Temperature Reset à La Steve Richfield

[Robin Williams]

I was wrapped up pretty warm today myself. I got the impression that my temoerature was stuck at 36.7celsius and wouldn't rise any more. It went up to 36.9 this evening, many hours after the sweaty reset period. Im dressed warm now, but not wearing an extreme mumber of layers anymore... I will continue the process tomorrow morning, and try to get my temprarure up without the T3...

 

[artlange]

if your temp is not going up, you are not dressed warm enough. don't forget hands, feet, and head can radiate a lot of heat.

 

[ecstatichamster]

I did NOT take any thyroid for my temp reset. I sat in a hot car dressed warmly to get my temperature to rise or dress very warmly (I did it both ways) the very warm dressing was polypropylene long johns to keep the sweat from bothering me, layers of fleece and a down jacket when in the hot car and I slipped into a sleeping bag in my house. then my temperature would rise. when it got to 99.3, I'd take a glove off one hand and hold my hand outside the hot car for a minute or two, and then my temp would drop to 98.6. If your temperature does not rise, then you need to dress more warmly. If you are NOT sweating, then you must dress more warmly. I hope this helps.

me too. I do take T3 but only small amounts and not to reset. I don't think it's safe to use T3 this way.

I took a long hot shower with thermometer until I reached 99F.

Then I got out, dressed really fast, and used a warm car...

...maintained my temperature that way.

And continued, so that at night and day, I dress in very warm clothing, and slept (and sleep) very warmly...

...if you have incandescent lights, this works as well if they are 300 watt bulbs to warm up with.

This is exactly what I did. I sweated. And still to this day sweat a lot more than I ever did. Now it feels really good.

 

[Robin Williams]

Last night, just after my post, it was as if by magic that my temperature rose to 36.9-37.05 and stayed there for a good hour. Wow!

This morning was frustrating though; however hot I had the shower, I could only get it to 36.7celsius. I then got dressed up and under the duvet. My temperature then rose to 37 and I kept it there for two hours before it began to drop. This afternoon I recorded 36.3, then (as if by magic) my temperature rose again to 36.96-36.98. Amazing!

During that time I noticed myself feeling most uncomfortably hot (and just a little sweaty). I resisted taking any more layers off. I have basty sinusitis right now and feel dehydrated. Cue to drink another glass of water...

 

[Robin Williams]

Thanks, by the way for the tips - it teally helps to know that I am not doing this crazy thing all on my own!

I have been wearing mountaineering hat and the hood of my quilted jacket, one glove (as otherwise I can't get the thermometer to work), scarf, merino-wool vest, 2x lambswool jumpers lambswool slippers,... all inside a feather and down duvet. I also have a heat-lamp which I poibt at my trunk and face.

I'm measuring my temperature this very moment and its at 36.94. I'm feeling uncomfortably warm. I guess its absolutely essential to keep this temperature as long and as many times as possible over the next 2 weeks... So far my temperature is not following the guidelines, but I guess our bodies (and short-circuits) are all different...

 

[betsyaida]

Finding Steve’s work has been life changing for me. In my opinion, the biggest gap in the work of Ray Peat .

I recently found this info by Ray Peat regarding body temps...

"Babies spend most of their time sleeping, and during life the amount of time spent sleeping decreases, with nightly sleeping time decreasing by about half an hour per decade after middle age. Babies have an extremely high metabolic rate and a stable temperature. With age the metabolic rate progressively declines, and as a result the ability to maintain an adequate body temperature tends to decrease with aging.

(The simple fact that body temperature regulates all organic functions, including brain waves, is habitually overlooked. The actions of a drug on brain waves, for example, may be mediated by its effects on body temperature, but this wouldn’t be very interesting to pharmacologists looking for “transmitter-specific” drugs.)
Torpor is the opposite of restful sleep, and with aging, depression, hypothyroidism, and a variety of brain syndromes, sleep tends toward the hypothermic torpor.
An individual cell behaves analogously to the whole person. A baby’s “high energy resting state” is paralleled by the stable condition of a cell that is abundantly charged with energy; ATP and carbon dioxide are at high levels in these cells. Progesterone’s effects on nerve cells include favoring the high energy resting state, and this is closely involved in progesterone’s “thermogenic” effect, in which it raises the temperature set-point.

The basal metabolic rate, which is mainly governed by thyroid, roughly corresponds to the average body temperature. However, in hypothyroidism, there is an adaptive increase in the activity of the sympathetic nervous system, producing more adrenalin, which helps to maintain body temperature by causing vasoconstriction in the skin. In aging, menopause, and various stressful conditions, the increased adrenalin (and the increased cortisol production which is produced by excess adrenalin) causes a tendency to wake more easily, and to have less restful sleep.

