night sweats

hi,
has anyone suffered from night sweats, i.e. soaking the bed, waking up cold and clammy. been to the doctor and all tests were fine. has anyone had treatment for same or been in a similiar position?
thanks

Hi doobey,

Google threw up [broken link removed] link, amongst others. Don't know if it'll be of any help.

Doobey
Are you under high levels of stress in work or at home? Has there been a life changing event (new baby, job, relationship)? Haven't tried hypnosis, but it might be worth looking into.

Doobey
Have you tried flotation? I experienced something not too dissimilar and after 3 or 4 sessions found that I was sleeping like a baby.
Also make sure that the room you're in is well ventilated. If there's a tv in it, worth removing that (or at least turning it off) - you should ensure that the bedroom is associated with calm and relaxation and nothing else... Don't eat late at night, ensure that your last meal is at least 2-3 hours before bed if possible.

You could also consider yoga and/or meditation, as getting a good night's sleep is all about breathing and state of mind.

Good luck!

If your GP has ruled out any physical cause then has s/he considered other possibilities such as stress, depression, anxiety, panic attacks etc.? Has the problem only arisen recently or do you have a history of it?

Hi Doobey!

Don't have any advice, just some sympathy as I suffer from the same. I've mentioned it to a few doctors who haven't been too concerned and didn't seek to follow up. I seem to go through bouts of getting sweats - can go for weeks and weeks without getting one and then get two or three in the space of a couple of weeks. They're very annoying! Especially in the middle of winter when I wake up soaked and freezing cold.

I attended a different doctor recently who has recommended I get a blood test just to rule any obvious causes out but she wasn't rushing to get me to get the test, especially as, thankfully, I'm otherwise healthy and fighting fit.

Just as well as I haven't plucked up the courage to get the test because I have a phobia of needles which is a much bigger deal to me than the night sweats! And when I say a phobia I mean a phobia, not I don't really like needles or I'm a bit afraid of injections. As in I've had dental work without anesthetic because I couldn't cope with the needle - the dentist was sweating with the pain! I've had stitches in the sole of my foot without pain relief for the same reason. I've never had a blood test (I'm 30) or given blood for the same reasons. Someone smack me in the head and tell me to get a grip and go get the test (it isn't working when I try to do it myself)...

Someone smack me in the head and tell me to get a grip and go get the test (it isn't working when I try to do it myself)...

Get a grip on yourself coolaboola [*smack*]...and go get the test!


...well, did it work?

*dazed* Um... thanks piggy! ... nope. Not yet.

Queue scene from 'Airplane', hysterical person and numerous people lining up to dish out a thumpin!!!

It might just take that! *gulp!* (Anyone recommend a good topical anesthetic and relaxation techniques???)

attended a different doctor recently who has recommended I get a blood test just to rule any obvious causes out but she wasn't rushing to get me to get the test, especially as, thankfully, I'm otherwise healthy and fighting fit.

In spite of your fear/phobia about needles you really should try to get this done in order to rule out any physical cause. In my experience some GPs are better than others in persisting with diagnosis if/when physical causes have been ruled out. I still wonder of such night sweats might not be symptomatic of some of the ailments that I mentioned earlier and which some GPs may overlook?

You're absolutely right Clubman. Am thinking I should do it sooner than later rather than stew in my fear and allow it to build up to an even bigger deal than it already is for me.

I also agree that your suggestions can be a cause (and I'm not exactly the most laid back person in the world... scratch that, I'm usually so tense you could bounce me off the walls like a rubber ball!)

However the extent of the sweat (I'd have to change the bedclothes and my night clothes, flip the duvet (it soaks through my nightclothes and the bedclothes) and dry my hair with a hairdryer) along with the fact that they don't occur more often when I'm particullarly stressed/depressed leads me to think there isn't an underlying physiological cause (or maybe there is and I'm particullarly unobservant).

