For a long time, Stella has always felt cold.
- Her hands and feet especially feel cold.
She always puts the heat on, even when it’s a tepid day outside. When Stella is outside in the cold in the winter, it takes her hours to heat back up when she goes inside. She started to believe something was seriously wrong with her on a winter day. Stella was out of her house for only an hour, and she was so cold that she was shivering. The central heating system was already on in her house and she decided to light her fireplace. Stella turned her heat up super high, put several layers on, and lay in front of the fireplace. She still felt cold, and this prompted her to go to the clinic. Feeling cold every time was starting to affect Stella’s physical and mental health. This was also derailing her financially. Turning the heat up high all the time was the cause of her electric bill increasing. When Stella went to the clinic they ran several tests to see if she had a medical condition that was causing her to feel cold all the time. After several blood tests, the health officer asked her several questions, and diagnosed Stella with hypothyroidism. Her thyroid wasn’t functioning as needed, so her body struggled to regulate its temperature. Now that Stella has a diagnosis and an answer to the dilemma of why she feels cold all the time, she’s started to feel a little bit better. Stella is taking medications, and slowly her body is regulating its temperature. She can turn the heat down and stop wearing numerous layers.