I am not sure about the Hypothalamus directly, but low body temperature can be a sign of an underactive thyroid.
Many people with low body temps have had their thyroid dests done (TSH) and have them show normal but from what I've read you can still have hypothyroid and show up normal on the tests. Some tests are just not sensitive enough.
Treatments for low thyroid can include Armour Thyroid and Synthyroid (I've never taken these, just read about them). I have also found coconut oil to be amazing -- after taking it for just a couple of weeks my body temperature went from 97.1 to 98.6 on the dot.
Since out thyroids are our bodies' furnace and regulate metabolic function, it's a bummer when it's not working right and can cause weight gain, fatigue, muscle soreness . . .
Alison
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The obscure we see eventually. The completely obvious, it seems, takes longer. --- Edward R. Murrow Posts: 923 | From California | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
Interesting about the coconut oil -- may try that myself.
In my opinion, the most likely scenario is that the low temperatures experienced by Lyme patients are a result of an iodine deficiency which would cause the thyroid to not function up to par. Iodine is used by the immune system and is probably depleted in the body's attempt to fight off the Lyme infection.
posted
It's very important to try to get your temperature back up to normal or at least closer to normal -- many metabolic processes in the body will not function correctly if body temp is too low -- an MD told me this but did not say what specifically would not work right.
Posts: 48 | From Five Mile Creek, WV,USA | Registered: Aug 2005
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95?!?!?!?! Holy Guacamole. It ASTOUNDS me that doctors aren't aware of how difficult it is for the body to function on a low body temperature.
I was talking to a nurse the other day and she was sort of saying in passing. . . "seems like everyone has a really low body temperature these days". Scary words. Metabolic fires petering out all over the place.
And yeah, if it's low they ask if you're cold and if it's high sometimes they like to blame the hot weather. SIGH. Anyhoo . . .
The best kind of coconut oil to use is -- let me see if I can remember this right -- expeller pressed virgin coconut oil - no refining, bleaching, etc. There are several good brands for this and easily found online cheaper than in stores.
Lymetoo, etc. For more info on the oil you may want to check out curezone.com's coconut oil forum - many experts over there much more knowledgeable than me on types, prices, and ordering.
It is fantastic to cook with and very coconutty tasting (go figure lol). Sometimes the taste is a bit hard to stomach, so what I used to do before was smear a little bit on each bite of a banana . . . yuMMMMy.
I think it's recommended to take between 1-4 Tablespoons a day. I average around 2 Tbsp. myself.
One warning though: It solidifies above 70 degrees so if you try to make a smoothie you'll end up with bits of coconut flavored wax - ask me how I know lolol. Also if your salad is just out of the fridge the same thing may happen.
I DID notice that I felt warmer and things seemed to be working better. I just wish I hadn't stopped taking it, but at that point I had SO many things wrong with me I just was overwhelmed by symptoms.
If you are going to see how it works with raising your body temperature (metabolism): take your temperature every day in the morning, right after you wake up. I think this is called the basal temperature.
Wait - no, just looked it up - called the axilla temperature. Check this under your armpit. Lie quietly for 10 minutes in bed right after you wake up. If temp is routinely under 97.4, consider thyroid.
I have been taking the coconut oil for the past 2 weeks but haven't taken my temperature lately. Maybe I will do this for a few days and see if it has helped and report back.
Hope that helps!
Alison
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The obscure we see eventually. The completely obvious, it seems, takes longer. --- Edward R. Murrow Posts: 923 | From California | Registered: Aug 2005
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I do now remember that some friends used Tropical Traditions and liked them...
For a small order, http://www.coconutoil-online.com/ has the best price per pound if you are wanting to only order a pound or two (which would be approximatly a pint and a quart) and the brand name is Coconut Supreme.
Tropical Traditions - http://www.tropicaltraditions.com is a wonderful site for those looking for information about coconut oil and its benefits and why it is one of the best oils you can consume in your d
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The obscure we see eventually. The completely obvious, it seems, takes longer. --- Edward R. Murrow Posts: 923 | From California | Registered: Aug 2005
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Carol in PA
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 5338
posted
When you are comparing different brands of coconut oil, here is what iHerb.com has to offer:
Coconut Oil, Jarrow Formulas, 16 oz SRP: $7.50 iHerb Price: $9.00 (includes shipping on orders over $20.)