It may be something simple like eating too much of a certain type of food or drink, a hormonal blip (I'm on the pill and night sweats can, very rarely, be attributed to that. I've changed brands very recently so I'm going to allow a bit of 'settling down' time on the new one and see if it eases the sweats). I dunno. Thankfully, apart from being a bit icky and disruptive to a good night's sleep (I normally sleep like a baby!) I have no other symptoms. Nonetheless it would be nice to be reassured that there's no more serious underlying problem and that its just 'one of those things' ... even better if I could stop them!

For what it's worth if/when you do go for blood tests make sure to explain your fear/phobia of needles to the person involved and I'm sure that they will do their best to put you at ease.

Did the problem start when you changed pill? If so it would seem obvious to investigate that as a possible cause or contributory factor? Or is there any other significant even which coincides with when they started or with any individual occurrence?

needle phobias would be familiar to most clinical psychologists or cognitive behavioural therapists and easy to sort out. Try www.psihq.ie or www.babcp.com - better that than the pain!

hi all, thanks for replying.

to be honest all the possible causes have been identified and efforts made to change, for example, quitting spicy foods, having a cool shower before bed, not eating before bed, reducing alcohol (a struggle). nothing seems to work. blood tests came back negative for anything being wrong. an acupuncturist seemed to think it was a blockage of the kidneys and herbs and treatment are somewhat of a last resort. the room is ventilated, so thats been ruled out, because of the same thing happening in hotel rooms on recent holidays. stress levels are only rising because of this, at times life before stress was much more prevalent and nothing ever happened. its just all so frustrating.

Could it possibly have anything to do with the mattress or bed clothes? Are they both breathable? At one stage we had a sort of anti-allergic cover for the mattress to keep in dust mite, which had both of us sweating at night, simply because it was non-breathable by design.

don't assume that because one batch of blood tests came back clear that it's psychological. The lab will only have tested for what your GP told them to test for.
I would book an appointment to see your GP and ask them what you were tested for and if there might be any other causes. When you look like you are not just taking their word for it GP's tend to take a bit more care.
You have a problem which causes you distress and whether the cause it physical or psychological your GP still has a duty to find out what's wrong so don't be fobbed off.

Thanks for the advice re needle phobia Clubman and Gordanus.

Clubman, I've chopped and changed XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX quite a few times over the years. Indeed I've been on ten different XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX in as many years! I changed to a new one (Microlite) this year having finally found a pill that suited me (Ovranette/Mycrogynon) only to be told - erroneously it turned out later - six months after taking it that it was being withdrawn! I've had a number of side effects on Microlite that I didn't have on other XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (each one had its own set of side effects - hence all the chopping and changing!) including ones that have manefested themselves in recent months. I found out recently that Ovranette has not in fact been withdrawn and I could go back on it if I want - which I have done as of this week.

So all in all its a bit difficult to pin down whether the sweats are due to the pill. I've got them for the past couple of years and couldn't honestly pin down their occurance to taking a particular pill - mind you, they're sporadic anyway (hence my previous doctors' lack of concern - they'd felt that unless the sweats were a regular and frequent occurance it wasn't anything to be concerned about) Ho hum! Got to grit my teeth and get that blood test.

Doobey, didn't mean to hijack your thread. I hope you find a solution to your problem, I know its a complete pain.

Coolaboola - The pill you're referring to is the contraceptive pill yes? I'm not clear is Doobey is a woman or man.

If you're a woman in mid/late 30's you might be pre-menopausal. Some women have menopause very early. Sweats of the kind you've described, coming cyclically and apparently unconnected to anything outside one's own hormones - can be the precursor of the menopause itself. Peri-menopause has no hormonal or other indices.

doobey a woman?

that's a negative. i was writing though about my girlfriend

i meant to reply earlier to coolaboola about the wonder solution we found. Melt just off Dame Street is a chinese herbalist and holistic centre. They made up a batch of herbs which specifically (in their minds) deal with kidney deficiencies and fatigue. Now i was very skeptical at first (tending to side with western medicine) but I can't argue with the fact that the sweats stopped within a week and totally stopped for the next 3/4 weeks. They've started on a very small scale again only because my girlfriend hasn' kept up with the recommended intake in the past 2 weeks, but I would have to say she has a new lease of life, not being tired in the morning and having energy during the day.

i would recommend this crowd to anyone.