The Facts about Weightloss and Cold Hands

I used to have a cute nickname around our household… the Polar Bear. My ability to never be cold, wear shorts in the harshest of conditions, and always criticize how high the heat was in the house inspired all kinds of polar bear themed gifts and memes from friends. Now, not so much. I needed to find out if there was a link between weightloss and cold hands.

Back in the Polar Bear Days

I was floating around 350lbs in the “polar bear days,” but now at 180lbs you would not associate me in any way with a polar bear or even a penguin. I can’t handle the cold since I lost weight. Sitting here right now typing, my toes are so cold I can barely stand it and the house is a reasonable temperature. We’ve gone through two cord of wood already and it’s not even been that harsh of a winter from a temperature standpoint.

I can bundle up and turn the heat up, but the major issue has been my hands. My fingers are so cold it hurts when the hot water of a shower hits them. It became such a problem I began to worry about it and started doing a little Doctor Google research. Obviously the common denominator between me always running hot and now running cold was weight loss. I had a feeling my path would end up there. It did.

Weightloss and Cold Hands Isn’t Uncommon

According to Harvard Medical School’s website the phenomenon of weight loss and cold fingers isn’t uncommon. It’s attributed to losing “insulation” around your major organs. So when all my friends were joking that I lost my insulation when I dropped the weight… they were right.

When the body feels your organs don’t have enough body fat to keep them warm or there has been a drastic difference in the amount it has access to, the body will begin changing circulation patterns to keep those organs warm. That means less blood flow to your outer extremities. Less blood flow means colder temperatures.

The actual name for the condition is “Raynaud’s Phenomenon.” John Hopkins defines it as: “a problem that causes decreased blood flow to the fingers.”

Weightloss and Cold Hands Could be Raynaud’s

Overall Raynaud’s isn’t overly dangerous and can be triggered from other things such as emotional trauma, stress, or extreme frostbite on parts of the body. Although weight loss isn’t in the official list of causes it’s a widely held belief that the trauma of weight loss to the internal workings of the body triggers the effect.

Raynaud’s displays on it’s own or can be in association with other much more serious diseases like Lupus or Scleroderma.

John Hopkins research goes on to say most people live with Raynaud’s as more of an inconvenience then serious medical problem. The tips they provided to ease the irritation are very common sense: keep warm, avoid exposure to the cold, and don’t use machines that can cause constant trauma to the hand… like a jackhammer. Damn, I guess I will have to find someone else to do all that jack hammering I had planned.

There is No Cure, But a Huge Upside

Stanford University says there is no cure for Raynaud’s and offered the same tips with addition of possibly taking blood pressure medication in the winter months to stop blood vessel contraction. They were clear this should be a last resort and only if the condition has become life altering.

Bottom line of the cold hand issue is… I traded a life of obesity and early death for having to wear gloves in the cold. Keeping it in perspective is important. I wouldn’t go back to that way of life for anything… including my sometimes blue fingers.

Take care friends. Bill