I'm not in the menopause, have a while to go I think, and think the night sweats are different from menopausal hot flushes (from what I have seen and been described). Menopausal hot flushes come on at any day or night and are 'flushes' of heat.
I don't have anything during the day but I feel like I'm cooking at night.
My temperature is really high, husband said he could cook an egg on me, and it seems to last all night. Soaked sheets. Absolutely awful.
Does anyone have any advice on what works to minimise them? Anything?
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Shenanigans
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Could it be a side effect of any medications that your on and also have you had your thyroid checked? I was getting hot flashes and sweating at night when I first started taking an anti depressant. Here's a link I found, mayoclinic.org/symptoms/nig...
I was reading about hypothyroidism and apparently the commonest sympton to this is gaining weight. Haven't read anymore so can't say any further symptons.
Know I had a thyroid check some time ago and mine was all ok, that unlike my LFTs was normal.
Yes there are 2 types of thyroidism, know there is one where you can lose weight. Not familiar with but think thyroxine is used in underactive thyroids.
I believe the menopause can start early in some people, you can have a blood test to confirm if you are peri menopausal or not. As to minimising night sweats - if you are like me a person who likes (liked) spicy foods then sometimes curry or other spicy foods might have an effect on you. The only other thing I can think of is probably what you are already doing - natural clothing such as cotton including cotton sheets to keep you "cool". Looks like Jean43 has given you a link for more information.
I have a same symptom like urs when I first stated urso 4 months back but slowly getting better hope it will go away soon .. in the beginning I did not take urso with food now I take with lots of food ..
Have been having the sweats for 20 years. Certainly pre menopause nd still now many years after. They are different now and mainly at night though can get the occasional one during the day. Don't believe they are due to menopause any more but more likely the PBC. Have queried this before on this site and found many women have the same symptom. Does not seem to be any solution. Just keep to cotton sheets and endure it. Sorry can't be of any help.
I get them as well and they are not from the menopause, I had an hysterectomy and my ovaries removed about 25 years ago and HRT stopped any flushes I had, then all of a sudden one night in 2008 we had to get up and change the bed 4 times, it was as though I had a shower in be it was that bad and i was still on HRT, Mine are not hormonal, I know the difference these are from PBC and it was the reason I went to my GP in the first place and ended up with a PBC diagnosis in the end, I have to sleep under just a pure cotton sheet when it's warm and add a cotton blanket when it's cold in the winter and thats it. I am still on HRT by the way and don't suffer flushes, just this horrible soaking when I am asleep and i wake up soaked to the skin and freezing cold from the wet bedding. not found anything that works as yet, fed up as you are.
Forgot to add that one of the other doctors in our practice took me off HRT when my own GP was away on holiday and boy did I know about it I was dripping all day as well, so I went to see my own GP and demanded it back, this is how I know this terrible sweating at night is not hormonal.
Just a thought, could the overheating especially at night be from liver inflammation in PBC.
I think I have now completed the menopause (I am 51) that started two and half years ago and I've had a few hot flushes in that time but they haven't been at night, seem to be during the day these have occurred and they have gone as fast as they have come.
So far apart from being someone who has always not really felt much of the cold and have lived in houses that have never been centrally-heated, for me I haven't as yet experienced what some of you have regarding this but one never knows.
I was diagnosed with PBC and began treatment with urso 6 years ago. I am now 67 and in the past year started having night sweats. I wake up to use the bathroom and when I return to bed my whole body gets real hot for a number of minutes.
Shenanigans, I also struggle with this issue at night. Besides cotton sheets and cotton pajamas or nightgowns, I sleep with a tower fan blowing towards me. That way, if the "heat wave" wakes me, I can cool off quickly by throwing off the covers and let the blowing air help cool me down. When I am cooled off, I adjust my covers and go back to sleep. In addition, I have a pillow with a gel insert (got it at Sam's Club) that I use at night. Between the two, I can usually go back to sleep without too much interruption. On bad nights, I may have to cool off two or three times. I had to adjust the fan's direction so it did not blow on my face. I also have Sjogens syndrome and the fan made the dry mouth problems at night worse.
I lost my HRT meds with the diagnosis of PBC after using them for 10 years following surgery. I often have temperature variations throughout the day, so I keep a light shirt or jacket with me and wear sleeveless outfits on most days. I use thyroid meds for slow thyroid function and try to keeps the sweets (simple carbohydrates) to a minimum since sugar exhausts the thyroid gland further. Protein foods help me as well as complex carbohydrates because when I changed my diet to more of these, the difficulties at night lessened. I hope you get some relief with your symptoms.
I had this something awful when I started menopause about 10 years ago. I was only 36 at the time. It was confirmed by a blood test. Incidentally, I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism at the same time. It wouldn't hurt to get yourself checked for both. Then at least you know for sure that you can rule that out and move onto something else that it might be.
At night I would sweat so much, you would have thought I put the sheets on the bed straight from the washer. My husband also said that he could feel the heat radiate from me. Then when I would cool down, it just felt worse. I would freeze in my cold, wet sheets.
I agree that cotton sheets and nightie are the way to go. A fan is also a must. I would also keep my duvet close so that I could curl up in that when I cooled down.
I couldn't take Hormone Replacement Therapy, so my doctor tried all kinds of different treatments. None worked for me. I did find that if I was stressed, then that made it worse. Maybe I was trying to work things out in my dreams or something. In any case, trying to be calm prior to bed (yoga, meditation or light reading can assist this), don't drink hot liquids or alcohol, cotton sheets and a fan are the way to go. At least for me it was. It did take years to get through it. Now I only suffer from it every once in a while.
Think I'm the only one that doesn't recommend cotton sheets/pillow cases for night sweats.
I've had horrendous night sweats (peri-menopausal) for the last 4 months and have changed all bedding to coolmax type, wicking bedding.
My reasoning was based on sports clothing where cotton is avoided, as it absorbs sweat and stays wet as the fibres themselves absorb the liquid. Sports clothing is normally made from various wicking fibres that don't absorb the moisture but wick it away from the body and dry quickly.
I found that cotton, although feels nice & cooling initially, once wet or even damp, stays wet and then make you feel really cold and clammy.
The other thing that was mentioned to me was that memory foam mattresses can make sweats worse.
Tower fans are great and I've invested (yes, expensive but I'm desperate) in one that you can program if needed, but works by remote control - so I can easily flick it onto the lowest setting whenever I need a blast in the night and it's very, very quiet so doesn't wake the other half.
Hi, issues with temperature are on the list of PBC symtoms, I have had problems and it is horrible to have to change sheets in the middle of the night and then again in the morning. For me it seems to be connected to my cycle, and it comes and goes a little bit. I have been on urso for more than a year now and my night sweats have decreased. As with many symtoms I don't feel the doctors are that interested in what they consider "minor" so I have stopped expecting explanations but I have also learnt to come back and nag about persistent problems. So, keep pestering doctors about your night sweats, there should be something that can help!
I have this for almost 20 years, Each night I use 3-4 pijamas. I like wool pillow and cover, as they do not feel wet. In a book I read to put a towel on sheet and throw it when wet, and the same under the cover. Synchronisation of the room temperature and the cover also helps. Maybe cooling shower gel with lukewarm dush before sleep (this I began to use this summer, great) If You are so hot, maybe try some cooling gel (that in plastic bag) to your feet, or just wet little towel. I think it's also time: first year I suffered much more, now I'm used to it, even happyly surprised in the morning, if I used only 2 pijamas :), and it happens.
It's uncomfortable, but not the worst symptom from the long list we have. Take care!
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