Night sweats

[Suebedoo]

Since having open heart surgery nearly three years ago, my husband has night sweats. They happen regularly but not all the time, if that makes sense. I can usually tell the nights he is going to have them because he either feels incredibly cold on the day/evening before or more tired than normal. He has asked his GP about it but never seems to get an answer. Does anyone else have this problem?

[Blackcatsooty]

welcome to the forum.

I can advise that my sleep patterns were disturbed by the heart procedures.

So I ensured I slept cool but not cold. I also made a huge effort to get consistent sleep. In particular retiring at the same time each night and then getting the 7.5 hrs that I now need.

This sleep pattern is totally different from previous.

Achieving good sleep is an art form. I changed mattress, pillows and slept with a light on. I also had trouble getting off to sleep so I purchased and used a tinnitus relaxer and that was a minor revelation.

I reckon that good sleep is essential to aid recovery.

Best wishes

Blackcatsooty

[Wooodsie]

Hello Suebedoo, they may not be related to his heart. I do suffer from night sweats, intermittently too. Mine are caused by stress, since I retired I have had very few, but do get them when something is worrying me. From all my research, there is no cure, very little to worry about, just extremely inconvenient and very uncomfortable.

[Suebedoo in reply to Wooodsie]

Thanks - I don't think my husband's are stress related but there is a definite connection to what happens during the day/evening and how much he gets the night sweats.

[MountainGoat52]

Just a thought... I wonder whether these bouts of night sweats are related to diet. Something may be setting him off. I've had bad nights and have been able to attribute them to food or drink. It may be worthwhile keeping a diary to see if there is a pattern.

[Suebedoo in reply to MountainGoat52]

Thank you - that is a very good idea

[Wazoplumb]

hi I had my left valve repaired nearly 3 years ago and had open heart surgery,also have AF.my hands and feet get really cold at times but don’t get tired or sweaty,I take 6 tablets a day,dox,bisp,eple,cand,statin and a thinner,I feel fine perhaps you should speak to your cardi team

[YITOPM]

Firstly, Merry Christmas. Secondly yes. I had a heart attack 13 months ago and 4 stents put in. Periodically I now get a few nights maybe once a month or 2 months where I cannot sleep and lay there most of the night in a light cold sweat. Sometimes mild heartburn accompanies it. Much more seldom I also get heavier cold sweats in the day. Every time I’m left anxious and mildly depressed but what can you do. In my case I bought a home BP monitor and it helps to see my vitals are normal. When I did crack and call 111 the attending ambulance crew ECG”d me and that looked ok, I went to A&E after where they did the enzyme test and that was ok. I miss feeling normal and safe. If you’re concerned when it happens always call 111 or 999.

[Suebedoo in reply to YITOPM]

My husband has been tested for a number of things and all appears normal. I have read that it might be linked to low testosterone and/or that the messages to the hypothalamus aren’t working correctly for some reason. In our experience anything weird that happens tends to be linked to medication though

[Heartsurgerypartn3r]

Hey came across your post and my partner is experiencing the same thing, his cardio team stated that the blood pools in the body tricking it into believing there is an infection hence the sweats, but i question it because would it not happen in the day too? This seams to be a night time thing. How is your husband doing now? Have the night sweats reduced/ stopped grateful for any advice

[Suebedoo]

In my husband’s case we have discovered that, probably linked to damage caused by aspirin, he developed diverticulitis. His night sweats were being caused by a number of perforations in the bowel and collections of pus. He recently had to have major bowel surgery to remove the infected part of the bowel and now has a reversible stoma. Needless to say, the night sweats have stopped. Everyone, including his doctors put his symptoms down to heart meds (which I suppose technically it was) and it wasn’t until he was referred to hospital with severe stomach pains and was scanned, that this came to light.