It is certainly true for my husband! It is embarrassing to go somewhere with him and have him insist he needs a wool hat, gloves, and winter coat when everyone around us is coatless. Our heating costs soared in the winter; couldn't possibly keep it as warm as he wanted, so he was still wearing either a vest over flannel shirt or a jacket in the house. I think it must have to do with their metabolism, or whatever the system is that regulates body temp. Meanwhile, I am roasting!
This happens w/AD. I know a family that kept one room of the house heated all the time and the husband stayed there while the rest of the house was comfortable for the others. I'm not sure this could work for everyone, but it did for them. I got the sense that he was cold 'inside' and that coats & sweaters did not help the way they normally do--but I don't really know, never met him personally--just that it happened.
My DH is 83, and I think a lot of older folks are cold. He is also losing weight. Besides that, I wonder if their brain actually gives the right message about temperature and about whether or not they are hungry or full.
Dh is always cold. He sleeps under a feather duvet, even in summer and wears a woolen sweater in the evenings. He's only 75.H wore a down filled jacket to his doctor appointment.Temp in the 70's.Of course that also has to do with inappropriate dressing.
Heres just another example we are seeing of yet another universal sign that comes along with the AD. it makes sense the metabolic system would be affected as well at some point. my DH loves to wear his 'zip up' jogging jackets all year long and you have to fight him to get them off of him. his hands and arms are always cold. plus he has no excess body fat due to weight loss so that keeps them cold as well. divvi
People who are older and/or in a compromised state, such as having AD, do not sense the heat and still feel "cold". HOWEVER, if they insist on turning up the heat and wearing lots of heavy clothing so that they become overheated, damage is still being done to the body whether they feel it or not. Extreme heat is very taxing on the cardiopulmonary system. Therefore, it is very, very important to keep ADLOs at a reasonable temperature whether they like it or not.
One reason they may complain of being cold is that they can become super-sensitized to a light breeze blowing across the skin. It can sometimes help if you simply find ways to keep them from feeling air movement, e.g., have them wear a lightweight, long-sleeved shirt.
My DH used to always be cold before he was placed. He would constantly want the heat turned up. I found out how much after he was placed. My heating bill went down almost $200 a month.....
The "I'm cold/I'm hot" switch wasn't working correctly and the appropriate dress switch wasn't doing much better. We would have to fight to get his gloves and jacket off him. Once they were off, we used to have to put them out of sight so he wouldn't find them and put them on.
My DW is always commenting on being cold, particularly when we go from one temperature to another. As others have noted, she wears jackets, etc., on the hottest days. She also is bothered by air movement. We just came back to our apartment after being away (at our "camp") for a week, and it was hot and stuffy. I had to be sure she sat in a chair well away from the air conditioner so I can get the place cooled down to where I can stand it. I think this is partly due to the AD interfering with temperature sensation and partly to lack of body fat (unfortunately, I have plenty).
Marsh may be right about the temperature sensations being affected. i was horrified to see my DH waving his hand over the humidifier i put out in the pm for his breathing. it burns if too close and i was appauled he didnt seem to feel the steam..take note everyone about bathing water temps and steam from microwave foods etc. i believe its true he may have some impaired sensory to hot/cold..divvi
ps i find that the sleep apnea is MUCH better this last week using the humidifier at nite! even my dogs arent snoring!
Absolutely, It used to be me who would be chilly, but now when he gets up in the morning, he has to put on his winter robe. I keep the AC on 78degrees, and still he gets chilly. He's 84, and I assumed it was age, altho his mother, who also had AD was always hot. she'd be in a little house dress all the time. who knows?
Yes, my DH is also "cold" at times when I am 'comfortable'. I also agree that the communication "switches" are more & more "backwards" on not only the hot/cold thing, but also things like "r u hungry" (says no when he means yes); "do you need to go to the bathroom", etc. It forces me to keep up with these things because no longer does "yes" mean "yes" and visa versa.
Thanks for the tip on the humidifier, divvi -- I might try that too as snoring is a huge issue in our house. "side sleeping" becomes the 'norm' for my DH.
divvi is correct, just as ADLOs don't feel "hot" the way we do, they also don't realize when they might get burned.
