Damn it's cold!

[JessieA]

Hello everyone!

So I have been on hormones coming up on 4 months now, and am very happy so far. My dysphoria has reduced, I am starting to see some physical signs that I like, and my emotions are awesome!

There are a couple of things I wonder about though. My body hair growth has slowed down lots. And my head hair is going gangbusters. But I feel cold. Let me explain.

I used to be a hot blooded person. I would wear shorts in the dead of winter, and only wore Ickes when I was forced. Now I am cold a lot. Since winter has hit here, I am always either wearing a sweater or fleece, have taken to wearing socks and slippers, have started wearing a night shirt to bed, and have a nice collection of arm warmers.

Has anyone else experienced this? Is it something I should bring up with my doc?

Also, my fingernails are brittle as all get out. I have been trying to grow them out but they seem to break at a whip stitch. Very annoying.

Thanks all! Hope you are having a good day, week, month, and year so far!

Jessie


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[jessical]

I have more difficulty regulating temperatures hot or cold.  Now that it is winter, I have become a layering expert

I don't have problems with brittle nails, but there are nail moisturizes if your nails are dry and brittle.  My skin is definitely drier.

[Mariah]

I definitely feel temperature a lot more than I used to especially the cold. The changes in hair growth are normal too. I have noticed the same. Hugs
Mariah

[Rachel]

My nails are brittle since I started HRT and I am cold more frequently too.

[KayXo]

One word and it will resolve both the brittle nails and being cold: PROGESTERONE. Bio-identical progesterone increases body core temperature and helps tolerate cold. The reason you have brittle nails is due to lack of sebum (skin oil) as a result of less testosterone and increased estradiol. Progesterone increases sebum production and will make nails stronger. I have personally experienced this and read this happen dozens of times in transgirls. Progesterone is the best moisturizer ever and beats all creams/lotions hands down. Your hair and skin might get softer as well. Breasts may get fuller.

[judithlynn]

I total agree with KayXo reference Progesterone. Mind you I feel cold right now. Yesterday the Temperature on the coast in Victoria reached 41C - 105.8F. Today the temperature has dropped to  17C - 68F - Brrrr!!

[Eevee]

I know the cold thing all too well. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and I was fine with the cold weather all the time. I've moved to New Mexico since I started transitioning, and now I'm always freezing. It's definitely not colder here. I just feel it so much more than I used to.

[Emjay]

I was always cold either way...  Pretty much any temperature under 80 degrees F isn't warm to me!

Along with everything else suggested, you might try biotin for your nails.  Also keeping a coat of clear polish on them might help protect them from breaking.

[JessieA]

When I started HRT my doc and endo didn't put me on Progesterone. Just Spiro and Estrodial. I have an appointment coming up here in just a couple of weeks. I will bring it up with her then. Thanks for the advice KayXo and Judith!

Jessica I hear you about layering. It is the only way I am coming even close to being either warm enough or cool enough. I am worried what this summer will bring. 

Eevee you are south of me. I am in Wyoming and it has been super cold the last few mornings when I have gone into work. Brrrr!!

Emjay I am taking biotin right now. It has helped a bit, but not a lot.

[Rachel]

I take prometrium every night. I may ask my doctor to double my dose when I see him in March.

[Tessa James]

My body temperature regulation has not changed so much as my heat producing muscle mass has and my skin is finer with less hair for insulation too.  No complaints really.  I did worry i froze my little witches tits as they were white as ash and hurt like hell one day when i was ill advised to take a hike and be braless.  Damn it's cold at 45 F!!!

[RobynD]

I too have been cold more often, post HRT.

[ShadowCharms]

I actually haven't noticed the cold much more than usual. I often get baffled responses from people about my habit of wearing sleeveless dresses during the winter time here in Colorado. I've found some great thermal tights, and they seem to allow me to continue to wear dresses all winter. I certainly am cold a lot, but that was true before I started transitioning. As far as I can tell, I still tend to run a lot warmer than the cisgender women I work with. When they're all cold, I'm feeling fine, even when I'm wearing less.

[Dana60]

I'm glad it's not just me, because I've certainly felt the cold more since I started on HRT.

[Deborah]

It's the same for CIS women.  There was an article in the news about it a few months ago.  Unfortunately, I can't remember the reasons why this happens.  But it's normal.


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[JessieA]

That is true. I used to think my wife was just exagerating, but nope.

She is getting a good giggle at me over this and a few other things now that I am feeling some of the same sensations that she has.

[KayXo]

Since being on progesterone, I rarely get cold. It truly warms the body and is great for that.

[Valwen]

you may also want to try adding a Biotin supplement to your pills, they are good for stronger and healthier hair and nails. I noticed how brittle my nails got and a few months on this has fixed it back to 90%.

I read somewhere so long ago that I cant be sure of my memory that due to higher testosterone levels mens internal body temperature is like 0.25 to 0.75 degrees higher than people with lower T levels. this dose not seem like much but you can really end up feeling it when it comes to the cold.

Serena

[Steph34]

Rising estradiol levels increase thyroid binding globulin, temporarily reducing free thyroid hormone levels. Lower free thyroid hormone means less endogenous heat production, leading to a sensation of coldness. I often feel cold after a dose. Temperature comfort can be improved by timing doses to precede being in a warm place rather than out in the cold, although honestly, a few shivers seems like a small price to pay for feminization.

Progesterone can cause extreme coldness and shiver attacks, at least for me. Unlike estrogen, this effect is associated with the presence rather than just the rise. When I take progesterone, which is rarely, it makes me feel very cold. That is not surprising, since it suppresses metabolic heat production and causes weight gain.

I always ran warm and still do. Anything over 65 degrees is unbearable to me. However, I used to need 3 cold showers per day to control overheating; otherwise I would feel like the upper half of my body was on fire. Now, I no longer need cold showers and I actually hate the cold as much as the heat. The hormonal changes have made me more sensitive to the cold. I no longer go outside in temperatures under freezing because I can't tolerate it.

I have taken biotin for 18 months and my nails are still brittle and won't grow. My hands are such an embarrassment that I try to ignore them anyway. Nails contain calcium, so a calcium supplement might help if you are trying to grow nails.

[KayXo]

Estradiol makes the skin thinner relative to when T is high and E is low. Thinner skin = decreased tolerance to cold

But...

There is a study that confirms that progesterone treatment increased significantly FreeT4.

And...

* Volume 64, Number 1
OBSTETRICAL AND GYNECOLOGICAL SURVEY

"One well-validated finding in women is that core temperature is increased by 0.3° to 0.5° in the luteal phase compared to the follicular phase (49)."

"Core temperature, in other words, is consistently increased when both progesterone and estrogen levels are elevated, as in the luteal phase; elevation of estrogen levels alone is not sufficient."

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12141881

"substantial evidence exists to suggest that increased progesterone levels during the luteal phase cause increases in both core and skin temperatures and alter the temperature at which sweating begins during exposure to both ambient and hot environments."