Night Sweat City

[Cindylou]

I keep waking up every 1/2 hour to 1 hour soaked in sweat tonight. The sweating part is pretty typical of me (for the last 4 months or so) but being woken up so often, along with the soaking wetness, is out of the norm. It was so bad, that it was the sweat running into my ears that woke me up. All of this operating on 4 hours of sleep last night. Tonight's sleep success is not looking so good. To add insult to injury, I have not had a bowel movement in 5 days. Something's gotta give. I have taken Senna, 3 capsules each day and nothing.

[ajj1001]

Hope you are feeling a bit better. Massive doses of dried fruit such as dates and figs work far better for me, I think my bowels just laugh and say it'll take more than that when I take my cocktail of laxatives.

[KBear]

Ughh, I hate it when that happens. I had this issue quite a bit last year, when my hormones (or a lack there of) were all out of whack. I also had horrible night sweats for months after surgery. I just assumed it was from all the extra fluid from the IV and that my body had in it (I was so swollen). Maybe it was from the increased pain meds? Not sure. I would read the insert for the fentanyl and see if that is maybe a side effect, especially if this is a new thing.
On the constipation, I feel your pain. I have found that when I don't take my fiber, I get less constipated. I also use Miralax, take a rx laxative, take colace and eat lots of fruits, veggies and whole grains. Hope you get relief soon, as being constipated is just miserable

[ajj1001]

I also had horrible night sweats for months after surgery. I just assumed it was from all the extra fluid from the IV and that my body had in it (I was so swollen). Maybe it was from the increased pain meds? Not sure.

I had extreme night sweats for a few months after both surgeries. It is almost like my body is using the heat to scream out with the pain through even the most medicated sleep. It has gone off a bit quicker this time than it did after my adr but its a distressing way to get woken up.

[Cindylou]

I do know that increased sweating is a side effect of Fentanyl, and perhaps what is happening is that is increasing my night sweats as well....like a double whammy. I am going to head to the store this morning and get some prune juice, miralax, and anything else I can get my hands on that will help me go! I have been eating tons of fruit, increased my water intake, taken a lot of the Senna and another herbal laxative, oh and suppositories, but nothing. Thanks for the added advice Kathy and Alison. I don't think I have ever tried the Miralax, so I will definitely get that.

[KBear]

Hope it works As far as I know, the Miralax is really safe to use. My youngest daughter was put on it by her pediatrician (who is an awesome dr) when she was just a couple of months old. It always worked right away for her. I sometimes have to take more than one dose to get it to work, but it eventually does. If I am real constipated, I will take a double dose for my first one and then take it every 4 hours (I think that is how long the label suggests between doses), until I go. I haven't ever had luck with supposotories, I go with an enema when I get to that point of desperation. Hope you feel better soon.

[Terry Newton]

What a crappy experience.

I am sorry but I could not pass that up.

The night sweats are from the opiate and this will pass in time.

Hang in there.

[New-disc]

Cindylou,

My opiates have given me the same problems

I talked with my Doctor about trying something dif. for pain and apitite.

New meds seem to be working...

Todd

[linda]

Hey Cindylou,
I feel your sweat and constipation issues. I have them both terribly. I usually take my last oxycodone around 30 in the afternoon and wake up a lot during the night soaked. If I don't wake up in the night, when I get up in the morning I am drenched. Last night I put an oxycodone beside my bed and took one around 50 am and it went away. But I don't want to get into the habit of taking these pills around the clock. I'm also around your age (47) and have been menopausal for about 4 or 5 years. The sweating was almost unbearable this summer during the heat. Cathy (Treefrog) recommended oatmeal and I tried that and boy it worked great.
I have to put a lot of sugar, butter and a tad of cinnamon on it. Lots of luck.
Linda

[Katie]

Linda, do you mean just regular oatmeal, cooked the old fashioned way? That's a simple fix, and I wish I knew about it a year or two earlier

CL, I've tried all of the remedies you listed, but the best by far are dried apricots. They work even better than prune juice and taste much better A few handfuls of those plus assorted nuts work wonders. Keep at them every day, and increase the amounts till you get relief Costco has big bags of them, but I find the fresher ones from the health food store taste better.

And I suspect that menopause may be a culprit with the sweats too, if it's that 'season'.