WHY night sweats?

[Safta]

so much has been written about night sweats, but do any of the experts know WHY they happen? I would love to hear from the professionals

Thanks and have a cool day

[AussieNeil Administrator]

I don't recall any expert putting forward an explanation for the why behind night sweats, but I do feel for women with CLL going through menopause and not knowing what is causing them. I suspect it's part of the way that CLL messes with our immune system, with cytokine messages confusing our bodies into thinking we have an infection. It sure is amazing how much sweat you can produce!!

Also, why night particularly? I've had some drenching sweats during the day.

[cajunjeff]

I have seen some articles write that the exact cause of night sweats is unknown, others, as below, that it is our body's internal thermostat cranking up to fight our cancer. This happens also when we have fevers and infections.

The linked article also contains some suggestions to deal with night sweats.

everydayhealth.com/leukemia...

[Safta in reply to cajunjeff]

thanks, useful

[Safta]

Thank you for your responses. My husband suffers from the cold, yet he knows that I can't sleep unless the room is really cool. So the sweet man puts up with all night air-conditioning, to make it bearable for me. I feel awful for him! I wish there was a way of beating those sweats ...

[Hidden in reply to Safta]

we run a fan overnight WITH our air conditioning. we point it away from the bed. evens out the temp

[Safta in reply to Hidden]

you gotta do what you gotta do

[Shepherd777]

I have no idea, but have seen a number of people say that with CLL our bodily thermostats seem to not work right or are broken. Probably not the right answer, but I too have had some day time sweats...just not as frequent or as bad.

[Safta]

i have had day sweats too and thought it was just me. Very embarrassing

[JeannineMarie]

I get night sweats but most of the time I am cold. It's near 90° in Tennessee and I am usually 2 layers in clothing. Wearing a jacket at 70°. Recently finished 6 rounds of BR. I too wonder about my thermostat!

[Safta in reply to JeannineMarie]

I guess our symptoms have completely screwed up our inner thermostats! Hot when it's cold and cold when it's hot!