night sweats ??

i know that night sweats are a symptom of HCV but how common is it? i remember getting them years ago when i think i may have gotten the virus. and maybe a few in between over the years but the last few nights i have woke up to blankets soaked mostly around head and neck area. anyone else ever have this? does this mean the virus is getting worse and doing more damage to my liver? or is this just the body putting up an immune response? why all of a sudden is this happening? sorry for all the questions. thanks in advance

[mikesimon]

I had night sweats during TX but not before or after. I achieved SVR after experiencing night sweating but I have no idea what it means in terms of the virus. I would guess that the sweating will subside or disappear in time. Mine seemed to come in spurts - a few days and then it would stop for a while and then I'd have a few more. I think mine lasted over a period of maybe 2 months but I am not certain about that. I wasn't overly concerned about them but they weren't fun either. I hope they resolve shortly but I wouldn't worry too much about them if I were you. Mike

[nygirl7]

I only really had them bad during treatment and it was CRAZY.  You can't explain it to someone who hasn't had them like that - when you say I woke up COVERED and it was "Pouring down me" it sure was.

Ugh.

Sorry copyman I don't know an answer to it.

[mikesimon]

I neglected to mention that night sweats have been cited as being associated with HCV and are also a listed adverse reaction to interferon/ribavirin - I can't recall if it's both drugs in combination or one or the other alone. But, I am sure I have read it somewhere - perhaps in the drug insert or the website for Pegasys or Peg-Intron. I guess it could be either TX or HCV or both that is causing you the sweats. Mike

[FlGuy]

The last few years befor tx I had night sweat episodes a few times a year.  An episode being 2-4 night in a row.  Had them also on tx 1 and again on tx 2.  Don't recall if had them between tx1 and tx 2 though.  I look at it as part of the territory and not even really sure if hcv-related, although I think so. I don't equate the sweats as an indicator of hcv 'worsening' or tx 'ineffectiveness'.

[bobbyullc]

are you sure they are night sweats? i seem to have had that problem when i used to drink to much.
my wife always had a thing or two to say about my "night sweats" like  why they spilled onto her side of the bed. if you need an aa meeting schedule let me know. denial is not a river in egypt.
"easy does it" friend and we understand. the first step is acceptance.
bobby "u"

[copyman]

thanks so much to everyone who has posted so far. i forgot to mention that i have not treated "yet". FLGuy, hope this is like what you went through and it only lasts a few days.  and to bobby, even though i have not had a drink in the last few years i appreciate the offer to schedule a meeting, lol do you offer any other type of counciling?

[FlGuy]

One thing that I did not mention.  Days following those nights are usually pretty exhausting.  Not sure if it's because I wake several times those nights or if it's because I'm literally drained. But for the days following those 'epsiodes' I usually and generally feel pretty good like I'm I 'cleansed' by rigrorus exercise.  Overall,. the sweats don't bother me too much except for the yuuky feeling and sheet changing etc.  Like I said, it's part of the territrory and I've learned to accept it. But, someday (post tx and svr) I expect it to be a thing of the past.

[jmjm530]

I think "night sweats" are fairly common in the general population. Never had a big problem with them before, during or after treatment, but I've noticed that the past few years I sweat a lot less than when younger, so maybe that holds true for nighttime as well. If it becomes chronic, you might want to bring it to the attention of your primary as I'm sure they have a general battery of tests that rule out any hormonal or other testable issue. Of course menopause is always a possiblity, but I'd say that if you're experiencing menopause that you have more serious problems than night sweats and probably would have to change your moniker to "copywoman" :)

Be well,

-- Jim

[jmjm530]

Forgot to mention that medications and I suppose herbs or supplements could also cause night sweats. A possiblity therefore if you added something new to your regimen.

[hippygem]

Here is the link to an article written on night sweats.
http://www.hepcaustralia.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=75

[susan400]

It's weird because I actually noticed them more coming off of treatment and not so much now that I'm 10 months post treatment.  I guess all of us are different, huh?

Susan

[Harry Potter]

I had a bad period of night sweats in December, about 10 days straight, which prompted me to go to the doctor, who tested me for Hep C.  Since the diagnosis, the sweats have pretty much gone, except for one here & there.  He told me at the time that the sweats result from low-grade fever rising & falling, most likely the immune system's attempt to fight off the virus.  So,I guess they could be taken as a positive?  I know they don't feel positive (positively yucky, however).  

[madbrad]

I had night sweats as a child around 8-9 briefly....But my night sweats started about a year before I was Dx...Bad night sweats,it drove me nuts..I couldn't understand why I was having them at 49,and why so acute....They have subsided now that I'm No HCV RNA detected....But on occasion I get some but not anything like before...

[chcnme]

Hi Copy - I get them, too  (drenching - wake up soaked, hair wet, pillow wet, sheets wet, everything wet - awful feeling).  But they come and go and are called "irregularly irregular".   Sometimes I can go a few weeks and not have any.  Sometimes even a few months.  Sometimes they occur every night for a week.  FSH (hormone) was checked when I first began complaining of them   (about 5 years ago)  and it was fine.  I also had these kinds of night sweats with the acute phase.   It's the same feeling now as it was during the acute  (the same amount of drench).  I don't know if there is any correlation between the intensity of the sweating and disease progression with Hep, and while my doc has said night sweats are common with hep he has not said (in that same breath)  that it might mean my liver is worse off.   For me, it's been one of those things I've kind of gotten used to, and I try not to worry too much if I wake up drenched.  Kind of like the fatigue - come and goes - doesn't necessarily mean I'm worse off because I had a sleepy kind of day.  I'm always glad to bounce back, though, and I'm ALWAYS glad to wake up dry :)

[Myown]

I get the night sweats at times also. I don't know whether it is hep or menopause or both (lucky me), but I would take a guess and say that because the liver plays a big role with hormones, this may be the reason those infected with hep have this problem.

[missy60051]

Hi,
In the first 4 weeks of treatment I would wake up soaked.  I had to have a towel at bedside to wipe it off.  Yuk!  Now I'm always cold.  Before treatment I had the same problem as well, but this isn't the first time I've heard this of others.

Hey by the way I noticed a lot of postings today.  Did you forget me?  I really did have a serious question for you on permanent damage that can come post tx.  I really would want to hear everyones experience on this.

I'm really not stressed over it, I would just simply like to have this knowledge
for when I'm discussing this to friend and or family, not to mention for myself.  

Thank you Missy

[merlino]

Hi, I too suffer from night sweats. I will go 2 weeks at a time where they are so severe  I wake up like I just stepped out of the shower. Then they will subside some and then start all over. Never had them prior to tx. Funny thing is during the day I am ALWAYS cold! I started keeping a fresh pair of pj's and a hand towel at the foot of my bed which makes things easier them fumbling around half asleep.

[wonder65]

Having same problem, just started pegasys and riba combo 4 days ago and when i go to bed i wake up two to three hours with the sweats I just asummed it was side effect.