Feel very uncomfortable unless I sweat

[Valmarg]

My body feels very uncomfortable unless I've had a good sweat. If I don't sweat, I feel achy and my skin hurts, just as they do before getting the flu. When I sweat, the aches disappear, I feel clear headed, awake, energized and the endorphins kick in, so I go to great lengths to ensure sweating happens by wearing multiple layers of clothes (7 layers, including a plastic jacket and one thick fleece) when I exersize. If I don't wear multiple layers then I won't sweat. On my days off from excersizing, I must sit in a sauna or steam room.  I've had this feeling for at least 12 years. I'm 42, 5'6" 120 lbs. Body temp 97. I am not trying to lose weight. I have been a runner for 23 years (3- 5 miles 5 days a week). I used to run in the summer heat back in the midwest, no need for multiple layers there.  Now I live in the San Francisco Bay Area where it is always cold. I eat well and drink tons of water throughout the day (3 quarts to a gallon). No one I know can relate. No one I know gets what I'm talking about. Has anyone else experienced this?  Is this a disorder of some kind? Or has my body just become accustomed to sweating, so I need it daily? Or has my body just not adapted to the cold temperatures in the Bay Area? One positive thing about this sweating addiction I have is that I don't get sick, ever.  On the rare occasions that I do feel something coming on, I'll go for a run, and the cold/flu never sets in. But, if I don't sweat for two days in a row, I will get sick. Thanks for any information or advice.

[star queen]

Sweating is one way the body gets rid of toxins.  It is also a way to regulate heat loss and cool the body.  Your desire to sweat to feel better may come from the fact that the toxins you force out by sweating do make you feel better.  Sweating also makes you give off more body odor, or phermones.  Workouts and sweating can also give pleasure, like a cool shower on a really hot day.  I would suggest getting rid of the plastic layer of clothing because it will not allow your skin to "breathe" and that isn't a good thing. You may be cold because of the many layers of clothing you wear.  When you sweat, the moisture on the skin cools the body, bringing down your core temperature and making you cold. It doesn't matter how many "layers" of cloth are on your body. If you are wet, you will become cold.  If you want to sweat and stay warm, wear fabrics that will "wick" the sweat away from the skin.  The skin will stay dry and warm and you will only need one or two layers of clothes to accomplish this. Try a shirt made of this and your fleece jacket and you will be snug and warm.  Good luck