Can anyone explain what a night sweat is like?

[Chattycat78]

Hi girls,

This is a bit embarrassing, but I'm wondering if anyone Knows or can explain what a night sweat is like because I'm scared I might be having them. I just turned 35 and we are TTC although we re now having to go down the IVF route because unfortunately i have low amh (2,8) and high fsh (12).

In the last few months I've been waking up in the night and noticing that ive been sweating a little bit, mainly in the boob area a few times a month. Not enough to be wet really and certainly not enough to Change clothes or sheets and I can't decide whether I am imagining things because i know I have low amh, or am just too hot, or whether it really is something I should be worrying about :(

I heard that a true night sweat completely burns you up, and I'm really hoping that this is not what I am experiencing especially because we are ttc. I also have regular periods/ovulate etc so I'm really hoping I'm not menopausal, especially at 35!

Can anyone help?

[lovelymumof4]

I'm 39 next month and have recently been told that i'm heading toward menopause. My FSH was very high, a lot higher than yours. Iv'e been having night sweats on random nights now for a few months, they mostly seem to be a few days before a period. I'll be sleeping and then suddenly i will wake up with a start and my chest will be all wet and sweaty, sometimes around my neck also. I will also feel really hot and have to open the window. My husband says my skin feels burning to the touch. I did have a couple of nights when my whole body sweated and the sheets were damp. I noticed my nights sweats began when i was about 35, although they were milder then. I didn't actually sweat but just felt hot a few nights before my period started. Sometimes my heart races when i'm having the sweat and i feel a bit nauseous. Are you stressed at all or anxious, as this can cause sweating at night ? It's a good sign that your periods are regular and i don't think an FSH of 12 is particularly high. One month i had an FSH of 11, which the infertility nurse said was 'reasonable' and that it shouldn't stop me conceiving. Hope i have been of some help.

[Chattycat78]

Thank you so much for replying! Yes I have been MEGA stressed for the last 6 months or so about trying to get pregnant and the amh and FSH results so I did wonder if it was perhaps something to do with that. I do wonder though if I'm having the start of what you had at 35, which I don't mind if I can still get pregnant - that's my worry, that maybe I'm going to have an early menopause and its too late already for me to conceive :( have you conceived at any point in the last few years while experiencing this if you don.t mind my asking?

[KristinaM]

Being too hot is one sign of an over active thyroid. Your GP can check this out with a simple blood test. Maybe you need some medical advice ?

[RandomMess]

I got night sweats when I was breast feeding dc 3 (never happened with the others) - honestly I woke up cold and wet, sometimes twice in one night. It wasn't a bit sweaty it was pretty drenched. Hope that helps.

[lovelymumof4]

I have been trying to conceive for a year and a half now. No i haven't had a baby while i have been experiencing the night sweats. I had my last child about 2 years before it started. Like another poster said, you could have a thyroid issue so you could have routine bloods taken which would rule that out. I would think your sweats are most likely due to stress and anxiety as you are stressing about not conceiving. I am exactly the same, as each month passes and i'm not pregnant i get more and more stressed!! I was having abad time just before i began trying to conceive, lots of night sweats and panic attacks. My doctor put me on anti depressants and within a few weeks the night sweats stopped. This makes me think they were not due to menopause but more likely to be stress and anxiety.

[Chattycat78]

Thanks for this. Yes it does make sense, as the sweats have definitely coincided with TTC recently, especially once it looked like it was going to be hard to get pregnant because of the pants test results. I take it you are actively TTC at the moment then? Are you doing anything in particular to try To help things along? I ve been doing acupuncture for about 5 months now, am taking millions of supplements and we re just about to start our first round of IVF. Eek.