While the early morning body temperature will sometimes be low in hypothyroidism, I have found many exceptions to this. In protein deficiency, sodium deficiency, in menopause with flushing symptoms, and in both phases of the manic depression cycle, and in some schizophrenics, the morning temperature is high, corresponding to very high levels of adrenalin and cortisol. Taking the temperature before and after breakfast will show a reduction of temperature, the opposite of what occurs in simple hypothyroidism, because raising the blood sugar permits the adrenalin and cortisol to fall.

The characteristic sleep pattern of hypothyroidism and old age is similar to the pattern seen in schizophrenia and depression, a decrease of deep slow wave sleep. Serotonin, like torpor, produces a similar effect. In other words, a torpor-like state can be seen in all of these brain-stress states. Several studies have found that anti-serotonin drugs improve sleep, and also reduce symptoms of schizophrenia and depression. It is common for the “neuroleptic” drugs to raise body temperature, even pathologically as in the “neuroleptic malignant syndrome.”

In old people, who lose heat easily during the day, their extreme increase in the compensatory nervous and hormonal adrenalin activity causes their night-time heat regulation (vasoconstriction in the extremities) to rise to normal.

Increased body temperature improves sleep, especially the deep slow wave sleep. A hot bath, or even warming the feet, has the same effect as thyroid in improving sleep. Salty and sugary foods taken at bedtime, or during the night, help to improve the quality and duration of sleep. Both salt and sugar lower the adrenalin level, and both tend to raise the body temperature.

Hypothyroidism tends to cause the blood and other body fluids to be deficient in both sodium and glucose. Consuming salty carbohydrate foods momentarily makes up to some extent for the thyroid deficiency.

In the periodic table of the elements, lithium is immediately above sodium, meaning that it has the chemical properties of sodium, but with a smaller atomic radius, which makes its electrical charge more intense. Its physiological effects are so close to sodium’s that we can get clues to sodium’s actions by watching what lithium does.

Chronic consumption of lithium blocks the release of adrenalin from the adrenal glands, and it also has extensive antiserotonin effects, inhibiting its release from some sites, and blocking its actions at others.

Lithium forms a complex with the ammonia molecule, and since the ammonia molecule mimics the effects of serotonin, especially in fatigue, this could be involved in lithium’s antiserotonergic effects. Ammonia, like serotonin, impairs mitochondrial energy production (at a minimum, it uses energy in being converted to urea), so anti-ammonia, anti-serotonin agents make more energy available for adaptation. Lithium has been demonstrated to restore the energy metabolism of mitochondria (Gulidova, 1977)."

Thyroid, insomnia, and the insanities: Commonalities in disease

 

[danishispsychic]

I have my temp up to 98.2 but then it hops up to 99.1- the elusive 98.6 is eluding me. Better than my perma mopey 97.6 of last year. Peating works. #salt #sugar #moresalt

 

[ecstatichamster]

My temps are in the low 98s by the afternoon. I dress more warmly than I used to. I sleep with a cap on my head but don't try to overheat when I sleep. It's been good. I'm not at the 98.6 but still, much better than before.

 

[nbznj]

if you don't want to pile on clothes on top of clothes I recommend the Uniqlo heattech stuff. I can't find anything wrong with them. That and dextrose powder are definitely the best things I've done in a while to keep me warm as hell in Canadian winter. I have to resist the urge to run instead of walking because of the excessive energy

 

[ecstatichamster]

My temperature has been in the 98s normally now for some time. It does seem to dip around mid-late afternoon, then rises back up again, then falls again before bedtime.

It isn't 98.6 but often around 98.2 to 98.4, which is a huge improvement over what it was before.

 

[Luckytype]

My temperature has been in the 98s normally now for some time. It does seem to dip around mid-late afternoon, then rises back up again, then falls again before bedtime.

It isn't 98.6 but often around 98.2 to 98.4, which is a huge improvement over what it was before.

Thats awesome to hear, over what period of time have your improvements been happening?

 

[ecstatichamster]

Thats awesome to hear, over what period of time have your improvements been happening?

Two years really.

 

[Luckytype]

Two years really.

Very cool, im sure you are feeling loads better. What do you think were some of the defining pieces to the puzzle?

 

[ecstatichamster]

Very cool, im sure you are feeling loads better. What do you think were some of the defining pieces to the puzzle?

PUFA depletion takes a lot of time.

I went low/no fat numerous times and it felt horrible. Now if I had to do it, it wouldn't feel so bad.

It took a couple of years.

 

[NegativeFX]

Started my reset today after a really lazy 1 day failed attempt last year.
My waking temp is usually 35.8-36 C and my peak temperature in the evening is 36.3 (maybe 36.5 if it's summer and really hot). Also have hashimoto's and have been dealing with low temps for 4 years (I'm a 26 years old male). I've got 2 weeks off work so hopefully I can achieve some results.

Had a big breakfast with a good amount of carbs,protein and fat and got into the shower. Had no problem getting to 37+ C.
Then got into bed dressed warmly along with an electric blanket. Managed to stay at 37-37.2 easily, but I sweat absolute shitloads.