That booklet that I just posted about, which has tips for wanderers, also had a few tips about protecting our LOs from getting burned:
* Place red tape around floor vents, radiators, and other heating devices to deter the person with AD from standing on or touching a hot grid. * If smoking is permitted, monitor the person with AD whilehe or she is smoking. Remove matches, lighters, ashtrays, cigarettes, and other means of smoking from view. This reduces potential fire hazards, and with these reminders out of sight, the person may forget the desire to smoke. * Remove knobs from the stove, or install an automatic shut-off switch. * Do not use or store flammable liquids in the kitchen. Lock them in the garage or in an outside storage unit. * Remove portable space heaters. If you use portable fans, be sure that objects cannot be placed in the blades. * Be cautious when using electric mattress pads, electric blankets, electric sheets, and heating pads, all of which can cause burns. Keep controls out of reach. * In the shower, tub, and sink, use a single faucet that mixes hot and cold water to avoid burns. * Adjust the water heater to 120 degrees to avoid scalding tap water. Most hot water heaters are set at 150 degrees, which can cause burns. * Color code separate water faucet handles, with red for hot and blue for cold. * Place a sign on the oven, coffee maker, toaster, crock-pot, iron, or other potentially hot appliances that says DO NOT TOUCH or STOP! VERY HOT. The person with AD should not use appliances without supervision. Unplug appliances when not in use. * Use a thermometer to tell you whether the water in the bathtub is too hot or too cold. * Do not leave the person with AD alone with an open fire in the fireplace. Consider alternative heating sources. Remove matches and cigarette lighters.
The booklet is just full of good ideas. For example, here's something I never would have thought of:
* Remove all poisonous plants from the home. Check with local nurseries or poison control centers for a list of poisonous plants.
There's a section on driving ... all sorts of good stuff.
i just wanted you all to know.we had app. with dhs neurologist today. i told him about him being cold and complaining about it most of the time and he acted like that was unusual for ad patients. he said it sounded like maybe a thyroid problem and asked if he had had a thyroid test done,of course the answer is yes,he has. [dh is not under or overweight and he is only 52 years old]. i do use the ceiling fans at home,he used to want them on,maybe the breeze from the fans are bothering him,but we were at the drs office today and i had to get him a blanket he was so cold,and there was no ceiling fan. i will be hot and he will be cold. dr wants to try him on namenda again[this will be the 3rd time we have tried it,it just seems to make his ad worse,dr is aware of this,but he wants us to try it again anyway. i am scared to death to start him on this again. he takes razadyde 24mg daily and dr wants to add namenda along with it. the 1st time he took namenda along with aricept, he was on it for several months,he was doing so badly,i took him off it. the 2nd time he took it was not as long,but with the same results. i tell you,i really dread it,but if there is a chance it will help him,what can i do? maybe he will do better taking it with razadyne. gosh, i hate this disease. he was so sad at the drs office. of course he didn't get good news and he is like my child i need to protect. the look in his eyes just kills me,it's like a pleading look for me to help him and i can't, all i can do is comfort him.i just want to cry my eyes out and scream to the top of my lungs,"why him,why now,why,why..... his mini mental test was below 15,and might have been lower if the dr had done all of the test,because i know he would not have been able to answer the questions or follow the directions. why does it make me feel so bad when i state the truth about his condition? i feel like i am talking bad about him and betraying him some way,and i always think,"why did i say that" or "why did i even tell that"? i hate this..... this just hasn't been a great day, but i know it could be worse. i just need to be thankful for what we still have and pray for strength,but is is so hard to give thanks when he is like this and so unhappy. i want to thank you all for you comments. bless you all. jav
definitely a change with my husband since AD. He now wears long johns and socks in bed in the middle of summer and always has the heat lamp on while taking a shower. He never felt the cold before, in fact he never wore a winter coat at any time and our winters are harsh.
jav, consider changing doctors. We all need doctors who will listen to what we have to say. Having a doctor ignoring what we know, from day to day behavior, just makes the entire thing more difficult.
I agree with Starling. My husband has responded very well to namenda, so I think it's great, but I know that some patients suffer serious side effects from it and should NOT be on it. It doesn't make sense to keep putting your husband back on a medicine he doesn't tolerate well. And I think it's pretty weird the neurologist doesn't know that AD patients often feel "cold". Does this neurologist have a lot of experience with AD patients? Because many neurologists specialize in totally unrelated areas -- migraines, movement disorders, etc -- and really aren't the best qualified to help manage AD. My husband's first neurologist was simply hopeless. I've gotten a recommendation for one who works at the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center nearby -- will be checking him out on Friday. And we're getting a new PCP who specializes in geriatrics and works at a SOCARE, first appointment is this morning.
I agree. It has to be AD related. My DH walks around in 80 degree heat with a heavy fleece sweater on. Before the AD, he would be hot in the middle of winter and couldn't bear to wear a jacket while driving in the car even in the winter. He's only 54, so it's not just a "normal" sign of aging. (He's lost a very large amount of weight, so I suppose that could affect it too.)
