Okay, so right off I’m going to admit I’m not very big and I don’t weigh very much. So all my life, pretty much, I catch a chill a little ahead of everybody else. So, yeah, I get chill before bigger beefier people but nothing that seems outside of expectations.
But it seems to me, in the few years I have been on BP meds this effect has been really exaggerated. Or it could be my imagination, of course. But it truly does seem noticeably worse. I’m like always chill. In the winter I bundle up like I’m in the Arctic just to walk my dog! While I see other people walking around with their coats open, apparently in perfect comfort. Yeah, I know, hardly evidence.
So I’m asking, any chance my BP meds are affecting this? Or is it just normal aging? Or all in my imagination? Or some other thing altogether?
I’d love to hear your numerous and varied thoughts and opinions!
(I know you’re gonna ask so, I never, not ever, complain it’s too hot or humid. Delhi, Bangkok, Bali, nope not too hot for me!)
IANAD, but since you ask for thoughts and opinions, my own experience is that there’s no relation between BP (I assume you mean blood pressure) medication and sensitivity to cold. I’ve been on BP meds for about a year, and it has made no difference to what has been the opposite experience of yours. I’m not small like you but I’m of reasonably normal stature, probably a few pounds overweight, and I find that as I get older I’m developing an increasing intolerance to heat. In the summer, central A/C is essential to my well-being and the gardener is my best friend. With winter approaching, I have the heat down lower this year than ever.
Feeling chilly is not listed as a side effect. Feeling hot and flushed is.
If you just getting older, that may be a more likely cause.
I’m in my mid-60’s now. I’ve always been hypersensitive to cold weather. (See: My comment in the nearby pedicure thread about wearing skimpy clothing in cold weather.) I’ve not been overly bothered by hot weather.
In the most recent few years that’s been changing. I’m getting even more intolerant than ever of cold weather, and I’m beginning to become intolerant of hot weather too. This past summer was noticeable more uncomfortable for me than previously. To be sure, it was a hotter summer than usual (the “new normal”?) and I was outdoors and active more than in the recent past.
Some blood pressure meds can make you a bit lethargic. I’ve had that problem with some BP meds (and I’ve tried plenty). I currently use amlodipine in the morning (one of the ingredients in Twinsta) and losartan in the evening (similar to telmisartan, the other ingredient), with no really obvious side effects. Everyone’s MMV.
OK, I’ve got average measurements (dimensions?) for my age, and have been taking BP meds for almost a year now(really spiked about, oh, say nov 8th last year). The meds seem to have finally leveled it out.
ETA: (Missed edit window.) Like OP’s self-description, I’m also on the small-and-light side. (I wish all those big-and-tall clothing shops would also cater to the small-and-short set. I’m tired of having to get all my pants altered after I buy them because they don’t make my length.) I suppose that’s also a good case for being overly temperature-sensitive.
I’m always the smallest guy around in any group. Can you guess which one is me in this picture? This, by the way, was outdoors during a boiling hot weekend in a wide-open place. (And it was only Memorial Day weekend, at the end of May.) Yeah, I got uncomfortably hot there. (And that guy with the sweatshirt and hoodie? He’s always wearing that! In even hotter weather than that! Unbelievable!)
I was taking beta blockers to help with an arrhythmia issue. Cold hands and feet are a side effect of these drugs, especially in older patients. Twynsta seems to be a combination of an angiotensin receptor blocker and a calcium channel blocker and shouldn’t have this effect.
Ima gonna guess that any BP med, if it lowers your BP too much could cause chilly feeling. It’s certainly possible that getting BP lowered too much can cause fainting. That happened to me once when I was using atenolol, another beta blocker (and possibly the drug Bill Door was using, as it’s a common one for arrhythmia).
I have read that beta blockers, Atenolol in my case, can cause chillyness. Anecdotal support for this are the years I worked in a refrigerated (not air conditioned, refrigerated) building, and I was cold all of the time. I took to wearing one, then two sweaters as the office descended into Frozen territory. I wore fucking hand sleeves, like gloves but no fingers, my hands were so cold. And yet, the lady right next to me was quite comfortable in a light short skirt, sleeveless top and sandals.
Beta Blockers might have the opposite effect. They slow down the heart rate so your blood doesn’t circulate as quickly. Analogy: you car’s water pump is running too slow or worn out sp tje engine overheats. Fortunately I’m off of beta blockers now, but I would skip them if I was going to do exercise outside in the heat. For example, ride my bicycle 50 miles in 85+°F temps.