Went to eat around 1pm and unfortunately lost quite a lot of heat with all the sweaty clothes and temps dropped to 36.3, all of this in only 10-15min... But once I ate and got back under the blankets I got my temps back to 37+ as Im writing this now at 3:30 pm.

All in all, I neither feel stressed nor euphoric in any particular way, although my head does feel a bit clearer as I'm writing this.
I haven't had the so called crash some people experience, but I've been pretty diligent in staying under the covers so I've been able to maintain temps.

Couple of questions/issue if anyone's watching this thread:
- My body heat doesn't seem to be distributed that well. My hands and upper body feel warm, but lower body feels quite cold - especially my knees and feet
- Is it normal to sweat this much? 2-3 hours into the rest and my entire body was drenched in sweat, visibly so through the sweatshirt I'm wearing. And is doesn't seem to be stopping.
- Should I allow my temperature to go down to the low 36's before I go to sleep? I could keep the electric blanket on but I dont think I'll be able to sleep well if I'm sweating profusely and will end up just kicking all the blankets off.
- I take T4/T3 daily. Should I stop taking the T4? I read somewhere that it can interfere with the reset (though don't remember why exactly)

 

[tara]

Couple of questions/issue if anyone's watching this thread:

I've not tried to do this reset (though I'm interested in it), and I'm no expert. Just some thoughts.

• If you are sweating a lot, you may find it useful to wear clothes designed to deal with it by wicking it off the skin so that it doesn't keep you constantly wet, eg wool or polyprop leggings and undershirt.
• I get hot upper body and cold legs and feet sometimes. I think possible contributors may include being still (eg lying in bed a lot) so not getting the circulation stimulated by leg muscles working (if you can find a way to keep warm while moving around a bit, that might help with this ), and stress hormones tending to restrict circulation to the periphery. Could be other factors too.
• I think it's normal for the body to be slightly cooler during hours of darkness and sleep, so I think it's reasonable to allow temps to drop a little, but not massively, consistent with focussing on the temp reset during the day. Maybe keep as warm as you comfortably can, but not so warm as to prevent sleep?
• T4 and T3 seem tricky and individual. I'm not sure anyone can give you reliable advice on this without quite a bit of data. I recommend reading up and informing yourself on how T3 and T4 work if you are experimenting with them, and not making large sudden changes with them. There can be risks, as well as benefits, with using them. Note that T3 has a short half-life, and healthy body prob produces 3-4mcg/hr, and T4 takes weeks to come to a stable blood level at a steady dose.
• If you are getting up to 37 C, then I'm not sure there's anything to be gained by trying to push it much higher by too strong stimulation. Risk of triggering defensive mechanisms?

 

[YourUniverse]

I went low/no fat numerous times and it felt horrible. Now if I had to do it, it wouldn't feel so bad.

Same here! I wonder why... you think its PUFA depletion? In my case, I doubt it.

 

[JohnA]

The sweating is normal since your your body temperature set point is lowered. A normal person will defend his body temperature at around 37 and not start sweating until his body temperature is around 37.3 or so. In your case, your body has decided to defend 36.3 or so and is sweating profusely because it views 37 as unsustainable body temperature. This is real science. Studies show that endurance athletes and anorexic patients, for example, have lowered resting body temperatures and begin sweating at lower temperatures than controls.

As you continue your temperature reset and other RP metabolism interventions, your temperature set point will increase and you'll stop sweating at 37. In the meantime, 1) use moisture wicking fabrics (e.g. Uniglo or Under Armour), 2) switch out of wet clothes frequently, and 3) replace lost sweat with fluids that have sufficient electrolytes and calories (e.g. room temperature/ slightly warmed Gatorade with honey). RP has said that people with low metabolism lose more salt in their sweat, so it's really important to recover with something like gatorade rather than just water. ("The typical hypothyroid person loses salt rapidly in the urine (and probably in the sweat, too, though that is usually diagnosed as cystic fibrosis), and retains water, diluting the urine less than normal.")

 

[NegativeFX]

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

I'm wearing a polypropylene shirt and leggings, but changing into dry clothes isn't really an option. I'd rather stay under the covers and maintain the high temps in a wet state rather then drop back down to the mid to low 36's everytime I change clothes, which would probably have to be like every 2 hours.

It's day 3 now. Unfortunately I can't say much has changed, despite being pretty consistent in keeping my temps at 37 for a period of 10 hours or so throughout the day.
My waking temp was higher today, but I'm still sweating the same amount as day 1 and it doesn't seem like my set point has increased.

 

[aspartameisbad]

I dont know realy. I started to Salt every warm meal i had. I tried to Salt to taste on the upper limit. Risking that sometimes i got too much. Then i had too drink something with it.

What and how much did you drink with your salted meals? And what kind of salt did you use?