Drenching Night Sweats

[kmfesq]

I am a 40 yo woman. I've been suffering from drenching night sweats for nearly 3 years.  They started out being only 1 or 2 times a week, now it's nearly every night.  I have to get up to change clothes or put a towel down anywhere from 1 to 5 times a night, as I soak through the clothing and the sheets.  I have Hashimoto's and am taking desicated porcine hormone. My Drs. havr checked fsh, lh, and estrogen and they are normal, as is my cbc (with an occasionally slightly elevated RDC) . I have also been checked for nocturnal hypoglycemia, tb, lyme, lupus, gerd - nothing.  Chest xray normal. Recently showed slightly elevated ebv levels and am on a trial of valtrex, but so far it hasn't helped.  I am completely EXHAUSTED and really just want an answer so I can stop this sweating. The ARNP found one or two very slightly swollen lymph node in my neck, though as I recall one of them has come and gone a bunch over the years. She indicated that the next step would be a CT scan.  What would they be looking for and what else can I try.  I'm so tired!!!

[kmfesq]

Actually, I've had an abdominal US to check kidneys and they're fine. I usually try not to drink too much before bed, so I don't have to get up more in the night... but I'll try it.  I had a blood culture done this week and am waiting for results.  Thanks for the responses.  If anyone has any other ideas, please let me know.  I'm hoping we can get to the bottom of this soon!

[Dakotah1]

I don't know if you've tried this or not. But have you drank a cup of water before going to bed? If you're dehydrated you sweat, and since when people go to sleep they're body temperature elevates then that could be the cause.

But I am not a physician.
Best regards.

[LivingInHope]

Flank pain calls to mind the kidney on that side- have they checked for problems there?

[kmfesq]

Thank you both for your replies.  The drenching sweats only happen at night, when I'm sleeping. Never during the day.  Actually, I usually feel cold dureing the day.  My thyroid labs were checked to ensure my dose wasn't too high and my levels are well within normal.  My blood glucose checks over several weeks were also normal.  TB test was negative. EBV tsts showed VCA-IgG was >8.0 and NA-ABS was >8.0 -  hence the trial of valtrex.  I forgot to mention that I've also been experiencing flank pain on the right side for about 4 months.
The only information showing a protocol for night sweats leaves only some very serious conditions and I'm starting to get worried in addition to being annnoyed and tired.

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
Endocrine gland related conditions like hyperthyroidism, acromegaly and glucose control disorders all result in increased sweating. Pheochromocytoma, cancers, carcinoid syndromes, tuberculosis and other infections too can cause increased sweating. Check and see whether taking thyroid supplements has resulted in hyperthyroid state or not. Also since there are swollen lymphnodes cancers, tuberculosis should be ruled out. Possibility of a lingering EBV by antibodies test should be carried out. It is difficult to comment beyond this without examining. Please discuss this with your doctor and get yourself investigated accordingly.  
Hope this helps. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!

[ugabug]

Hi,  I have similar symptoms but have not gone to be checked because I have just felt that it was menopause.   The night sweats are the worse and keep me up most of the night.  I have found it feels better if I keep the bedroom on the cool side though it does not get rid of them.    I went to the pharmacy to see what they had available for menopausal women and they had this package that has both am and pm pills.  These pills contain something called black cohosh and though it has not completely gotten rid of the hot flashes it sure has made them much more bearable.  I accidentally left the pills at home and I am away from home so I cannot say what the name of the pills were.  I do not know about you but I also have these hot flashes during the day but they are not as noticable or as bad.  I go through  these hot flashes for a period of time and then they will just disappear and reappear later, say in a month or two and it will begin all over again.  It has steadily gotten worse however and those pills are the only thing that have helped me.  You may at least wish to try them while you are looking for an answer,  Hope this helps!