night sweats

[Radha]

i get very bad night sweats when i am in deep sleep, and then i feel dyhydrated and tachy the next day if sweat too much,coz blood volume changes and feel sick all day, drained and flu like, and definately dont feel like i slept at all, sometimes i think its better if i just stay awake, but thats bad too, either way i lose, anyway, how do i know if the sweating in sleep is coz of a fever or the POTS? i know i have chronic infections going on too, thanks for any input, take care

radha

[violahen]

Hi:

I get night sweats pretty often. They usually wake me from sleep in the middle of the night. I am very symptomatic at those times and usually have difficulty standing up without fainting. My doctor says it is a symptom of my POTS. However,I don't necessarily feel any worse than usual the next day. The flu-like symptoms sound like maybe they are a result of the chronic infections you refer to.

Also, I had enquired to my OB/GYN about this, wondering if it was early menopause. She did not think so, but she did say that lexapro and other SSRI type depressants could cause night sweats. My electrphysiologist had prescribed lexapro to me about 2 years ago because it relieves POTS symptoms for some. I have taken it for that period of time and actually just weaned myself off of them because they don't seem to help and seem to add to my brain fog. I'll let you know if the night sweats disappear!

Good luck! I would look into getting rid of the chronic infections if you can. That can't be good on top of everything else! Sorry it's so difficult.

(Just wondering....do you ever nap during the day? If so, do you get the sweats then as well?)

Kristen

[RunnerGirl]

Last year, I had recurring night sweats while on a low dose of Lexapro (5 mg), as well. That was my only real side effect, along with vivid dreams. My GP said she was doubtful I could experience night sweats on such a low dose, so she ran a series of tests to rule out a variety of infectious diseases. All normal. The real proof that it was, indeed, the SSRI came when I weaned myself off Lexapro and the night sweats disappeared.

Incidentally, I restarted Lexapro a couple of weeks ago (I've had a flare up in physical symptoms related to anxiety recently, which generates more anxiety, etc. You know the drill! I want to stop the cycle before it gets out of control!) So far, so good - but even if the sweats come back, I'll consider that a fairly tolerable side effect, particularly now since I know they are due to meds and not some disease my docs are missing!

Good luck!

RG

[Merrill]

I know someone on paxil who gets night sweats every single night. I'm not on it (or any other med consistently) and I get them too from time to time. It's annoying, but I sure wouldn't try not to sleep because of it! Keep drinking!

[Guest GayleP]

I was getting really bad night sweats and it turned out to be early menopause.

Thankfully it's not happening as much now. Make sure you are well hydrated before you go to bed and drink a lot when you first wake up. That might help you from feeling too dehydrated in the morning atfer sweating all night..

BTW, I don't know how old you are but it might not hurt to have your FSH level checked to see if it's early menopause. Simple blood test.

[Radha]

i'm only 28, so its not early menopause and i dont take any anti depressants, so its not that, no anti anxiety stuff either, and yes if i go into a deep sleep when i nap which is rare, i do sometimes sweat, but not as common as in the night, i cant take any antibiotics coz i herx too bad, and my body just cant take feeling even worse, so right now i'm stuck with whatever bugs are inside me! thanks to all for replying, so i guess i'll never know if its the bugs or POTS,

radha

[Kristen]

Hi,

Did you go to your doctor about the night sweats yet? I'm 25 and I've been getting horrible night sweats too. I also seem to get them if I take a long nap - it probably does have to do with how deep I sleep. I haven't slept a full night through in more than 3 months. I've had POTS for three years and never had night sweats until recently, so I've been bugging my doctors to figure it out. At first the docs thought it was an infection, but antibiotics didn't make a difference. Then they thought it was a side effect of the Paxil I'm on, so I switched medicines for a few days but my POTS was a lot worse and the sweats didn't stop. A few weeks ago, my doctor did some thyroid test and it came back with elevated levels - I don't know what that means, but she said it could cause night sweats. I'm waiting now for the results of a few more tests. If you learn anything else about what causes this, let me know!

Kristen

[Guest Ph03ziX]

Hello there.

I get this in the summer when my POTS is so much worse with weakness and S.O.B, when I wake up sweating it's usually with a crazy pulse though, 150+, and from deep sleep. It doesn't usually involve a bad dream either, presumably it's the autonomic control going crazy and sending the wrong messages, or like you mentioned an overlay with dehydration?

Have you ever taken your blood sugar during these episodes? Do they pass quickly due to a cardio/POTS event, or do you HAVE to drink water and get some sugar down you. That often calms my body down....

Does it come on the same time each night almost like a pattern, if so it surely must be hormonal. I get that too when my immune system is on, roasting hot by 10 p.m and doesn't cool down 'till the morning and you feel a lot weaker, that's obviously different to a POTS 'event' though.

Either way it's another horrid thing to endure,

Cheers

Ben.