I understand how you feel, jav. I feel very helpfless, and frustrated. DH has two more injections left on his drug trial, which was put on hold and is now back on. I don't feel like taking him, it seems pointless, and I hate to lose the days at work for no real purpose. Yesterday, he was there getting an MRI and had to give a urine sample. He tried to pee standing at the sink; I kept thinking, what's the point of this? Obviously he's only gotten worse. Good news is there's a chance he'll qualify for the new stage III trial I want to get him into since he hasn't received an injection since January.
I wonder about the neurologist sometimes. He is knowledgeable about AD, but only sees DH every 6 months now. He doesn't go again til August. That seems like a long stretch to me. (It's been almost 2 years since diagnosis.) Do any of you know if that's typical?
One of the side effects of namenda is confusion. Why do they give a confused person a medication that mades him more confused. My DH was on Namenda a few years ago along with Arecept. Funny, While he was on Namenda, he was terribly confused. Now, he's that confused all the time. He's on Exelon. I agree, take him to another doctor. I am taking my DH to the VA for a complete evaluation, I know he will believe them, because he has gone to the VA for his eyes (a war injury) for years. He doesn't seem to take seriously the other doctors and of course, he doesn't remember what they say anyway and I feel like I'm not getting a full and complete answer concerning his condition and what I can expect. The Neuro sees him for about 20 minutes and DH can hold up pretty well for 20 minutes. I have also been taking him to a geriatric specialist, but again, they don't seem to spend enough time with him to really judge how he's doing.
Kelly - I don't know if everyone's neurologist sees them only once every 6 mths, but ours does. We saw him in Jan & will go again this month. We switched from a neurologist in Arlington (TX) to the one we see now @ UT Southwestern in Dallas when we became involved in the drug trial & I am very pleased with our dr. now. The old neurologist just sort of did the 'testing' and 'prescription writing', but not too much else. The new one is sooooooo informative and he really listens & tries to offer up help. When I was thinking of adding an anti-depressant to our pill regime, he talked with me over the phone for about 45 minutes one day after 5pm!! It's important to have a dr. who will listen & take into consideration all our concerns. We also switched from a regular PCP to a geriatric PCP, even tho my husb is only 62. The dr. agreed to take him on as her patient...he's the youngest one she has. She has also been VERY good for my husband, and also for me -- always gives me kuddo's on how I'm doing -- always asks "how are you doing" to me, the care-giver, which I think is awesome!! We wanted ALL our dr.'s to be @ the same facility so their records would be 'sync'd'. It has been a huge help. Our drive is a bit long (35 miles one way), but we have been very pleased.
well i just hit the wrong button on my keyboad and deleted every thing i just wrote,so i am not going to write the same thing again. my dhs neurologist is at vanderbilt. he certainly seems to be knowledgable about ad and eoad,but sometimes,like about the cold thing,it's like i know more that he does. i am certainly not a dr or even close to it,but i live with ad everyday. i suspected the issue had to be a symptom of ad,but i have never heard it mentioned by anyone anywhere. dh can't get in to see the dr again until dec. he usually does see him every 4 to 6 months,but i just don't know if that is .i'm thinking of just staying with our neurologist here. i just don't know what to do. dh is getting worse,the blank stare,not answering me,not talking as much. there's a big change,just in the last little bit. his mini mental test was under 15? i don't know what number that is supposed to be,but that is what his monday report said. what does that mean? what stage of progression,or whatever,is that? jav
chris, the namenda is working for my husband. That is why they try it. Sometimes it works for AD and VD patients. And it tends to work better as part of a two drug combo than it does alone.
However, if your LO is one of the people who has a bad reaction to the drug or its side effects there is absolutely no reason to be using that drug. It doesn't work well enough to keep trying it.
I've had bad side effect reactions to two different drugs in my lifetime. One of them, the one for anxiety, was never replaced. The cholesterol drug was replaced and I've been taking the second one for years with no problems. My husband has taken the original cholesterol drug that I couldn't take for even more years with no problems. It is all pretty individual. That is why you need to read the side effect paperwork the druggist gives you.
jav, all of us know more about this disease than the doctors do. When I really needed my husband's neurologist to pay attention to me, I was able to make contact with his advice nursing staff (he was actually out of town at that moment) and got what I needed from them pretty easily. I don't necessarily need to talk to the doctor. But I need a way to get information to and from the doctor when it is necessary. Here in Pennsylvania I have lucked out with both the family doctors' practice (we have different ones at the same practice) and all of the specialists they have sent us to.
