Hi everyone, just wondering if anybody else out there has had very cold hands and feet after their surgeries? I had a RNYGB Feb. 13, and have managed to take all my vitamins and iron, but seem to have frozen hands and feet since then. I am down 32 pounds since Jan. 29. Can anybody shed some light on this? Am I anemic? I have a followup with my surgeon next Wednesday. I will be sure to bring it up but would appreciate your comments and info. Thanks.

I’m the same way, and it’s unfortunately not uncommon post-surgery. There are many threads on this topic, if you use the search function.

I had surgery in December 2019. I wear slippers while home, and warm socks always. If that’s not enough, I made a foot warmer (flannel bag with rice in it, reheats in the microwave) that I use daily.

I took your suggestion and searched but didn’t find a lot about this when I searched specifically for « cold hands and feet » so maybe I will search for « being cold » instead. I am always wearing slippers and sweaters now. I will check with the surgeon on Wednesday to see if there is more going on. Until then, I cannot wait til summer! Lol

Do you have any known thyroid disease? I have Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and I noticed that I had similar symptoms (that got worse) post-gastric bypass. Perhaps there is no correlation, but it's one possibility.

Once you start losing your fat, it only gets worse! Losing weight throws you into a different metabolic mode, and getting cold easily is part of it. Now that I dropped 110 pounds of insulating blubber, I am cold ALL the time. Can't believe I am looking forward to summer, for the first time in my life!

22 minutes ago, AZhiker said:

Can't believe I am looking forward to summer, for the first time in my life!

Agree 1,000%.

very common after surgery. Sometimes it eventually resolves; sometimes it doesn't. I don't really get cold very often anymore - but I did that first year!

I'm already cold and I just had surgery on March 3rd. I'm normally the hot person. My feet are like ice blocks, my family is amazed that I'm using the heater as often as I do (everyday, lol).

I'm just shy of 2 years out and I am cold almost all of the time. My hands are cold. My feet are cold. I'm just COLD. I have a "sluggish" thyroid, but not enough for my doc to prescribe anything. My vitamin routine includes a thyroid "supplement" which helps with some of the other symptoms common with thyroid, but not the cold.

I wear heavy socks and slippers all year round. I have a heated mouse pad that looks like a tent to keep my hand warm while working. My office is equipped with a space heater and a supply of lap blankets and light jackets. At night, when I watch TV, I am covered like an Eskimo and I often sleep with socks on because my feet get so cold.

I don't know what to tell you other than it's common. I don't expect it to go away.

A lot of it is the calorie restriction. Eat more, move more.

14 hours ago, chalcrow said:

Hi everyone, just wondering if anybody else out there has had very cold hands and feet after their surgeries? I had a RNYGB Feb. 13, and have managed to take all my Vitamins and Iron, but seem to have frozen hands and feet since then. I am down 32 pounds since Jan. 29. Can anybody shed some light on this? Am I anemic? I have a followup with my surgeon next Wednesday. I will be sure to bring it up but would appreciate your comments and info. Thanks.

That happened to me, well the hands part, when I had a thyroid disorder (which I think got far worse after my weight loss/calorie restriction). I see posts all the time where someone thinks they are cold due to weight loss and I constantly think to myself “more likely it’s about being hypothyroid via Hashimoto’s or other cause!” I was freezing all the time when I lost a lot of weight (not Bariatric surgery loss, but still a lot of weight) - I was cold when it was hot, I wore long sleeves in bed and socks, I was extra irritable, and even my nose was cold! Asked your doctor to run a thyroid antibodies test (not just thyroid). Mine is better now with meds.

@S@ssen@ch your pcp may not be that Knowledgeable on this issue - I had to fight mine and until we did an ultra sound for another reason and he saw I had a goiter he didn’t order the antibodies test and it was in the 1,000s. Mine kept saying mr thyroid was low but normal (which is what it likely would be even if you have Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.

Edited March 13, 20206 yr by Bezy

EXTREMELY cold hands and feet. My new nail tech jumped when she touched my hands ?

Yes i had bypass 25 feb and i have noticed i am so so cold and have to wear so many layers lol?

I was cold all over. As my nutritionist put it, you're losing insulation, so you're going to be cold AT LEAST until you stabilize your weight. As others have chimed in, unfortunately, it could just be a lifelong thing. I was very cold a few weeks after surgery and I have 'cold days' off and on, but it has vastly improved for me. I still wear thermals under my business casual clothing to work often, though. My girlfriend, however, had the sleeve done just after my surgery and is still very cold most of the time.