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How are you guys dealing with "the sweats?"

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Posted 10/11/2015 2:10 PM (GMT 0)
I'm about three months into HT and getting really tired of waking up several times a night sweating - throw the covers off, wipe some of the sweat off, cool down, wait 20 - 60 minutes, repeat. It's not such a big issue when I'm awake and active, I mostly ignore it and move on.

So is there any way to minimize the problem - any kind of medicine, supplement, cold towel, whatever that works for you or is it a tough it out situation?
Posted 10/11/2015 3:29 PM (GMT 0)
i am in a similar situation- 5 months into HT. recently i start shivering after the hot flash. maybe it is because of the evaporation of the sweat???
I keep a fan on me throughout the night and that helps. cooling off period is less i.e about 5 to 7 minutes. personally i dont want to add anything to the medication. I may have resigned to "tough it it out" as you have said!!
I am sure you will see it off.
regards
Posted 10/11/2015 5:29 PM (GMT 0)
Fortunately, I'm not an HT guy, so this isn't something I have to worry about...at least not yet (and maybe not ever). I wonder if some of the supplements that women take for menopause would help? Things like black cohosh?

I know that when my dad was on HT and went through the hot flashes, he reported that Mom had no sympathy for him at all.
Posted 10/11/2015 6:19 PM (GMT 0)
John, I'm starting my 4th year of HT! I've just learned to tough it out as I too don't want to add more meds to my long list!

I sleep with a ceiling fan during the summer time and have one on in the den. Guess I've gotten use to them and endure them (having one now as I'm typing this text )!

I do believe you can get meds for your hot flashes.

Take care and I feel for you!

Dave in Bartlett, TN
Posted 10/11/2015 7:21 PM (GMT 0)
I do the same thing you do. Splash some cool water on my face or put ceiling fan on, try to ignore it. When I look at the list of side effects I'm glad that hot flashes and fatigue are all I've got to deal with now. If the cancer spreads to my bones, hot flashes will be the least of my worries. They're annoying but that's about it.
Posted 10/11/2015 7:29 PM (GMT 0)
Purely anecdotal evidence, but conversations around the water cooler, seems like those on Lupron seem to have the night sweats and those on Trelstar do not. Still have hot flashes during the day, but not at night. Like I said, not scientific, just something I noticed when undergoing treatment. So if given the choice when undergoing ADT, I would choose Trelstar again. Ice packs help. They make necklaces that have gel filled beads that can go in freezer, made for menopausal women.

Regards,
Kris
Posted 10/11/2015 8:03 PM (GMT 0)
Have you tried the estradiol patch? Two per week?
Bob
Posted 10/11/2015 8:39 PM (GMT 0)
I asked my ONCO about it, something that might suppress the hot flashes..He said he had tried a few things but the side-effects from the drugs were worse than the hot flashes...
Posted 10/11/2015 9:28 PM (GMT 0)
Trelstar - interesting, I'll have to ask the RO about it and an estradiol patch. I hear ya about not wanting to add more chemicals (drugs) to the system but I'm sort of used to a certain quality of life. Yes, I sound like a whiner and I should reset my expectations. I'm in awe of the guys that have been on HT for years smhair - you all are real troopers.

Things should improve when winter arrives here in the southwest and my RO has already said he doesn't put guys on permanent HT so maybe I'll get a break after my ART.

Thank you everybody for taking the time to respond, y'all are a band of brothers.
Posted 10/12/2015 2:37 AM (GMT 0)
My husband's uro had him try oral Megestrol when he started having hot flashes a few weeks after starting HDT. But he had a very bad reaction and had to stop using it. He's been in HDT almost 3 years now. Still gets sweats. He has 3 small battery (and can be plugged in) fans- 1 by his chair where he watches TV, one by the computer and one by his bed. He turns them on as needed. Otherwise he just 'copes'. He absolutely hates them, but says that staying in the 'zero club' is worth it.
Posted 10/12/2015 2:39 AM (GMT 0)
Sorry- Hit submit too soon. I have also heard that the herbal supplement, black cohosh helps some people. Hubby won't try it, but you could.
Posted 10/12/2015 2:53 AM (GMT 0)
when I was on HT, i found that a cold compress on my head or forehead would kill the hot flash very quickly. my suggestion is to buy a few of the re-useable gel cold packs that you can chill in the freezer. Put them in a styrofoam chest when you go to sleep, and when you get a hot flash, reach down, grab one, and put it on. You don't need to get out of bed.

Or if you don't mind the cost, buy a bunch of the kind that you twist and then a chemical reaction chills them, and use those. they are only good for a one time use though.
Posted 10/12/2015 1:12 PM (GMT 0)
^^ Cool idea ^^ (pun intended!)
Posted 10/12/2015 1:20 PM (GMT 0)
I had the same problem (for a different reason - anemia caused by an abdominal tumor) this past summer. I can't say that I ever found a good solution. I kept the AC on as cold as my wife could tolerate. I slept in pajamas so I would hopefully sweat into the PJs and not the sheets, but we still had to change the sheets more often than normal. I had a few nights where I needed to shower in the middle of the night. That seemed to quell things for that night. But, I had other nights where the sweat was slow but steady. On those nights, I simply got up, used a washcloth to wash away the stink, dried myself off, put on new PJs and went back to be. The worst of those nights, I changed 3 times.

My wife was very tired of washing a load of pajamas 2-3 times per week. Living in VT, we tend to have lots of pajamas, but I was sweating night after night. There were times that I was almost afraid to drink water, thinking that it would just result in more sweat.

Luckily, the problem seems to have resolved after the tumor was removed. But, having gone through this, I certainly empathize with the people on HT.
Posted 10/12/2015 2:11 PM (GMT 0)
I tried Megestrol, but it gave me extreme food cravings, and I added 20 pounds in a few weeks.

Black Cohosh seemed to work a bit.

When I went on Zytiga I went from gaps of a few minutes between flashes to just constant hot.

I run the ceiling fans constantly, have the blue freezer packs in mine & neighbor's freezers, have run the A/C so hard that the electric bill is nearing the national debt. Seem to be washing soaked sheets every day or two.

Now off Zytiga, I'm back to periodic flashes. It was actually better when they were full bore, as I didn't have the massive cool downs that made me have to have blankets 5 minutes after the sweats.
Posted 10/12/2015 3:04 PM (GMT 0)
I'm already hungry 7x24, don't need to add to that! Thanks again everyone for the comments.
Posted 10/13/2015 1:17 AM (GMT 0)
I'm on Megace, but don't have the appetite issue from it. It isn't a cure-all; rather it reduces mine by half or more.

These comments closely reflect my nights! Up every 2 hours sweating, sometimes need to pee but not always. I throw off all the covers, and have a fan next to the bed which is on all night. After 10 minutes or so I'll feel chilled, then it's safe to pull the covers on again.

This interrupted sleep is fun in a way - I've never woken up during so many dreams in my life. That's actually pretty interesting, though it seems very few of them are pleasant. This broken sleep cycle may be a large part of my ongoing fatigue issues.
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