Suggestions for a woman with sweats

[Tom Kindlon]

A woman has contacted a patient organisation I volunteer with looking for help with "fibromyalgia sweats". She also has ME/CFS. Any suggestions welcomed. If you prefer, feel free to contact me by private message or by emailing me (Tom Kindlon @ Gmail dot com).

I estimate she is in her 50s so I suppose they could be connected with the menopause. But she appears to be quite severely affected overall as well. So any suggestions welcome.

 

[duncan]

First thing I'd want to rule out is babesia, but I do not know where this person is or what her risk factor is for TBDs.

 

[Invisible Woman]

When I first became ill I was way below menopause age but was plagued by sweats. But they were alternating hot and cold sweats. This has continued throughout the last 20 years but there have definitely been some times worse than others.

Someone suggested to me recently that this can be a system of autonomic neuropathy. So it's worth checking is she has POTS/OI issues. I find managing POTS seems to help a bit.

I presume she has had others things ruled out such as thyroid disorders etc.

 

[charles shepherd]

Re excessive sweating and night sweats in relation to ME/CFS

Below is a Q and A on this subject from ME Essential magazine

Dr Charles Shepherd
Hon Medical Adviser, MEA


6 QUESTION: NIGHT SWEATS


Do people with ME/CFS have night sweats? This is a new symptom that is causing myself and my partner considerable distress.


ANSWER


Yes, night sweats, sometimes quite profuse, do sometimes occur in ME/CFS and this is a symptom that was highlighted by the late Dr Melvin Ramsay when he produced his original description of the illness. Here is Dr Ramsay’s description of one particular patient who

….used to waken in the night to find himself lying in a pool of water. His wife is a nurse and reports that his temperature in these episodes is 94 or 95 degrees F. His condition remains unchanged and the sweating episodes are still occurring.


However, there are other reasons why people have might have night sweats. The list includes infections such as TB and HIV, connective tissue disorders, tumours, going through the menopause and some prescribed drugs.


Among the 'red flag' signs/symptoms that indicate the possibility of a more serious cause are persistent cough, change in bowel habit or rectal bleeding, joint pains/stiffness, weight loss, recent history of foreign travel, risk factors for HIV and enlarged lymph nodes/glands or other unusual lumps.


So this is something that you must discuss with your GP - who can take a proper history, examine you to make sure there aren't any signs that indicate another explanation (enlarged lymph glands for instance) and arrange some blood tests (to check for indicators of infection or inflammation). At the same time it's worth keeping a diary of what happens each night with a record of your temperature (using a thermometer) at the time the sweating episodes occur. Referral for hospital-based investigations may also be necessary.


When it comes to treatment I'm afraid there isn't a great deal that can be done if the cause is ME/CFS - apart from simple self-help solutions like keeping cool at night, wearing breathable natural fibres and using a cold wet flannel.

 

[Tom Kindlon]

FYI, I'm aware of:

Myalgic encephalomyelitis: International Consensus Criteria
B. M. Carruthers1,M. I. van de Sande2, K. L.DeMeirleir3, N. G. Klimas4, G.Broderick5, T.Mitchell6, D. Staines7,8,
A. C. P. Powles9, N.Speight10, R.Vallings11, L. Bateman12,13, B. Baumgarten-Austrheim14, D.S.Bell15, N. Carlo-Stella16,
J. Chia17,18, A.Darragh19, D. Jo20, D. Lewis21, A.R. Light22, S.Marshall-Gradisbik8, I. Mena23, J.A.Mikovits24, K.Miwa25,
M. Murovska26, M. L.Pall27&S. Stevens28

3. Loss of thermostatic stability: e.g. subnormal body temperature,marked diurnal fluctuations; sweating episodes, recurrent feelings of feverishness with or without lowgrade fever, coldextremities

---

Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Clinical Working Case Definition, Diagnostic and Treatment Protocols
Bruce M. Carruthers, MD, CM, FRCP(C)
Anil Kumar Jain, BSc, MD
Kenny L. De Meirleir, MD, PhD
Daniel L. Peterson, MD
Nancy G. Klimas, MD
A. Martin Lerner, MD, PC, MACP
Alison C. Bested, MD, FRCP(C)
Pierre Flor-Henry, MB, ChB, MD, Acad DPM, FRC, CSPQ
Pradip Joshi, BM, MD, FRCP(C)
A. C. Peter Powles, MRACP, FRACP, FRCP(C), ABSM
Jeffrey A. Sherkey, MD, CCFP(C)
Marjorie I. van de Sande, BEd, Grad Dip Ed

Neuroendocrine Manifestations: loss of thermostatic stability… subnormal body temperature and marked diurnal fluctuation, sweating episodes, recurrent feelings of feverishness and cold extremities; intolerance of extremes of heat and cold; marked weight change…anorexia or abnormal appetite; loss of adaptability and worsening of symptoms with stress.

