Does anyone else find that their feet are ice cold all the time? I get cold very easily especially my feet. Even in the summertime I always have to have socks on. Sitting here in my living room with the heat cranked and I’m still a bit chilly and my feet are freezing! It’s always been like this for me and I’m wondering if it’s fibro related?
I know from others discussions that if this happens and your feet/hands turn a different color than the rest of your skin then you may have what is called Raynaud’s phenomenon. You may want to look it up to see if you have symptoms and discuss with your doc. I also used to get extremely hot all the time but am now cold 99% of the time so could just be Fibro. Sometimes when nerves or doing weird things it feels like cold sensation at times.
hi tam.. i think ppl with chronic illness often have sensitivities to weather. i cant tolerate either extreme. do speak to your doc please. they may want to look into it.. hugggggggggggggs
Could be. The latest research says that we have many nerve endings in our hands and feet that lead to capillaries that move blood around the body, to regulate our internal temperature. Apparently the systems in our hands and feet that do the regulating are on the fritz. I guess this is why we want one part of ourselves covered with a blanket and the other left out of it. Let me find the research so you can read it. It's an excellent piece about our illness:
Doctors Confirm Fibromyalgia Is Not Imaginary
June 18, 2013
Image Credit: Thinkstock.com
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com — Your Universe Online
Doctors have been able to determine the source of pain in the skin of patients who suffer from fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia, a widespread deep tissue pain, affects about ten million people in the US. The condition causes tenderness in the hands and feet, fatigue, sleep disorders and cognitive decline. For years, the disorder was believed to be imaginary and often even attributed to patients making up the illness. The latest research not only proves its existence, but it has also pinpointed the source.
“Instead of being in the brain, the pathology consists of excessive sensory nerve fibers around specialized blood vessel structures located in the palms of the hands,” said Dr. Rice, President of Intidyn and the senior researcher on the study published in the journal American Academy of Pain Medicine. “This discovery provides concrete evidence of a fibromyalgia-specific pathology which can now be used for diagnosing the disease, and as a novel starting point for developing more effective therapeutics.”
The team analyzed the skin of one patient who lacked all the numerous varieties of sensory nerve endings in the skin that supposedly accounted for highly sensitive and a richly-nuanced sense of touch. This patient had normal function in day-to-day tasks, but the only sensory endings the team detected were those around the blood vessels.
“We previously thought that these nerve endings were only involved in regulating blood flow at a subconscious level, yet here we had evidences that the blood vessel endings could also contribute to our conscious sense of touch“¦ and also pain,” Rice said.
The team used a unique microscopic technology to study small skin biopsies collected from the palms of fibromyalgia patients who were being diagnosed and treated. They found an enormous increase in sensory nerve fibers at specific sites within the blood vessels of the skin. These critical sites are tiny muscular valves known as arteriole-venule (AV) shunts.
“The AV shunts in the hand are unique in that they create a bypass of the capillary bed for the major purpose of regulating body temperature,” Rice explained.
These shunts are unique to the palms of hands and soles of feet, working like a radiator in a car. Under warm conditions, the shunts close down to force blood into the capillaries at the surface of the skin in order to radiate heat from the body, while in cold conditions the shunts open wide to allow blood to bypass the capillaries in order to conserve heat.
Dr. Phillip J. Albrecht, another researcher on the project, said the excess sensory innervation might explain why fibromyalgia patients have especially tender and painful hands.
“But, in addition, since the sensory fibers are responsible for opening the shunts, they would become particularly active under cold conditions, which are generally very bothersome to fibromyalgia patients,” Albrecht said.
Rice added that the hands and feet act as a reservoir from which blood flow can be diverted to other tissues in the body, such as muscles when we begin to exercise.
“Therefore, the pathology discovered among these shunts in the hands could be interfering with blood flow to the muscles throughout the body,” the researcher said.
This discovery of a distinct tissue pathology demonstrates that fibromyalgia is not imaginary, which helps to change the clinical opinion of the disease and guide future approaches for better treatments.
“Wow crazy how spot on they were it has affected me cognitively as well as sleep issues! Mine is brought on by especially cold temperatures,” Amy P, who suffers from fibromyalgia, told redOrbit. “Also my handwriting has greatly suffered. But I believe that’s because I may have tendinitis of some sort.”
