photogirl / shar asked me about
this in another thread..and I didn't want it to get lost..
Yes, I've been on Betaseron for a long time, now...13 years...
But sweating because of Betaseron? No, hasn't happened to me.
When I was a kid, I sweat A LOT. My mother was always angry with me because we'd go for car trips (well before cars were airconditioned..or kids in car seats) and I'd sit next to her, and fall asleep on her lap -- and sweat so, we'd BOTH be soaked by the time we got to our destination.
And it was tough as a teenager, because I sweat A LOT and was SO embarrassed, particularly around boys. And this went on into adult-hood. I finally found a particularly strong product (by prescription) that I could use on my underarms to slow that down, but then developed sweaty hands (water had to go out somewhere!)
But then I developed MS....and the sweating stopped. Now I rarely sweat, even when engaging in vigorous physical activity (well, vigorous for me!!) That brings it's own problems:
Sweating is the body's way of cooling off. The moisture gets to the surface of the skin, and the air dries it, and the drying is cooling. Because I don't sweat, I overheat VERY quickly...causing my MS stuff to worsen dramatically. And it can cause severe mental confusion, and worse. So I have to be extra careful.
Now, if you're talking about "night sweats" on the nights you've injected the Betaseron-- that's a response to the slight fever that is a sometime side effect of the Betaseron. If you get sick with something like the flu and have a fever, you might notice that you'll sweat too, when the fever "breaks", or lessens. So if THAT's the sweating you're referring to -- then it's related to the side effects. But if you're talking about overall increase in sweating...I don't think that's related to Betaseron.
I also noticed that when I was going through menopause I had an increase in night sweats, that lasted several months. So if you're of an age to need to be thinking about menopause, that might be something to ask your doctor about, too. Women can start menopause anywhere from mid-late 30's, forward! (I was around 46 when I started, though...)