald as a cue ball and sent for these cute little chemo caps from Amazon. They were a great for very little investment. Around $15.00 for 4 caps! I think they’re called Slouchy beanie caps for women or something like that. They look like a sock hat but are stretchy, pretty fabric. They’re not only caps. They open up to be gators for the neck too!
For your feet, it’s most likely another side effect from the chemo. I got a lot of guidance from my doctor and nurses for foot care while going through chemo. Small amounts of our chemo can escape through capillaries in our hands and feet, creating burning, redness, tightness, pain, neuropathy… it has a name, Hand/Foot syndrome. I found an article you might find interesting related to that.
https://chemocare.com/chemotherapy/side-effects/handfoot-syndrome.aspx

I’m hoping spring comes soon to your area to bring some sun and warmth for you.

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Thanks for all the suggestions. I will look into as many as I can. We have
such a flammable old house that hubby is opposed to a space heater, hence
the infrared lamp instead. But the Barley slippers sound delightful, as do
the dryer-warmed towels.
My hot water bottle is the smaller of our two poodles. She helps a lot!
especially since she has learned to sleep up against my sore belly.
I've wondered if not wearing a hat has actually helped me avoid developing
more confusion ("Chemo Brain"). The once or twice I tried wearing a beanie
it just came off during the night anyway.

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@dortj

My freezing feelings are eliminated at night by an electric blanket. I'm afraid to have it on all night, so it's on a timer. The bed is warm when I get in, and the timer turns off about 15 minutes later. I usually toss and turn for 30 seconds before falling asleep in my wonderful warm bed (Smiley face!).
To peel myself out of a warm bed is torture. My physical therapist taught me some vigorous exercises to do lying on the bed. About 30 minutes of this warms me up enough to face the Michigan winter-cold floors. I wear a long down vest over my usual clothes. If I get cold during the day, I get up and walk outside if there's no ice, or just around the house. I can't walk very far, but I can do short distances often. Warms me up and seems to help balance and neuropathy. Thanks for posting your question! All of us frozen people will benefit.

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I'd be interested in those exercises to do in bed. Is it worth, I wonder, starting a new thread specifically on that topic????

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Do you have any links to where those "vigorous exercises" to do before getting off the bed may be found?

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@ajh5285

I'd be interested in those exercises to do in bed. Is it worth, I wonder, starting a new thread specifically on that topic????

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@ajh5285, great idea. Yes, @dortj please start a new discussion about exercises in bed.

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@ajh5285

I'd be interested in those exercises to do in bed. Is it worth, I wonder, starting a new thread specifically on that topic????

Jump to this post

Here they are:
1. Clasp your hands over your head. Swing them down toward your knees.
2. Extend arms against torso on bed, thumbs up. Raise and lower arm, keeping it straight. Do with other arm.
3. Extend legs straight on bed. Alternately raise and lower.
4. Raise and lower one arm and alternate leg, then the other pair. Alternate the pairs.
5 .Hands clasped under head, elbows extended out. Raise and lower head and elbows.
6. Outstretch arms. Bring bent knees to waist. alternate touching knees to the bed on your right and left. Next, open bent knees at hips and continue touching knees to the bed
7. Lie flat. Raise straight legs over your head. When this gets too difficult, raise one leg at a time.
8 .Hold your knees to your chest, Arms hug your knees. roll toward your head.
9. Circle feet in four ways: to wall, toward head, right, and left. At the same time, move hands in different ways: forward-and-back fist toward wall, open fingers wide toward head, circular fist to right, and open-and-close fist to the left. on the movements.
The therapist started me on 10 repetitions and told me to increase them and the oomph I used, gradually. After several months, I'm up to 50 reps. Takes about 20 minutes and willingness to be utterly bored!. Hope this helps your agility. Let me know if I can clarify anything.

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I have been reading for several months about low level laser light therapy and another name for the same thing is called PhotoBioModulation.. WORKS! When I 1st started reading about it I thought it was advanced quack program.. I am now firmly convinced that it helps a great deal with the peripheral neuropathy foot pain heel spurs low back pain and overall joint disintegration. Might be worth checking it out. You can buy tools that offer low level laser light therapy From Walmart or Amazon.. Look at Mayo clinic, Cleveland clinic, and the national institute of health. Use these resources it's just to get accurate reliable information. Good luck George

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