Dutch researchers reported a study earlier this month contradicting these findings, saying that weather conditions do not affect fibromyalgia pain or fatigue.
“Our analyses provide more evidence against, than in support of, the daily influence of weather on fibromyalgia pain and fatigue,” said Ercolie Bossema, Ph.D. from Utrecht University in the Netherlands. “This study is the first to investigate the impact of weather on fibromyalgia symptoms in a large cohort, and our findings show no association between specific fibromyalgia patient characteristics and weather sensitivity.”
However, researchers from the recent study point to the blood flow as proof the weather does actually have an effect on fibromyalgia patients.
“This mismanaged blood flow could be the source of muscular pain and achiness, and the sense of fatigue which are thought to be due to a build-up of lactic acid and low levels of inflammation fibromyalgia patients. This, in turn, could contribute to the hyperactivity in the brain,” Rice said.
(This was from RedOrbit.com.)
There are other illnesses that can also affect your feet and hands. If, for instance, your feet turn white or blue, then you might want to read this:
Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) is a condition resulting in a particular series of discolorations of the fingers and/or the toes after exposure to changes in temperature (cold or hot) or emotional events. Skin discoloration occurs because an abnormal spasm of the blood vessels causes a diminished blood supply to the local tissues. Initially, the digit(s) involved turn white because of the diminished blood supply. The digit(s) then turn blue because of prolonged lack of oxygen. Finally, the blood vessels reopen, causing a local "flushing" phenomenon, which turns the digit(s) red. This three-phase color sequence (white to blue to red), most often upon exposure to cold temperature, is characteristic of RP.
Raynaud's phenomenon most frequently affects women, especially in the second, third, or fourth decades of life. People can have Raynaud's phenomenon alone or as a part of other rheumatic diseases. Raynaud's phenomenon in children is essentially identical to Raynaud's phenomenon in adults. When it occurs alone, it is referred to as "Raynaud's disease" or primary Raynaud's phenomenon. When it accompanies other diseases, it is called secondary Raynaud's phenomenon.
I hope you find some of this info useful. I know how trying fibro is!
Hugs,
Petunia
wow thanks for posting this , because I am this way it could be very hot out then my feet would be just so cold then starts to hurt I end up making sure I put socks on helps to comfort my feet even if its hot out or in the house somehow I dont know why but helps my feet feel better I had those tension socks they helped little but for me I found the soccer sport socks not only look nicer they feel more comfortable .
My feet are always cold, even when I have a hot flash! It can be 110° and my feet are still cold. Crazy! My mom always had cold feet too. I don't know if it's genetic or part of fibro.
Hello tamlea
My feet and hands are always cold, and I never completely cover up with a blanket.
I think it’s from fibro. Petunia girl’s post is awesome, and it makes since. 
Usually that is poor circulation. If u are a cigarette smoker it will worsen the symptoms. Also look into Reynauds syndrome. It involes the toes and fingers. I also have cold hands and feet but my dad has reynauds and i fear im followingg in his footstels.
I am the same way, but it is both my feet and hands. Sometimes they feel so cold almost like I've stuck them in the freezer for a while, lol. Idk if fibro can cause this but, I have Raynaud's Syndrome and it def. causes this. Maybe you should check with your dr. to rule this out.
TamLea,
I have always been cold. My hands and feet were always freezing. I had an episode in January were my hands turned blue which really scared me. In the beginning of February I purchased a heating blanket. I carted from home to work and back every day until last week when I found a heated throw blanket that I now keep at work. I use the throw blanket usually on Low or Med throughout the day and when I stand I'm not stiff like I used to be. When I'm at home watching tv I will sit on or wrapped up in the heating blanket. At night I sleep wrapped in the heating blanket turned down low. The benefits are my hands and feet aren't freezing anymore. Right now my hands are warm and I'm wearing ballet flats and my feet are warm. This wasn't possible a month ago. I think the heating blanket has turned on my bodies own heater. I've also lost 8lbs this month which I'm contributing to my new found warmth. I don't know if it will work for you but the blankets are marked down on clearance this time of year so you might give it a try. The best part for my husband is he doesn't have to feel my cold feet at night anymore. :-)
Gentle Hugs,
Stacey
My feet are always freezing too. Could be poor circulation. I dunno.