I still have part of a two quart jar of Tropical Traditions coconut oil, that I bought a couple years ago.
I fully intended to use it in cooking, but the family complained that everything tasted like coconut. But hey, the fried potatoes sure came out nice and crispy.
After reading "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon, I stopped using margarine and Crisco, and now use butter. Butter is expensive when you compare it to margarine, but it is cheaper than coconut oil.
To get back to the original topic on this thread, you can read more about low thyroid by doing a search for Wilson's Syndrome.
Carol
Posts: 6956 | From Lancaster, PA | Registered: Feb 2004
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trueblue
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7348
posted
I just recently tried coconut oil and found the same thing as Alison. It seemed to raise my body temp from 96 (and change) to somewhere around 98. I found this amazing.
It also helped with stomache issues. I found I had an appetite and food wasn't gross. I only ate it for about 2 weeks and noticed it helped nearly immediately.
I am away and don't have it with me, right now, but will resume when I get home.
I have the Garden of Life one and it wasn't terribly expensive. (A friend ordered it for me and I believe it was $8-9.00/16 oz.) It's very delicious!
I was only up to a tablespoon a day and was working my way up. I scrambled eggs in it, added it to hot cereal, ate it off a spoon and with almond butter. I'm still experimenting.
I try and keep it in a semi-solid state. Mine goes liquid at 76degrees. (A mouth full of oil doesn't work for me.)
-------------------- more light, more love more truth and more innovation Posts: 3783 | From somewhere other than here | Registered: May 2005
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johnnyb
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7645
posted
Wow, Stella, you are low! Have you ever taken your basal temp? (someone correct me if I am wrong here but) I think it means keeping a regular (non-digital) thermometer next to your bed, then taking your temp as soon as you wake up, before rising. Keep it in there for about 5 mins. Supposedly, anything below 97 might indicate a thyroid problem. I usually wake with 96.5 or so and never get into the 98 range, but the endocrinologist did a single fasting blood test and exclaimed that I am fine! You are probably going to be even lower on a basal temp than you are during the day, and you are already in a range that requires investigation... Interesting that the docs who are supposedly the "experts" in this type of thing don't seem to consider / check body temp!
- JB
Posts: 1197 | From New Jersey | Registered: Jul 2005
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I consistently run a temp of 96.3 in the a.m. now that I am on ketek. It used to be 95.3 and about 4 times/month in the 94 degree range. If I get up for a few minutes, then remember to take the temp., it is down by .8 to 1 degree. I do take 30 mg. of thyroid because I tested in the low normal range. A series of tests were sent to an endocrinologist in Kansas. She said to take several steps, but I don't think my llmd is comfortable with them because she just upped my thyroid.
My llmd says the low temp is a sign of illness, and she has never seen ones as consistently low as mine. Once I was 93.something and once 92.something. She said she had never seen anyone that low that wasn't on the way to the morgue.
I will surely try the coconut oil. Thanks for that info.
tj
-------------------- tj Posts: 296 | From Portland, OR | Registered: Jun 2003
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johnnyb
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7645
posted
BTW,
Do any of you guys notice that your body temp will get up to a more normal range if the external temperature is hot? How about heart rate being influenced by outside temp (hotter is faster, colder is slower)? I don't THINK I am turning into a reptile, as far as I can tell.....
- JB
Posts: 1197 | From New Jersey | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
Low body temps do not alway coinside with Thyroid problems my Endo. MD told me. He is not a LLMD, but I started seeing him a couple of months ago when my LLMD found lumps in my Thyroid. I have had Lyme for 30yrs. and my temp has always been 96-97 even with 125mg synthroid (6yrs). BUT when I got re-infected in '99 I never got sick or a fever I went sub-fever. I forget the term. My temp was constant at 93-94*...I wore gloves, long johns, and many layers. My LLMD sent me to do HBO treatments and by the 4th week I was up to 97.6*, which is normal for me. So I do think activity helps to raise your temp. by getting oxygen into the bloodstream. BTW, I do also have Hashimoto's disease of the Thyroid. It is an autoimmuine disease as well. The Endo just found it. It makes you go hypothyriod, low metabalism. Best to you, but do have them do an antibody level for Hashimoto's if it countinues.
Posts: 52 | From Arizona , USA | Registered: Jun 2002
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