One of the main reasons I went to hospital in the firsst place after being diagnosed with anorexia was because my hypothermia was so bad. It was the most awful feeling, being so cold all the time but since Iwasn't eating, my body didn't have any energy to keep me warm. For the days leading up to going to hospital, all I could do was lay in bed with my electric blanket on and try to keep warm.
Even once I started eating a little more, it took a long time before my metabolism kicked back into gear and I was able to properly regulate my body temperature. I suppose the fact that I was so thin didn't help either as I had no insulation at all. My fingernails were always purple or blue and my hands were always as cold as ice. In some parts of the world where it is warm all the time, anorexics may not have this problem but here in Tasmania (the coldest state of Australia) we certainly do!
Here are some of the things I used to do to try and warm myself up whenever Iwas feeling cold (which was basicaly all the time). I hope that some of you who suffer from the cold can find them helpful :)
- WEAR LAYERS: I always wore thermal pants and tops under my other clothes ad they helped a lot to keep me warmer. Thermals can be quite expensive, but Ithink they are definetely worth it. You only really need a couple of pairs so that you can wear one pair whille the others are in tthe wash.
- WEAR SOCKS/UGG BOOTS: I find that if my feet are cold, then so is the rest of me is too. By keeping my feet warm I usually find that less of the warmth seems to escape from my body.
- HEAT PACK: Whilse I was sick, my heat pack was my best friend. Iwas constantly warming my heat pack up every hour or so and I would always place it on my stomach underneath my clothes. I would only do this while I was at home of course but I found that having direct contact with something like that really helped to keep me warm.
- BLANKETS: While I was at home, I also almost always had a blanket wrapped around me. No matter where I was, ehether it was sitting by the fire or cooking my tea, I always had a blanket around me (looking back this probably wasnt the safest thing, as a blanket in the kiche nis a bit of a hazard ;o).
- HOT BATH: Whenever I felt as though I just couldn't warm up, I would go for a a hot bath. It felt like heaven laying in the hot water and having every part of my body feel warm. The only problem was, eventually you would have to get out and then you would feel cold again.
- ELECTRIC HEATER: Luckily, my family always had a electric heater in the house that I could switch on if I ever started to feel my body temperature dropping, before it got too low. I felt guilty fo rusing the heater too much as I didn't want to run my dads power bill too high but it was stil handy to use when I was feeling especially cold.
- PUFFER JACKET: My Katmandu puffer jacket is seriously the best thing I have ever owned and the piece of clothing I have worn the most. It is extremely warm as it it filled with goose down feathers and I absolutely love it. They are quite expnsive but in my opinion, completely worth the cost.
- ONESIE: I love my onseies and they were my saviour whilst I was at my sickest. I love snuggling by the fire in my onesie and it always helps me to warm up.
Of course the best advice that I can give you is TO EAT. If you give your body the energy it needs, it will start regulating more body temperature efficiently again. Also drinking hot drinks or eating hot food is a wonderful way to warm you up. Also, when your body digests food, heat is produced so this is why you may feel warmer quite soon directly after eating. I used to hate being so cold all the time and being much warmer all the time now is honestly one of the best things about being in recovery in my opinion :)
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