always feeling cold

acadiapark

My DW is in moderate to late moderate stage. Through the winter she always said she was cold especially her legs. However, now that it is much warmer she will at times still say she is cold even when the room temp is 80 and she has a light blanket on.

I have mentioned this recently to both her PCP and Neurology PA. Blood test was taken, she was taken off Modafinil, and other recommendations followed. No change.

I am beginning to suspect that the feeling is actually a brain misperception. She can be sweating and still express the statement.

Problem for me is that she blames me...."what are you doing to me" as well as occasionally "I don't love you anymore." I know that she does.

Any one have insight/experience regarding this?

Thanks

loveskitties

My father always complained of being cold.  He would sometimes get hat and coat and wear them in the house even with the heat turned up to 80 degrees.

Dehydration can cause the cold feeling, as can meds, low blood pressure, brain signals, etc.

Best not to say anything about it not being cold, just acknowledge that LO is cold and attempt to keep them feeling warm.

May flowers

My FIL is also very cold. He does have low BP and his extremities are always cold. We try to prop his feet up several times a day and put a blanket on him. I also make sure there is adequate salt and electrolytes his diet which helps. Otherwise, it’s just keep a blanket and hat on him. I have knitted hats that he likes to wear.

mommyandme (m&m)

An electric blanket is our fix.  Even a hat and gloves to make her comfortable because we can’t live in it with any sanity.  Maybe a small electric heater for his feet? 

Its all just hard… 

Vitruvius

My DW has the same issue. It is toasty warm here but she is constantly "cold". I have come to accept this as just another symptom of dementia.

Dawn MB

My mother goes from hot to cold and back again. Turn the ceiling fan on; turn it off.   Open the window; close the window.  Often times within a few minutes.  I too feel it's brain signaling issue.

harshedbuzz

This is a very common complaint. 

Sometimes it can be a function of weight loss, lack of activity and/or low blood pressure in addition to the damaged brain processing temperature.

Dad used to crank up the heat to 85F in July in coastal MD-- alas empathy left the building along with Elvis so others were forced to suffer along. And yikes on their electric bills. 

My dad had mixed dementia- one of those was an alcohol-related dementia called Werknicke-Korsakoff's which is caused by a Thiamine deficiency. This condition damages the hypothalamus which is the part of the brain that regulates temperature.  In his case, his body temperature was also considerably lower than his normal had been prior. That's him some 4 years before his diagnosis; he's failed at turning up the thermostat behind him and decided to wear my fur hat for warmth.

HB

Rescue mom

I think it’s common in PWDs, and also in the elderly in general. I had several family members —with no dementia Dx or symptoms to speak of—in senior facilities for years, in several cities and 2 states. 

Staff and aides everywhere, always,  talked about how hot the residents wanted their rooms, and how residents always talked about being cold with little regard to actual temperatures.

Olly_Bake

I don’t know if always feeling cold is a dementia brain misperception or a frail elderly body. I’m leaning toward the latter but who truly knows. Dad is always cold. Anemic and have to be treated. Just had a blood transfusion. Yet with all that, he's still cold. This week, the hospital is keeping the air unit off. Turn the unit on to get relief while visiting and he goes to saying he is cold. Poor circulation, meds, diabetes, heart issues, and I believe metabolism slows. Believe it or not, my husband and I are fairly young. However, when using the air he is too cold and I'm like all lovely. Then when it is time to use the heat he is about to run me out the house and I'm like if you don't cut it down.

Nerdyblond

Hi acadiapark,

My mom is always cold too. Like... ALWAYS. I live in Tucson Arizona where the temps are around 100 degrees and she has to go outside to "thaw out".

I am positive it's part of the brain malfunction. It's telling her she's cold or her nerves are acting up. I kinda wonder if that is the first sign of body shutdown sometimes.

I am so sorry you are having these struggles. You are among people who sympathize and care. I will pray for you, sir!

Joydean

My DH is always saying he is cold.he keeps his fleece lined jacket on! We are in Texas. Yesterday it was 98 and the “feels like “ was 106. I had a tank top on and was hot! He is as healthy as a horse except for Alzheimer’s. I asked mentioned this to his psychiatrist and he did tell me feeling cold is just another part of the disease. 

Prayers for all of us! 

Pat6177

Same here, DH is frequently cold. But he was that way when younger and pre-dementia. We also live in Tucson and he goes to the back patio to warm up. And puts his light weight fleece back on when he comes inside to the air conditioning. But he does not blame me for it other than occasionally grumbling about the ac settings.

SusanB-dil

Same with MIL.  but also elderly relatives.  Poor blood circulation, lower blood pressure, lack of exercise, meds... a lot of reasons.  That is why a lot of facilities keep it warmer than say, a regular house would be.

We had to put a cover over the thermostat.  She had cranked the temp up into the 80;s, and it was way too hot, where even she said it was warm.  Another time, got up in the morning and it was stifling!  She had put it on 'emergency heat'.  We put one of those plastic covers over it with a lock - the kind you see in an office or school.  Told her it was something with the insurance company...  We keep it just a couple degrees warmer than we would prefer, but we can breathe, and she just uses a sweater or will wear long-sleeves. Gave the cover a dirty look, but has gotten used to it.

acadiapark

Thanks to all who have posted a reply. Your insights and support are greatly appreciated.

mommyandme (m&m)

I feel my moms hands and nose.  If they are cold then she definitely feels it even though she doesn’t complain much anymore about it.  If they are warm then I knows she’s warm.

