Posted 8/11/2010 3:37 PM (GMT 0)
Other social, emotional, and medical problems than Crohn's (such as endocrine-related problems) can be a source of this excessive sweating too, but Crohn's can and does often severely effect water and nutrient absorption, depending upon the exact location of the problems that one may have, which can directly and indirectly effect the electrolyte balance in one's body, which in turn can then effect the rate and amount of sweating.
For one example of malabsorption, the location and length of the resection (terminal ileum/partial colon) that I had significantly limits my normal pathway for B12 absorption (and water absorption), so I now take it sublingually and have to drink more fluid than most people do to keep from getting dehydrated, especially in hotter weather when sweating is a major factor. This can very quickly and severely throw my electrolyte balance off, and is exacerbated if I only drink water to rehydrate.
Having said that, every person has a unique "normal" condition as far as the balance of the various electrolytes go, but if one particular one of YOURS is well out of the expected range or on the upper or lower border of what's considered average, while the others are solidly in the middle of the range, it would be a logical suspect, and something to consider how to best adjust. Of these, sodium and potassium can very easily and inexpensively be adjusted either through dietary modifications or with supplements. (And with sodium being a "bad guy" in. re. blood pressure for many years, some very health conscious people now are actually not getting ENOUGH sodium in their diet.)
One thing to do (if you haven't already done so) would be to establish a baseline reference level for the electrolytes and other components of your blood, to see where you stand with the current meds and supplements that you're taking. It could possibly be a simple thing to adjust for, such as a sodium to potassium imbalance, or a thyroid that isn't functioning optimally, or something much harder to pinpoint, but without having recent tested levels various potential culprits to refer to, you won't be able to tell if you're heading in the right direction when (or if) you do change something.
Also, it would be smart to check with a prescription drug site for side effects and interactions between any meds that you're currently taking, as well as for interactions with supplements. Some sites will rank side effects and interactions as minor/moderate/severe.
drugs.com is one of several good ones, that has some additional OTC things in their database that you may not have thought of as listing that could be part of the problem.
Also, consider that even seemingly innocuous or "too common things to list" such certain foods, caffeine, and aspirin can seriously effect one's sweating, so it's potentially a complicated knot to unravel.
Hope that this helps.
(I'm not an expert on the subject, but a fellow with IBD/Crohn's who sweats bucketsful part of the time, and have since my early teens (over 40 years ago).