 

[adelheid55]

My daughter is just being treated for Lyme and babesia. The latter has "profuse night sweats" as a very important symptom.
Babesia are difficult to test, even with the FISHtest.
Certainly menopause or/and thyroid problems may be responsible as is ME/CFS.

 

[Basilico]

Years ago, before I had CFS, I developed an excessive sweating situation. My armpits would be soaked through within minutes of putting on a new shirt. Since I had a professional job, having constant pit stains was unacceptable.

I got acupuncture for this specific problem. My acupuncturist gave me kidney points, since these were supposedly responsible for the problem of excessive sweating. I was fairly skeptical, but the problem completely disappeared after the acupuncture.

I would suggest giving acupuncture a try. It should be obvious after the first session whether it's helping or not.

 

[Rich D]

I'm male, and I get hot flashes. My doc says it is likely a thyroid problem - there can be a link between thyroid function and heat issues. Even though my tests show up normal, he has given me supplements to support my thyroid.

 

[kangaSue]

A woman has contacted a patient organisation I volunteer with looking for help with "fibromyalgia sweats". She also has ME/CFS. Any suggestions welcomed. If you prefer, feel free to contact me by private message or by emailing me (Tom Kindlon @ Gmail dot com).

I estimate she is in her 50s so I suppose they could be connected with the menopause. But she appears to be quite severely affected overall as well. So any suggestions welcome.

One study I saw said nearly 50% of people with a Fibro diagnosis actually have Small Fibre Neuropathy (Autonomic Neuropathy) and sudomotor dysfunction (sweat dysregulation) is common in AN. Autonomic function tests of QSART and TST can confirm if this is the case and a muscle punch biopsy can also diagnose Small Fibre neuropathy.

 

[zenzen]

I had severe sweats when standing from Hyper-POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) because my blood pressure was rising (which I was unaware of since I had near perfect sitting blood pressure). It took 2 years of research to discover this. I became sick when I was 56 and every doctor headed straight to menopause, but I had gone through menopause after giving birth to my daughter at 48 so I knew they were wrong. She can test this herself by running an orthostatic test with a blood pressure cuff. I'm attaching a link, but testing should continue at 10 minutes and 15 minutes upright even though the link indicates stopping at 5 minutes. A lot can continue to happen after 5 minutes. https://www.cdc.gov/steadi/pdf/measuring_orthostatic_blood_pressure-a.pdf

 

[Tom Kindlon]

Thanks to everyone who has replied. I have now printed out all the comments to give to this woman.

 

[rosie26]

Sorry, I am late replying to this thread. I had very severe sweating a couple of years ago. It was quite frightening. It felt completely out of control, deep shivering to the point of severe nausea (and retching with it) then a minute or two later I was breaking out in a burning sweat from head to toe . I had never experienced sweating like it. I was having major lung problems at the time, possibly pneumonia, COPD (from years of smoking). I don't think I have ever had major sweats from POTS?

In my severe years of ME (late 30s-early 40s) I only had the night sweats where the concentration of sweating was mainly over the chest area. I did have some weird day time sweating in the groin though, at times.

I eventually tried HRT and I think it helped slightly but I have now stopped.

If the sweating is extreme as it was for me it could be another medical problem on top of menopause or "fibromyalgia sweat" symptoms.

 

[Seven7]

I don't know what the underlying reason for night sweats are but mine were triggered by food allergy.
If you wnat me to wake up wet all I have do to is have honey nuts cherios for dinner!!!! Once I indentified most of my allergies, the night sweats were gone.

 

[kangaSue]

I only had the night sweats where the concentration of sweating was mainly over the chest area.

Absence of sweating, excessive sweating or just abnormal regional sweating can all be symptoms of sudomotor dysfunction.

 

[rosie26]

Absence of sweating, excessive sweating or just abnormal regional sweating can all be symptoms of sudomotor dysfunction.

Thanks @kangaSue I've not heard of sudomotor dysfunction before. I will take a look at this.

 

[Dechi]

I have had sweats that could also be attributed to both pre-menopause and ME.

The thing that worked for me was to stop eating refined sugars. It stopped completely when I did, and started again when I gave in to cravings. She could try it for 2-3 weeks and see if it works for her.