JJ401

Before Alzheimer’s, DH was always warm. Everyone would be bundled in sweaters, he’d have on a light shirt. Now, he’s always cold. All winter long we played tag with the thermostat. He turns it up. Tag, I reset it to a normal temperature. Tag, he turns it up. Tag, I…

Today it was almost 80 and he was wearing a sweatshirt. He is aware of the discrepancy in what was and what is, and remarks often that something must be wrong with him if he is cold all the time. I just say (each time) that we all feel cold more as we age.

DawnOfANewDay

My mom is also always cold.  We are sweating and she says she is cold.  In the winter we can just use a little heater near her, but in the summer it is harder.  She won't stay in under a heating blanket.  We tried a heat hoodie, but she won't wear it because it is "ugly."

Cobalt

Here's a different perspective:  my son has often, most his life, complained that he was too hot.  He'd try to wear a tank top and shorts in the Iowa winter.  Now at 42 in Arizona, he still believes he is too hot but insists on a blanket for bed.  In his case, the extreme differences in what the reality is for room temperature and what his body tells him are getting worse.  We tell him "your body is not telling your brain correctly" and we watch out for him to stay safe at the best temperature.  We believe part of this is not getting accurate sensory information, a long-standing neurological problem, but the other part of this story is that there is no question the dementia is making it all worse.  We see it worsening over time.  All we can do is stress to him that "all the caregivers are watching out for you".

Jo C.

Goodness; I sure do hear you!  This is a problem issue with multiple possible factors.  We have several very elderly relatives who do not have dementia who also are always cold - their homes always have heat cranked waaaaay up even in summer.  When visiting, at times we have to exit the house to stand outside awhile to cool off.  Poor circulation, anemia, blood pressure issues, and on and on . . . so many possibilities.

With my mother and step-dad, both with dementia at the same time, we had to take various measures.   Step-dad froze no matter the temperature in mid summer.  I got him clothing that felt tactically soft and warm - nice sweatshirts and matching pants, fleecy warm socks, gloves, (would not wear hats).  What seemed to help was getting him an electric lap blanket.  If he could feel the low temp warmth with his hands, he seemed to think he was warmer all over.  In his instance, he did indeed have circulation problems which probably was part of the causative factor.

The other issue was that the thermostat had battery operated remote controls.  My mother kept the control in her hands - she would ratchet the heat up and up and up and up until we were frying.  What I did was rather than argue or try to sneak around her, I took the batteries out of her control and hid the working one that I left the batteries in.

As long as she could click, click, click to her heart's content, she was fine.  She had such little control over anything else due to dementia, this was one small thing that seemed to please her that she could "control."

Do have your LOs labs drawn next MD appt. to see if there is anything awry with anemia or other body system which may be contributing to the feeling of coldness.  If all is okay on that front, then forging ahead with whatever helps including fiblets is what one is left with.

Let us know how it is going, hope that you find a solution soon.

J.

acadiapark

Peer Volunteer,

Thanks for your input. I appreciate your comments as well as others.

My DW PCP did very recently order blood lab to test for anemia. Negative. My DW Neurological PA also recently had urine test for possible UTI. Also negative.

I agree with you and others that some of her feeling cold is real. I do, however, think that sometimes she is confused as to what she is feeling. I just have to go with what she says and try to help her.

Thanks again.

Bost

I don't have dementia, but ever since I turned 45 as a female, I can related to body temperature regulation issues.  Especially carrying some extra pounds which is bad for my circulation.  The diuretic water pill hydrochlorothiazide might contribute to feeling cold, not sure.  I've developed a lot of solutions.  Some of the new space heaters are called radiant heaters so mostly their heat is felt right on the person in front of them.  They are not all designed with forced fans, so their are silent airless ones.  Also, if you have a lamp that can accept a 250 watt bulb, you can get a basking bulb at a large pet supply store in the turtle section.  It does put out UV-A but I don't think it's too cancer-causing.  I have one and it helps me stay warm.  I also have an electric throw, which is slightly easier to manage than an electric blanket.  I use an electric heating pad on the couch, and now there are little heating pads that plug into a laptop for power, too. 

On the other hand, there are also air conditioners which are mostly efficient to the person in front of them, and those are the portable ones.  I also have one of those, lol.  An ice pack just above the lower back stays nicely in place while a person sits.  They are most effective on arteries, like behind the neck or wrapped around the wrist.

All of these measures need to be monitored so that your LO doesn't overheat or freeze.

When a person's blood sugar is low, they can feel very cold.  The next time your LO is freezing, ask them to eat a piece of something sugary (not fatty because the fat slows digestion).  If they perk up within 10 minutes, then you'll know their blood sugar was low without having to prick their finger.  If they perk up but it takes 40 minutes, then their blood sugar was really, really badly low.

13Nuget

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/135371#Comment_135371

My DH has VD & AD. We live in a very warm climate all year. We don't have a/c and depend on the trade winds to keep things cool. He is always cold and closes all the windows and sliding doors no matter if he is in that room or not. Our bedroom is on the 3rd floor and it's SO hot up there and he'll be fully dressed and under a comforter. I have learned to do kind of a dance with him. After he closes everything up and he goes up to our bedroom, I reopen everything. When we go to bed at night, he's usually asleep by the time I get there and of course it's so hot as he has everything closed up so I reopen them. Sometimes he gets up to check on them during the night and closes them again. I'm usually up a lot to pee so then I just reopen them. So far it's kind of working. He even took our pedestal fan out of the room and put it in the closet. I bought a small fan and it sits on the nightstand by my side of the bed. So far he hasn't even noticed it. Our windows have never had so much work.