[Radha]

i think i get them between 3-6 a.m and i'm very cold when i get the sweating, and i feel sicker the rest of the day, i had a normal TSH, but hoping to get more thyroid tests done, thanks to all for replying, take care

radha

[DawnA]

I know shat you are going through. Iam feeling awful lately ,because I can't stay hydrated due to the nights sweats. My night sweats come and go I have not figured out a cycle yet. I was tested for premedapause and this started long before SSRIs.

dawn

[Guest tearose]

My night sweats seem to come and go. I'll get them for a single night to few nights in a row and then I won't get them for awhile again. I get them more on my upper body and will wake up soaking wet and cold. I usually just get up, change into new pj's, get a sip of water and crawl right back under the covers. I think the only pattern for me has been, I'm more prone to them if I've been sick or if I have had a severe weight change in a short time. I think in the latter case it is my body adjusting to the change of body weight/fat and the hormone fluctuations it brings on in me. Since developing pots, I have been very sensitive to estrogen.

tearose

[Merrill]

I've had night sweats the last two nights ... but only in my neck! That's definitely a first for me. Some healing going on? Or just a silly coincidence?

[EarthMother]

Count me in with the soggy sheet group .... the other night I soaked not only my side of the bed but half way over to my husband's side of the sheets.

I also noticed I was much more symptomatic the next day.

For me it could be hormonal, but otherwise I guess my system is just detoxing and that is always a good thing. Better out than in you as Shrek said.

Start the next morning off with a glass of OJ and a magnesium supplement. Followed by something real salty for breakfast. I find if I push lots of water, I just deplete all of my electrolytes. So I need to bump up the potasium, sodium and magnesium the next day.

Good luck on your healing journey.

EM

[Guest Mary from OH]

I get horrible night sweats too. I have for years. My sheets (and more) are soaked just about every day. I even have put protective covering on my mattress. I've talked to my drs about it for years (even before I was diagnosed with POTS). I explained how embarassing it was and that it is so bad that my sheets and bedding gets stained (sorry to be so graphic). No one has ever given me an answer. My POTS dr says it's from the POTS. Well, obviously, it's still not under control!!

[opus88]

Found this while looking for potassium info (this is just an excerpt).

Night sweat info is in the 4th paragraph below.

This is a VERY interesting web page that has info about zinc, calcium, potassium and more, and talks about the meaning of one-sided symptoms, which a number of people have mentioned in various posts. It sounds very similar to the work I've been experiencing through the Metabolic Typing Program - looking at chemical ratios rather than just the individual levels out of context.

Please check out the full info at http://www.acu-cell.com/znk.html

- - - - - - -

In addition to medical situations that can lead to hyperkalemia, cellular potassium covers aspects of bladder functions, as well as right-sided ovarian and testicular properties. Cellular zinc covers aspects of prostate / uterine functions, and left-sided ovarian and testicular properties. Elevated potassium is invariably found with acute or chronic cystitis (bladder infections) or right-sided ovarian cysts (but not dermoid or chocolate cysts), whereby right-sided ovarian and/or testicular cancer will always result in excessively high potassium levels, which can also serve as a high risk indicator to be suggestive of a pelvic scan. Lowering potassium with any of several antagonists will resolve most bladder infections or (right-sided) ovarian cysts without any other intervention. In contrast, left-sided ovarian and/or testicular cancer is always associated with excessively high zinc levels. (see also Acu-Cell Disorders "Cancer").

Low potassium - particularly in the elderly - frequently results in weak bladder muscles and subsequent incontinence when coughing or laughing. Under those circumstances, bladder infection-like symptoms can also be experienced (including cloudy, or smelly urine), however they are somewhat different from a conventional bacterial cystitis that goes hand in hand with high potassium levels, in that symptoms readily improve by raising potassium to normal levels, provided there are no structural causes such as bladder prolapse. Interstitial cystitis frequently falls into this same low-potassium category.

Prostatitis is invariably found with zinc levels that range from above-normal, to excessively high. Many nutritional or alternative practitioners include zinc as part of their therapy trying to treat prostatitis, however only benign prostatic hypertrophy (enlarged prostate) is sometimes related to below-normal levels of zinc. At higher amounts, zinc becomes pro-inflammatory, being a main reason why most practitioners are unable to help prostatitis or make it worse. Instead, any approach that lowers zinc will resolve the condition. (see also Acu-Cell Disorders: "Prostatitis").

Some menopausal females find progesterone cream helpful for night sweats, however it is not the hormonal action of progesterone, but its subsequent zinc and potassium-raising effect through which the night sweats are improved - particularly when high sodium retention is involved. Taking zinc and/or potassium supplements instead provides the same benefits.

Likewise, many weight loss formulations contain rather large amounts of potassium to take advantage of its diuretic properties. Some people benefit from additional potassium and will lose water weight, however those with a tendency for hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) episodes may end up worse as a result of that extra potassium reducing manganese and chromium levels, which help stabilize blood sugar, and also as a result of potassium reducing sodium, which is an insulin antagonist. In addition, lowering chromium too much following long-term high potassium intake can contribute to osteoporosis of trabecular bone (end-part of a bone or spine).