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How do you handle night sweating?

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Posted 12/30/2009 1:06 PM (GMT 0)
Hi everyone, I wanted to ask those of you who have night sweats (for whatever reason: peri/menopause, medication, etc.), how you deal with it night after night? What kinds of bedclothes are the most comfortable for you?

I have been taking medication since February: gabapentin, Cymbalta, flexeril, and (added in August) Tramadol. I don't sweat at night all the time, just periodically for a few weeks at a time. My sweats are cold sweats, not from hot flashes, that come out cold and make me colder. They start if the air temp is too cold, and go away if I turn the heat WAY up in the house, which is miserable for everyone else. I'm having trouble finding the right type of clothing to wear to bed and also bedclothes in materials that won't get sopping wet and heavy. I usually wear silk or poly blend to bed, a lightweight wool hat, and have nice cotton sheets and a down duvet. Also, at least one of my rice-sock bed buddies comes to bed with me, which is really nice. By the middle of the night, I have cold-sweated through to the top layer of the down duvet, and through my pillow, and wake up freezing. My heating bill was $300 last month!

Does anyone have any suggestions for staying more comfortable at night?? Are there special bedclothes you use? The cold sweat is soooooo uncomfortable!

Posted 12/30/2009 1:13 PM (GMT 0)
Hi ... I am sorry you are having to deal with this.

 

I myself get the hot flashes. and cold sweats

I found thst if I sleep in Cotten night gowns. that works best... as anything else will make it worse.

then if i wake and my bed and pillow are wet I get a big bath towl and lay over them.. and normally will change my night gown if its wet.

other than that I really dont have much input for you sorry.

 

I hope things get better for you . take care.

Posted 12/30/2009 2:24 PM (GMT 0)
I've never had that happen but it sounds miserable. I get hot very easily and start throwing the covers off and turn the electric blanket down to the lowest setting and then get cold so put them all back on and turn the blanket up, I don't know how many times a night I do this. No wonder we don't get restful sleep.

 

I can't stand having anything around my legs at night so I sleep in cotton T and panties and even then the seam in the T feels like a boulder in the bed sometimes if it is the right place on my ribs.

 

I hope you find the solution.

 

luv and hugs

Marlee

Posted 1/1/2010 8:57 AM (GMT 0)

Littleneck,

Constant night sweats are an old adversary of mine. Do you also sweat at times durring the day if you are exposed to temperature changes?

I like Spirit's suggestion of laying back down on a bath towel if you have woken up drenched.

I sleep in a cotton tee and cotton boxers. I find that the absorbant fabrics are best.

Whenever possible, I sleep on top of the covers (much to my wifes chagrin at times) and keep the ceiling fan running.

I keep a hand towel or hankerchief on my nightstand.

I take a cool shower before bed.

I change clothes if I wake up even damp.

I use a good antipersperant before bed.wink

And like everything in life, finding a way to laugh about it is always helpfull. My wife and I joke that I am in a long term MENopause.

I hope you find the things that help you. I know this can be unnerving.

 

Posted 1/2/2010 1:09 PM (GMT 0)
Hi  I have had that problem for a long time and what I do is wear summer shorts and tee shirts to bed. For me it helps. I tend to not sweat. It can be a real pain in the neck when you go to bed very comfortable and wake up in such a sweat cold or hot. The summer time is the worst form me.  I had a hysterectomy over 15 years ago and the doctor gave me a homone patch to wear and I change it once a week. Does help the sweats but I still get them sometimes.  Hang in there and try the tee shirts and shorts. Cotton seems to absorb the sweat tongue
Posted 1/4/2010 4:40 AM (GMT 0)
i found moisture wicking pj's in a catalog. they work great. and they are pretty. i can't remember what catalog of course, but maybe soft surroundings?
Posted 1/4/2010 5:21 AM (GMT 0)
My suggestions are about like others...I have several nightgowns and they are mostly cotton so they absorb moisture. If I wake up 'soaking' I first change into a dry nightgown. If my hair is wet, and sometimes it's dripping, I get the hair dryer out and make sure it's really dry. Looks like a tornado hit my hair in the morning, but I don't much care during the night.

Two things that might be worth trying... to keep the temperature more stable and keep you from starting out cold, use an electric blanket. It will stay constant all night. I have one that has two settings on it. One for all night and a 'boost' button that gives extra heat for the first hour, if you want it. I really like that feature. Found it last year on Overstock.

The other is to try flannel sheets and pillowcases. They are a bit more absorbent that regular cotton. But the best you can afford so they are soft and don't 'pill' up. I sometimes make pillowcases out of fabric I have in my sewing stash. They are so easy and I get exactly what I want.

It might not be a bad idea to ask your doctor to review all of your medications and see if he/she might be able to help somewhere with the sweats. Good luck and keep in touch...

Chutzie
Posted 1/4/2010 9:24 AM (GMT 0)
Well, still sweating. :) I have to keep my house temp pretty high or those cold sweats will start instantly, yes, with any temperature fluctuation and I FREEZE. I used to run hot, and be able to keep the window cracked through 4 seasons, even my icy cold Alaskan winters!! I haven't worked in a month but when I was there, I needed at least two extra layers with me throughout the day!

Normally I use cotton flannel sheets throughout the year and, as soft and wonderful as they are, they can't handle the cold sweat. Am finding that cotton makes me really cold when it gets wet, so have kept my thermal layers handy and have been sleeping in them, which works OK. My wonderful down comforter and the flannel cover are just too uncomfortable. So I did a little research on moisture-wicking fabrics thru some menopause sites and ordered a silk blanket and microfiber polyester sheets, which are supposed to help, and moisture-wicking pj's made from 100% microfiber polyester. This is the same fabric that my moisture-wicking thermals are made from, so should help.

Love the suggestion of an electric blanket - last week my bed buddy helped a lot, so theoretically an electric blanket should work well. Lastly, I left a message for my doc so should be seeing him later this week for a checkup. Everything will arrive this week, and then I'll post an update after their initiation. Thanks everyone!
Posted 1/5/2010 12:09 AM (GMT 0)
I find that for me a fan helps cope with everything as I have hot flashes and some times my legs are irritated too....as for night wear i change back and forth from cotton, to a thin flannel, to nothing!

ooops..I hope we can say that...at least it's not the N word..LOL
Posted 1/6/2010 3:49 AM (GMT 0)
I guess I'm the opposite of hot flashes - I've had to shut off my ceiling fans because the draft just starts the process all over again! Today I'm on my 3rd outfit change as the others have been soaked cold. My thermostat in the house is set on 78 and I still can't get warm - my poor BF is down to his tee shirt and shorts! I'm wearing full thermals under my clothes now, a wool hat and a warm-up jacket now.
Posted 1/6/2010 4:50 AM (GMT 0)
I was doing this my dr sent me to a ob doctor he took blood work    and my hormones were off now iam on medicine for it and the sweats quit and its greatDeb
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