Nightsweats

[lilguru]

I have been on meds since 2001, my numbers are in good order.  However, whenever I sleep my body exudes water.  I sometimes have to change clothes 2-3 times.  Luckily the 2-3 times is rare, but every night I get soaked.  Does someone have any ideas?  My doctor isn't concerned about this.

[CapeCodder]

Night sweats are not uncommon in HIV positive people and others just get them regardless of status. You say that your numbers are good. Are you in good health generally? I know of 8 conditions that can cause them and I'm sure that you are immediately able to rule some, if not most of them, out. I don't know if you are male or female, so I included the first one.

Doctors in primary care fields often hear their patients complain of night sweats. Night sweats refer to any excess sweating occurring during the night. However, if your bedroom is unusually hot or you are using too many bedclothes, you may begin to sweat during sleep -- and this is normal. In order to distinguish night sweats that arise from medical causes from those that occur because one's surroundings are too warm, doctors generally refer to true night sweats as severe hot flashes occurring at night that can drench sleepwear and sheets, which are not related to an overheated environment.

1. Menopause -- The hot flashes that accompany the menopausal transition can occur at night and cause sweating. This is a very common cause of night sweats in women around the time of menopause.
2. Idiopathic hyperhidrosis -- Idiopathic hyperhidrosis is a condition in which the body chronically produces too much sweat without any identifiable medical cause.
3. Infections -- Classically, tuberculosis is the infection most commonly associated with night sweats. However, bacterial infections, such as endocarditis (inflammation of the heart valves), osteomyelitis (inflammation within the bones), and abscesses all may result in night sweats. Night sweats are also a symptom of AIDS virus (HIV) infection.
4. Cancers -- Night sweats are an early symptom of some cancers. The most common type of cancer associated with night sweats is lymphoma. However, people who have an undiagnosed cancer frequently have other symptoms as well, such as unexplained weight loss and fevers.
5. Medications -- Taking certain medications can lead to night sweats. In cases without other physical symptoms or signs of tumor or infection, drug side effects are often determined to be the cause of night sweats. Antidepressant medications are a common type of drug that can lead to night sweats. All types of antidepressants can cause night sweats as a side effect, with a range in incidence from 8% to 22% of persons taking antidepressant drugs. Other psychiatric drugs have also been associated with night sweats. Medicines taken to lower fever such as aspirin and acetaminophen can sometimes lead to sweating. Other types of drugs can cause flushing, which, as mentioned above, may be confused with night sweats. Some of the many drugs that can cause flushing include:

    * niacin (taken in the higher doses used for lipid disorders),
    * tamoxifen,
    * hydralazine,
    * nitroglycerine, and
    * Viagra.

Many other drugs not mentioned above, including cortisone medications such as prednisone and prednisolone, may also be associated with flushing or night sweats.

6. Hypoglycemia -- Low blood sugar can cause sweating. People who are taking insulin or oral anti-diabetic medications may experience hypoglycemia at night that is accompanied by sweating.
7. Hormone disorders -- Sweating or flushing can be seen with several hormone disorders, including pheochromocytoma, carcinoid syndrome, and hyperthyroidism.
8. Neurologic conditions -- Uncommonly, neurologic conditions including autonomic dysreflexia, post-traumatic syringomyelia, stroke, and autonomic neuropathy may cause increased sweating and possibly lead to night sweats.

                                                 

[mecch]

Are you taking HAART?

[GNYC09]

Are you taking HAART?

And what are your CD4 numbers, exactly?  And is this something new or have you had night sweats for years? More info please...

The only time I had night sweats was when I had PCP but I guess you and your doctor would have caught that by now.  CapeCodder's list is pretty extensive anyhow.
Good luck.

[franfrog]

I am pretty much sweating all night.  Is it something that causes me to have to change clothes, no. I have learned though that it has been since my diagnosis.  My husband is ready to kill me because I sneak the window open every night and it is winter.
I think that it also has to do with my combo of medication which includes Atipla.  Defenitly talk to your Dr as there may be an underlying cause but it can be just your HIV

[lilguru]

Thanks for all of your input.  I am on HAART -- combivir and viramune.  I think some of the sweating is due to Niacin that I take for a low good-cholesterol count (I never remember which is which LDL/HDL).  I will definitely talk to my doctor as soon as I see him.  It's kind of weird but my doctor was on my case because I would not take the H1N1 vaccine.  He now has the flu and I am fine.  Ironic? 

I was hoping that there was some little home-remedy that would diminish the sweats.  Perhaps there are none, but I will continue to check this string for updates.

[Jeff64]

Yeah, i get them...My Doc says it is normal...I just look at it as an opportunity to change bedding!

[Thinkahead55]

Franfrog alluded to it, but I believe that she (and maybe you) will find this helpful.  I have been on Sustiva (and now Atripla, which has Sustiva in it) for several years and initially had night sweats pretty bad.  What I realized however, is that it was nothing about night sweats but completely related to the medicine.  I take my meds when I go to bed.  Starting approx 30 min after taking Sustiva or Atripla, my temperature starts to rise.  I have never scientifically actually measured my temperature to see if it actually rises, but either way, I start "feeling" hotter.  Anyway, this gradually gets worse until approximately 6 hours after taking Sustiva, and then starts to subside more quickly than it came on.  The crux of this is that if I go to bed and put lots of sheets on for my temperature at that time, I end up getting too hot later in the night and sweating a lot.  I now adjust for this by increasing the temp in my bedroom and making it easier to start off with less sheets on me (previously I liked it very cold in the bedroom and used lots of sheets).   This has worked quite effectively.  I will say that the residual real or percieved increase in temperature that I feel on Sustiva lasts throughout the day, also.  There is essentially a residual feeling of heat all day long from it.  After 8 or 9 hours it is often so slight that you will not notice it.  I found this out when I went off my meds for 2 months for something else, and after a couple of days off Sustiva, I generally felt cooler.  I have also pulled a few all nighters in the last few years, and have confirmed the above temperature affect of Sustiva when awake all night, it seems to peak 6 hours or so after taking it.

[MitchMiller]

I had night sweats when I was in my early 30's for 1 - 2 years, when I was still HIV negative.  Never went to the doc, but was tested for HIV thinking that was it.  I would wake up feeling things crawling on me, then realize it was my own sweat running down my skin.  I would put towels down and switch sides of the bed.  On a few occasions, I completely soaked the bed to the point where I had to turn the mattress in the middle of the night. 

I believe I had probably gotten walking pneumonia prior to the start of the night sweats, but again never went to the doc and just made it through it.  That may have been what started them.

Eventually, the night sweats just went away.