I'm not getting mini-mental numbers from our doctors. I think they aren't doing the standard mini-mental test on my husband. But a 15 sounds like he is pretty badly off. But you already knew that. Now you know that they know that.
jav, neurologists tend to be extremely busy people. Perhaps you could find a good geriatrics specialist to be your husband's primary care physician. And that way, you'd have two different opinions, you'd have two doctors to turn to when you're concerned, and a geriatrician is likely to be more available than a neuro.
My husband's dear PCP disappeared a few weeks ago -- his clinic flatly refused to tell us where he'd gone or why he'd left. I asked the people running the clinical trial for a referral. The new PCP works at a SOCARE. We just had our first appointment yesterday. The man is wonderful! He is very knowledgeable about AD, and is very gentle and compassionate. My husband liked him ... I'm in love. :-)
I had asked the trial people about a neurologist as well -- my husband will be meeting him as part of the longitudinal study on Friday, and I'll make sure he likes the neuro before "officially" asking to be his patient. It turns out the new PCP would have recommended him as well, and works closely with him.
(I've lost entirely too many of my posts ... this is a cranky website that way! ... so now I do all my writing in a word processing application, and when I'm happy, cut and paste here. Then if it goes into outer space, I still have the original, and can just cut-and-paste again.)
I brought this up again because my DH is suddenly always cold this winter. It has been colder than usual here in NC until recently and we did have a problem with the furnace. But, for the first time since we have been married, 48 years, he is wearing pajamas. One night he even had his heavy fleece hoodie on in bed. He wears socks to bed. I have always been the cold one in the past, but now he surpasses me all the time. He keeps turning the heat up and I dread our heating bill. Is this happening to others?
Maryd, my DH has been just the opposite! All summer he was cold and would wear heavy flannel stuff to bed - wouldn't want the AC on or overhead fans. I roasted all summer. Now, this winter, he wears his cotton shortie pj's to bed, just a sheet sometimes. From all I've read - it's just part of it. Their thermostat may also get "broken".
maryd, I am the one who is always cold DH is always warm. He goes around in pants and T-shirt while I have at least 2 layers on. The past 2 weeks have been unusually cold for South Carolina and I was not a happy camper. I told DH I wouldn't be warm again until August. lol.
My husband has never been cold, but now he is cold all the time. Of course, it is cold, but it never bothered him in prior years but this year he's been cold, and even when it wasn't cold, he felt the cold. he doesn't move without his robe on, and sleeps in heavy flannel shirts and sweats. And he's under the down comforter. I think it's the disease.
My DH is cold all of the time also. He wears his winter gloves constantly, even in the house. He wears a flannel jacket in the house with the hood up, and a blanket over him, when he takes a nap in his chair. He complains of being cold a lot.
I can't decide whether DW is hot or cold. For the last couple of years she has complained about being cold all the time. Lately she has said she is hot. I don't know whether this is a change in her reaction to temperature or a problem finding the right words. She wears what I give her and doesn't make any changes. Sometimes at night I will feel chilly and get another blanket, then find she is sleeping with only the sheet over her, usually because I have pulled the blanket over me, but she doesn't complain or make much comment when I cover her up again.
In winter of 2007-2008 DH slept with a heavy fleece blanket and Queen size comforter over him, in his underwear with the window cracked open about 1-1 1/2 inches, except for the 9-10 days the temps went into minus digits (we're in Michigan). Last yearhe had the window closed. This year the window is closed, he's using the same covers, and wearing sweatpants and sometimes sweatshirts as well. Then when he gets up and comes into the regular room heat (70) he complains he's freezing. He just doesn't get that his clothes and covers warm him up a lot and coming into normal heat will fel cooler. Last summer he was having the AC in his room on (at 70) and cov ering up with the same blankets. He always used to be HOT! Wanted no clothes and covers to sleep. Thermostat broken. Reason Button broken. Just waiting for the next thing.
Happened to my husband, too. Even when driving him home from Florida to Virginia in May, he had to have a coat and scarf on and a blanket over him. When we got home he wouldn't go out into the sunshine on the deck. Too cold. He wanted me to turn on the heat in the summertime. I just gave him a heating pad and blanket and dressed him warmly.
My dh's thermostat is also broken. Normally he was the warm blooded one. Now it seems that I have warmer days than he does. He has eoad so I know the age is not a factor in this. I do think it is the disease. The good thing about this is that he bundles up more than he used to and maybe won't get sick so much. He used to not wear real warm clothes in the winter and I worried the would get sick. Not such a big worry now.
