Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Why Am I Always Cold? And Holy Crap, What's With These Cats?

 
Cat's are everywhere lately!  They must think I am their long lost mommy!  But tell me, who could resist that cute face?

Hey Ya'll,

First let me say that we have been walking almost every night that we can.  We are rarely walking less than a mile a night now.  And remember, we are on a hill, so we always have to walk uphill to get home, no matter what direction we take!  Tonight, we walked 1.5 miles in 31 minutes!!  That's super fast for me!

Anyway, there is a cat or two along our walks, that has decided they like us.  One of them lives down the street from us.  This is the cat that just about gave me a Heart Attack back in early December.  Several times this cat has come up to us, especially when we would stop because my feet/toes were going numb so I could rest a few minutes.  It would come up and love us, wanting some special attention.  Tonight we came across another one!  This one we have never seen before.  Our beloved cat Oreo, passed 2 yrs ago last month due to Cancer.  So seeing these loving cats, just makes it so hard to resist getting another cat.

We are contemplating getting rid of our home, & down scaling our living quarters considerably (more to come later, if/when it happens), and it wouldn't be fair to coup up an animal like this.  We also like the freedom to be able to travel when we like and not having to worry about who will take care of...while we are gone, is a big relief.  We don't have to worry, we can just pick up and go.  Anyhoo, just wondering why we are being inundated by cats lately?

So, for the BIG question.  Am I the only one who has noticed this or is it something that is normal?  Before my Surgery, I was always one of "those" people, that was always HOT!!  I hated Summer because I couldn't tolerate the heat.  In fact, I rarely sweated, which made it worse.  I would stay indoors in an air conditioned place unless I just HAD to go out!  Thank god we have our pool!  

But since my Surgery, I have noticed that I am almost always cold, or at least easily chilled.  I never used to wear anything to bed other than my nightshirt and underwear, even in the Winter.  Now I am wearing a "long sleeved" nightshirt, long pj bottoms (sometimes flannel) and two pairs of socks!!  One of them the thick super soft kind.  And I am using a blanket!  In the past, I never used a blanket, even in the Winter.

We have tried to not use our Heater too much this Winter, as we are trying to cut our Gas/Electric bill down, so I have had to resort to wearing my super soft, long sleeved robe to keep me warm on the colder nights until I go to bed as well.  Of course, it doesn't help that we have NO CARPET in the entire house!!  Every room is either wood or tile floors!  The wood isn't bad, but the tile is freezing!

And going outside, I haven't been able to go outside without at least a light jacket on yet!  I mean we have been having days lately where the temps get up into the mid to upper 50's!  In the past, I would have been in a t-shirt, no jacket!  When we walk at night, I always wear my heavier jacket with a thermal lining, a warm hat and gloves!!  Is this normal?  

At the Support Group meeting that I was required to attend before Surgery, most if not all the Post Surgery members in the group said that they too used to be hot all of the time, and are now cold!  This was in Summer mind you, and they were all wearing sweaters/coats in the room the whole time and us Pre-Surgery members were dying of heat!  But since most of them were Bypass patients, I didn't think it would effect me.  Am I nuts or are others experiencing this as well????

Now, I am sure you are probably wondering why I am complaining of the cold, when just a week and a half ago, I was complaining of the HEAT when my MIL stayed with us!  Well remember, she likes the house to be kept around 75-80 degrees!  We had our thermostat turned up to 70, and at night it just about killed us!!  If I get too hot at night, my Sinus's plug up, I can't breath through my nose and I wake up with a headache.  Not to mention, I may wake up dizzy from being too stuffed up!  It is like from one extreme to another!  But given the choice, I would choose the cooler temps over the warmer ones.   

Well, I guess I better go for now.  I will be waiting on pins and needles to hear if anyone else has noticed this change as well.  Till next time.

Aloha My Friends  :)

PS)  Christa, are you still going with me to my Mammogram/Ultrasound appointment on Friday?  Let me know.  Love you

14 comments:

workinprogress said...

I haven't noticed it yet - but my doctor did tell me when I lost weight it would be like taking a blanket off!

Debi said...

That's how I feel! But I guess because you are in Australia, you haven't noticed it yet. I know that you are in Summer right now, so maybe you will notice it in your Winter.

Tina said...

i am freezing all the time. I think there two things going on. 1. the more weight you lose the thicker the parka coat of fat you are losing. I have now lost one heck of a thick coat. 2. fat holds estrogen and estrogen. For me at least I think it is helping out with my peri-menapause and I am having no hot flashes (i used to have them every night-now i am too cold).

Girl Bandit said...

I suppose you have less body fat. It happened to me once but not yet as we are in Summer and very humid conditions here at the momenet.

Debi said...

That's exactly what I was thinking too Tina!

And luckily for me, since I am beyond Menopause, I haven't had a hot flash in years!! Thank god!

And I guess it is hard for you to tell at the moment GB, since you are in Summer right now! It will be interesting to see if you have any of these symptoms when you move into your Winter!

Sandy said...

Hi Debi
I thought I was just being weirded out by the pre-op diet because by day 5 I was freezing. Like you I always had the furnace set at about 65F and now I have it jacked up to 74 most days. I think Tina is right, the estrogen being released is cooling me down. I haven't figured it out yet and don't think it is just the layer of fat. Last night I slept in my sister's room and froze. Just glad now I have a furnace of a husband t keep me warm at night. Will be getting closer to him now. LOL. BTW, I love cats and get my fix by baby-sitting for others. Gotta go have surgery now, so have a great day.

Debi said...

Thanks Sandy! Have a safe and fast Surgery and recovery!! I want to welcome you into the "sisterhood of the bandsters"!!!

Dinnerland said...

Congrats on taking the 'challenge'-- I think it makes it so much easier just to promise yourself 20 minutes of walking. You can always do more.
Thanks for the supportive comments on my blog (as always)!

susieq4givn said...

I am always cold...and the more the scale goes down, the more I feel it. I was told it was because we are loosing "blubber"....yep, that was seriously what I was told.

Mountain Laurel said...

I have been freezing for months! I used to be hot all the time, and usually wore short sleeves year round. When I asked my doctor about it, she said, "You've lost your blanket." I think that is most of it. All of the thin teachers at school are always freezing and wearing sweaters.

Linda said...

I have been really cold lately too. I noticed that last week when I had lost a good amount I was really, really cold.

Mountain Laurel said...

Not that I am thin! I'm a long way from it, but hopefully heading in that direction! :)

TJ said...

It also has to do with the calories you are consuming. A calorie is basically a unit of energy (technically a measurement of heat). If you eat less calories than you did before you will be colder. You can help counteract that by burning more (the conversion of fat to energy will warm you up), but normally you only notice that when you work out.

I have found so far that I am not as cold as I was right after the surgery, but I still have my moments. I used to be hot all the time and now I only notice it when I first wake up. My heating bill is also up so I know I am compensating.

Debi said...

Thanks guys! It is good to know that it is something common, and that all are experiencing this at least to some degree too!!

Now I know that it isn't just me and that I am not going crazy!! Because my DH wasn't feeling any different.

Vanessa, thanks for the "challenge". It gives me something to strive for each night! And I am not giving you any more support than you have always given me!!

Happy hump day everyone!!