Brrrr!

                                                      

From time to time, I have strange symptoms. I don't ever seem to know what causes them. For a while, my sense of smell was wacked. Was it related to my cancer or my congestive heart failure or the Salmonella I had? Everyone shook their heads in mystification.

During the duration my entire house smelled urine soaked although I knew it wasn't. It was strong enough to gag me at times. All food smelled and tasted as if it was spoiled. I opened a can of peaches and had to throw them out because of the odor. Milk all smelled soured. Cooking chicken gave off an odor of rot.

You don't usually think much about smell. Things simply smell like they are supposed to but let me tell you, when your fragrance detector goes crazy, it is very disconcerting.

In time, my sense of smell returned to normal. I was very grateful for that.

Now that I'm totally over the Salmonella, I feel well. My lone symptom is being constantly cold, not just cold but freezing. It can be 90 degrees outside and I'm wearing my heaviest pants and sweatshirts. (Velour, I've found, is the warmest material you can wear.) I haven't brought any of my summer blouses down from upstairs this summer. 

I have the temperature in the house set at 74 and that's how warm the thermostat says it is but it feels more like 34 to me. My primary reason for taking naps isn't because I'm tired but as an excuse to get under the covers to get warm. My primary reason for taking baths isn't to get clean but to get in hot water and get warm.

My nose is like an ice cube perched on my face. My feet and hands are numb from cold. It feel as if someone is blowing cold air across my shoulders and down my backbone.

Being cold doesn't make you sick and it's not exactly painful but it can be surprisingly incapacitating. You don't feel like doing anything except finding a way to get warm. Sometimes, I sit in the car and let the heater run.

I checked out Google to see what might cause always being cold and found out it might be anemia (I've had a transfusion for anemia but my last labs showed it to be under control.) It could be hypothyroidism but none of the other symptoms are consistent with me. It could be diabetes but my diabetes hasn't been a problem for a long time. It could be anorexia but I know that isn't it.

Of course, WebMD recommends that you see your doctor for tests but I'm pretty well doctored and tested out so I guess I'll just go on being cold. I can't wait for the temperatures to drop enough for the furnace to run. Then I can stand on a heat register.