Overheating 8-10h / day in winter + nights (no meds)

[Bktw]

Overheating 8-10h / day in winter + nights (no sweat, no fever, no high blood pressure, no elevated pulse, not medically overweight, no meds, no diabetes, sweating when exercising as usual)

I do not.lose weight despite trying (1.70 m, 60 kg, female, age 35) Must be the overeating after I cool off... 10 h after the overheating debut...

I eat low-carb (fruits, veggies, meat, eggs, seeds, nuts, dairy), no bread/ pasta/ rice,  no processed foods and no sugar

I rarely eat breakfast no matter how early I wake up (5-6 am) and eating breakfast did not improve symptoms.

I usually eat first meal 4-6h after waking up, and last meal 4-6h before bed.
Tried sweets daily for a week, symptoms did not improve - I was getting desperate for an explanation.

Tests came back normal despite doing them when burning hot: TSH, FSH, T4, prolactin, cortisol, testosterone, ATPO

For one set of tests that i got ... it was minus 5-8 degrees, I was out in summer clothes, autumn boots and a.light jacket... And I was hot. Tests were still normal.
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I either wake up overheated or, more commonly, wake up just fine and overheat abruptly after 5-10 min. Initially the window was 1-2 h (in the summer there was a different period of about 2 months)

  now (October- February) I need to make it cold in the room to be able to sleep as i overheat at night too and often put my back against the concrete wall to help dissipate heat (had to move the bed next to the wall...)

Because of this Sometimes I wake up really cold and if I get dressed (so I stop being cold) I immediately overheat, get dizzy and almost faint.

So now I just put on a bathrobe and endure 5 min of cold before I invariably start overheating and have to disrobe to avoid getting the less manageable symptoms.

In the morning I overheat whether I shower with cold or warm water. I cannot stand warm water on the front of the body (for the first half of the day) and I have washed in completely cold water... And could not feel it was cold..

If I fail to cool down I go into overdrive and end up on the bathroom floor pouring cold water from the sink and feeling like I'm losing consciousness - I've fainted before so I know what it feels like just before you faint, confusion plus vision issues

I am too weak to get in the tub.

And then I'm hot for 8+ h. I walk in a t-shirt at 5 degrees Celsius, I need to lean onto cold surfaces to help dissipation of heat (for instance on public transport), I cannot wear winter boots no matter the weather (snowy days included) Autumn boots at most but I often have to untie/ unzip them and I always change to summer shoes indoors or any time temperature is higher than 5 degrees.

I do not break into sweat. Deodorant is still required. But while I sweat in summer or in the sauna, or when I work out, I do not sweat when I'm overheating.

Sometimes I start shaking from the cold after exposure to cold for 15+ min.. But I'm still burning and I still feel the heat waves emanating from my body.

I get headaches from the heat. I also feel like vomiting of the heat gets too bad. I feel heat emanating from everywhere, eyes, ears, head, chest... I use my cold hands to cool myself off. I stick my cold fingers in my ears to cool down. I run my fingers on my scalp to cool down...

Because Somehow I'm burning but my hands are cold. Not my arms - those are hot. not my legs or even feet. Just the palms and the fingers.

Or I use a water bottle to cool off. All effects are temporary. Going back indoors to 18 degrees Celsius makes me sick immediately.

At times I have to stay without shoes on the balcony etc. in winter.

I have to dress only in summer clothes and get out in the cold immediately after I get any clothes on or I overheat and have to strip immediately or faint. A t-shirt is too much. Not to mention socks. And I feel the heat radiating from me through my clothes.

And after 8-10 h I start cooling down, get hungry (and overeat without weight gain) and then I feel exhausted and need to sleep. I might even feel really cold. I was always cold so I guess it's say I go back to normal. And then I overheat again after a few hours of rest/ sleep.

Sometimes it's so cold outside/ indoors that I need a cap on.. as my head sometimes gets cold but the rest of the body is burning.

I might get 2-3 days / month when symptoms are not as bad.

When it's really cold (below zero or really windy) it's just my hands that feel the cold, and turn red and painful...so I Keep my hands in my pockets but my coat is usually unbuttoned... Sometimes I need a cap. Other times I don't.

And summer is coming... And I don't see how I can go to work in summer when I cannot stand the heat now. I'm already turning off the heating in every room I go into at work and open all the windows... While ppl are wearing sweaters and sometimes even jackets on top...

[Ken_PA]

Hi, if we start with pattern matching of symptoms, it seems every possible cause (early menopause, thyroid, hypoglycemia, etc.) is excluded, except for some sort of diurnal autonomic dysfunction.

If we instead logically look at mechanisms and speculate: maybe there is some sort of massive vasodilation in the subcutaneous tissue; but contrarily with vasoconstriction in the dermis above (you have no visible skin redness, right?) --- which can then also sort of trap the heat in the skin. Then that calls for increased subcutaneous vasodilation to try to shed heat, in a vicious cycle. That can happen while still having your normal core temperature. All can be caused by some rare autonomic dysfunction, which when really stirred up can separately cause low blood pressure to the brain and the near fainting as well as stomach problems.

Next, personal history: Did anything happen before this condition occurred? E.g., a head injury can affect the hypothalamus, which regulates the autonomic system. Or was there any exposure to pesticides, heavy metals? Or is there any *family* history of autonomic problems? Or any strange atypical Raynaud's or other vascular conditions?

If we look at environment: why do you sleep in a room with a concrete wall nearby? Is lots of mold there maybe? What if you try to sleep in a completely different place, even in a different town? Or... is there Lyme or other tick borne disease where you are at?

This might still be related, despite your normal FSH and prolactin, and your early age: it is apparently common for women to experience cold hands and head during a menopause hot flash. Hormones can exacerbate autonomic dysfunction. Can you get an estrogen direct test during an episode? Maybe with saliva strips. [You might be aware of a parallel in that normal Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) doesn't necessarily mean normal thyroid hormone levels.]

Btw, your post shows extremely well ordered thinking. Bravo.

[Ken_PA]

"I rarely eat breakfast no matter how early I wake up (5-6 am) and eating breakfast did not improve symptoms... Tried sweets daily for a week, symptoms did not improve - I was getting desperate for an explanation."

Good thinking and experimenting there. I'd go further and do normal, everyday, average eating for 1-2 weeks, just in case you are currently missing some nutrients. Like B vitamins or magnesium or others (or something obscure), for nerve function.

And/or vit D is maybe worth a shot, since you worsened in October.

[AnnieBrooke]

You named some tests, did you also get tested for estrogen and progesterone? And, what is your body temperature when you are overheating? (Measured by taking your temp with a thermometer in the mouth?)