My husband is cold all the time the heat must stay on 76-78 and I am sweating like a dog....he wears a fleece hat all the time and is always fully clothed head to toe plus he wears a sport jacket even at bedtime I don't really understand it but when I put the heat down to 72 his nose is running and he's coughing ...it is so weird. I have 3 blankets on the bed but that is not enough he does have thyroid issues so I am thinking it's that and the disease
My husband is very cold almost all of the time. We have an ongoing routine where he turns up the thermostats in every room and I have to turn them down in the ones we are not using. It is funny only because my husband was always the one to keep the heat down at about 67 to "save money". Now that we really have to save, he likes to put the heat up in the 70's. I think that it is related to the AD but it could be the medication. I'm guessing that disease damages the brain in the area that regulates body temp.
angelb I hope your husband's thyroid and B12 levels have been checked recently. If they are not in the normal range it can be remedied fairly easily. Both could produce symptoms of feeling cold.
After my hubby had 3x bypass surgery he was no longer the hot blooded Latin..still Latin but now needing a jacket or sweater. Nothing much has changed in that dept . But the funny thing is, we have an electric blanket that we each can control for our own comfort..if he gets a little too warm instead of shutting his side off, he opens the window. I don't mind the cool air and so far we have not had the house temp increased beyond what it takes to get the chill out in the morning. But we live in The Peoples Republic of Kalifornia and for the most part where we are it is temperate. I will keep this information in my mental file drawer for the future.
Has anyone encountered the problem of their DH's thermostat (for want of a better description ) going awary. In the winter he complianed bitterly about the cold and I had a job to keep him warm and he kept wishing the summer would come, now that it is warmer (not hot yet), he's miserable with the heat ,especially at night. He wasn't so sensitive to the cold and heat when he was well, so I'm wondering if it has something to do with this wretched alzhiemers.
We recently had the carpets cleaned. It was a very cold day outside---well below freezing. When I went downstairs, I noticed DH had turned the thermostats DOWN. Ditto on main floor. So I turned them up and 3 hours later, noticed thermostats had all been turned down again. I spent the rest of the day turning them back up and hoped there wouldn't be any power outages (it was also very windy out). With the dampness in the carpets, a power outage would have meant extra cold especially when hubby was putting thermostats down to about 50 degrees (and in a couple of rooms he turned them off completely). And my hubby usually is turning thermostats up all the time. Go figure!
First time I've observed him doing this with thermostats-----exact opposite of what we normally do when carpets are cleaned. But as I mentioned under another topic, he dresses by the look of the weather rather than by actual air temperature. Definitely another symptom of something not working right cognitively.
Oh, boy, have I ever been through this! Summer before last, all summer long, he wore winter clothes, jacket, hat,gloves, could not stand the a/c on nor over head fans- I suffered terribly all summer long. This summer - didn't happen! Now that winter is almost here, he sleeps in shorty p.j.'s most of the time, maybe one sheet and the thermostat is usually at 65 at night! However, in the daytime, when playing on his computer, he will ask for a sweater! Go figure. Their thermostat is broken, just as their reason button is broken. One more challenge for us!
Jean is in a nursing home. His hands are always cold. He also has those sleeve things on because of skin breaking on his arms. He'll still be cold and wear a cardigan also. I thought it might be poor circulation.
Seems that the thermostat problem is widespread so guess it IS the wretched disease, one more thing to contend with. DH (arrrrr) was again very " naughty " last night, seems I will have to resort to the tabs, after all - he was prescribed Avanza, but I have been trying not to use them.
We have a programmable thermostat and dh has forgotten that he can adjust it. (You can turn the heat up or down just till the next temperature change by hitting a certain button once or more.) He was chilly for a couple years (after having been warm-blooded all his life) but now seems to have lost all sensitivity to temperature. (THis seems to be the next stage.) He will go and sit in the living room half naked after his bath and not use the throw, or try to leave the house without a jacket in freezing weather. A duvet always made him too warm at night but he sleeps well under one now and it is easier for him to manage than sheets and blankets. For some reason he has taken a dislike to his winter jacket and insists on wearing his beloved lightweight jacket. I let it go -- he's mostly just outside for a couple steps on the way to or from a car.
Yes, thanks for posting this again. I didn't think about dh always being cold as part of this @#$&* disease. He does take blood thinner and aspirin for heart problems and I thought that was the cause and could be part I guess. He wears socks and flannel p.j.s and a thermal shirt to bed. Daytime he has a roaring fire in our wood stove and wears a quilted vest with a flannel shirt, long johns with denim pants and still complains about being cold and his hands are always icy. We live in So. Mid Tenn and our weather is usually mild. He has to put his finger in warm water for a while so it warms up enough he can get enough blood to test his glucose level.