Today's topic
Today on A.Vogel Talks Menopause, I answer the question "Can menopause make you cold all the time?"
We know that for most women, hot flushes, hot sweats, and burning sensations are some of the most common symptoms of menopause. For some women, however, they feel cold or get cold flushes, cold sweats, or shivering.
4 reasons why you can feel cold all the time during menopause
So, let’s take a look at why you can feel cold more than usual and what you can do to help yourself:
1. Falling oestrogen
When oestrogen levels fall, this disrupts your temperature regulation. For many women, this causes their body to think it's hotter than what it is and it releases a surge of blood around the body on the surface of your skin which cools you down.
This is what causes a hot flush. However, for some women, it goes the other way. It changes your thermostat to make you believe that you are colder than you are. When that happens, the body will take blood away from the surface of the skin and draw it in towards the internal organs. That makes you feel really cold so you can get body chills and cold sweats just as you would with hot flushes and hot sweats.
For some women, they just feel cold all the time. There's just this constant feeling of being slightly chilled.
What you can do with this one is to try the herb, Sage. Although itmost commonly used for hot flushes and night sweats, sage helps to regulate the hypothalamus, which is a gland in the brain that regulates your body temperature, so it can still work in the same way.
Are you Menopausal? Need help with your symptoms? Try our Menopause Symptom Checker.
Answer 3 question to find out if you could be menopausal and get personalised tips and advice straight to your inbox based on your results.
The same things that trigger hot flushes and sweats can also trigger body chills and cold sweats. This includes caffeine, alcohol, foods high in salt and sugar and low blood sugar levels. It can be helpful to keep a diary, writing down every time you get these chills. If they tend to happen at the same time every day, then very often, there is a specific reason for that, such as a cup of coffee, a chocolate bun, or just the fact that you've gone so long without eating anything. This can be a really good way of managing these cold sweats and chills.
2. Nervous system
The second reason you may experience these cold sweats and flushes is due to the nervous system. You might find that you get that sudden feeling of cold if you're a bit anxious or if you end up with a panic attack. Again, if you're going long periods without food, that can affect your nervous system. Try to see if there's a link between how you're feeling physically and when you get these cold flushes.
For this particular one, you may find that sorting any stress and anxiety can improve your symptoms of cold flushes. Try a supplement such as magnesium, or gentle stress remedies such as Passiflora or Avena sativa.
3. Poor circulation
If you experience cold hands and feet, this tends to be due to poor circulation. As your oestrogen falls, it can affect the integrity of the blood vessels, so the blood vessels get slightly less elastic. You may find that your hands and feet tend to get cold really quickly, maybe the minute you step out the front door. The fact that your circulation itself is not working as well as it could, could just be because of the low oestrogen.
For this one, double-check that you're not dehydrated because dehydration can be quite a big factor here. You can take the herb Ginkgo biloba which is known to help improve microcirculation that is opening and strengthening the tiny little blood vessels in your fingers and in your toes.
If you also have low blood pressure, (though not as common as high blood pressure in menopause) this can also cause cold hands and cold feet. For this, you need to make sure that it's not too low because that needs medical attention.
If it's just slightly on the low side, then you may find that the herb Hawthorn can help because this is a blood pressure balancer. It's quite slow to act so this is something, especially if you get cold hands and feet during the wintertime, you need to start in about September for it to be of any benefit during the winter.
4. Minor illness or infection
If you suddenly find that you get the shivers or the shakes, this could be due to a minor illness or an infection so first of all, check how you feel. Generally, if you're also fatigued or you feel a bit run-down, then maybe your immune system is just working a little bit under par.
This is something that can be sorted really easily by using the herb echinacea which is known to help to support immune function. If you're run-down and tired, then maybe your body's just telling you that you need a little bit of a rest and hopefully, that will help you to feel a lot better.
Shivering can also be due to low blood sugar levels. If you've left it too long between eating, and you've had a sudden blood sugar level fall, that can be a big trigger. If you find that you get shivering episodes at the same time every day or roughly at the same time every day, then very often, there is a reason. Make sure you're not dehydrated and check that you eat really regularly.
It could also be due to things like caffeine, high salt and sugar foods. Keeping a diary from this one as well can be really helpful to pinpoint what the trigger may be and then that's something you can sort quite quickly.
I hope you found this helpful. If any of you have other tips for things that have helped you, then please let us know by sharing them in the comment section below.
Until next week, take care.
