# Why do I have trouble regulating body temp after an operation?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-have-trouble-regulating-body-temp-after-an-operation/396352>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 17, 2007, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-have-trouble-regulating-body-temp-after-an-operation/396352 "2007-03-17T17:54:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-have-trouble-regulating-body-temp-after-an-operation/396352/1 "2007-03-17T17:54:01Z")

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Every time I have a major operation I have trouble regulating my body temp for months after. Temps that would normally seem fine to me are now much too cold. Last night I had to put on an extra blanket \*and \*turn up the heat.

My doc says that this is normal post-op behavior and not to worry about it, but he doesn’t explain why it happens.

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**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\
**Post date:** [March 19, 2007, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-have-trouble-regulating-body-temp-after-an-operation/396352/2 "2007-03-19T12:42:25Z")

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OK, one bump to see if the weekday crowd knows.

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**Author:** ![ShiefferSaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@ShiefferSaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShiefferSaw)\
**Post date:** [March 19, 2007, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-have-trouble-regulating-body-temp-after-an-operation/396352/3 "2007-03-19T15:01:02Z")

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Sorry Im not going to be able to answer your question, but I was curious, how much is your temperature fluctuating?

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**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\
**Post date:** [March 19, 2007, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-have-trouble-regulating-body-temp-after-an-operation/396352/4 "2007-03-19T15:07:37Z")

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[QUOTE=ShiefferSaw]  
Sorry Im not going to be able to answer your question, but I was curious, how much is your temperature fluctuating?  
[/QUOTE]

I’m not sure if it does fluctuate. All I know is I feel cold. Keep in mind that I almost never wear a coat. It has to be the low teens F for me to normally feel the need for a coat. I keep my place at around 64F and am usually quite comfortable. Now, after an operation, I feel cold at 72F and my hands and feet are cold all the time.

As I said, the doc says this is not uncommon. OK, but why does it happen?

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**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\
**Post date:** [March 19, 2007, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-have-trouble-regulating-body-temp-after-an-operation/396352/5 "2007-03-19T15:33:39Z")

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[QUOTE=Khadaji]  
My doc says that this is normal post-op behavior and not to worry about it, but he doesn’t explain why it happens.  
[/QUOTE]  
I don’t think anyone really knows why it happens. [“Anesthetics alter thermoregulatory responses in all patients”](http://www.asahq.org/clinical/geriatrics/thermo.htm), and _some_ end up experiencing [chronic hypothermia](http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=ShowFulltext&ProduktNr=224273&Ausgabe=230570&ArtikelNr=81939), especially it the hypothalamus gets tweaked, but [thermoregulation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoregulation#Variations_due_to_other_factors)  
still isn’t well understood.