[lovelymumof4]

Yes i'm actively trying to conceive although don't hold out much hope because of my age. I'm not taking any supplements, apart from Folic acid. I was thinking of trying acupuncture. I'm told i can't have any fertility drugs as my FSH is too high so i just hope and pray that by some miracle i conceive naturally. I was thinking of Having Natural IVF at a clinic in London but really don't think we can afford it. I'm not entitled to IVF on NHS as i already have children. I just got to plod on and hope that i still have one or two good eggs left. So do you have any children ?Wow, i expect you are getting nervous and excited about your upcoming IVF x

[Chattycat78]

No, no kids yet, hence the reason for the IVF but probably also the reason I'm panicking so much about TTC. I'm terrified its never going to Happen for us and wished I'd tried years ago, but was not in the right position to have kids years ago! It's also extra pants because all our friends seem to be pregnant at the moment- no pressure there then :( I am excited about the IVF but aware of the odds involved so I have mixed feelings but am trying to stay positive.

I've heard good things about natural IVF. I'd definitely try that if necessary and you can afford it. i domt think it costs as much
As regular ivf. I think create Is a clinic which specialises in it. Acupuncture is good for relaxing but the problem is there is no ways of Knowng if its making a difference. Saying that, a lot of people seem to swear by it.

[Andcake]

Just thought I would chip in as at 37 I was told I had a very low chance of conceiving due to fsh 11.9 and low amh. With those scores I wasn't having night sweats. I was having short and long cycles 21 or 40 days and light ish periods.

Whilst I was waiting to get the money for ivf I starting sorting diet out and taking dhea. I got pregnant naturally within 3 months - although unfortunately that pregnancy ended in mc. I was so wowed by the fact I had got pregnant I kept going trying naturally - I had been told i had 1% chance with ivf and 1% if we tried naturally. A year later I got a bfp again which ended in mc again that time my cycle went loopy afterwards! NO periods for 4 months ;-( saw a dr who said no hope but to try dhea still. I had stopped it for a while as I was taking it without medical advice and dp was not happy about that. My periods returned i think in May 2011 and I got pregnant again in the December after being told in the november to try donor eggs and that I had an AFC of 5. I think b complex helped my hormones as well as dhea. I finally gave birth to my healthy son at 40.

Nightsweats after mc and pregnancy i had night sweats which is reasonable common apparently- waking up soaking. In all my time since my diagnosis I have woken warm a couple of times maybe before my periods not really sure.

Typically my periods have gone to pot since stopping bf and I would love another but very doubtful now but I am also very lucky to concieve naturally.

[Chattycat78]

And cake thanks for your input although I feel very depressed to hear the odds of 1 percent you were given ;( I know yours is a happy ending As it worked out for you and that gives me some hope, but I am very scared that it may not! Saying that,I too had a miscarriage in October after 4 months of trying so it clearly is possible for me to get pregnant.

Are you also saying that u think the night sweat thing is more likely to Kick in later on as you didn't have them (and still not getting them by the sounds of it) with an fsh of 11 ish? I'm trying to work out if I'm imagining things because I've spent so long stressing about having a High fsh and low amh!

[lovelymumof4]

I found that my night sweats started when my FSH went sky high. It's 20!!

[LackaDAISYcal]

I wake up some mornings with my nightie or PJs soaking wet and my hair plastered to me. I have to change the sheets daily and even wash the duvet which is also soaking or else they stink and I get horrible sweat rash under my boobs.

Slightly damp under boobs is not a night sweat.

[lovelymumof4]

How old are Lacka may i ask ?

[LackaDAISYcal]

45...approaching that difficult age! I had a mirena fitted and the sweats pretty much disappeared. I had to have it removed a few weeks ago due to an unrelated issue and the sweats have started up again...so obviously hormonal.

[lovelymumof4]

I'm only 39!!

[Andcake]

Tbh I think the 1% odds were due to my v low amh 0.1 if I remember rightly. Also told afc ( follicle count can be more predictive)!
One dr did say a mc was a great sign and really just keep trying for that good egg and try and be as healthy as possible to help egg quality.
I still don't think I have full on night sweats. And I've heard other say they kick in with higher fsh.
Just google high fsh success stories there are quite a few. Also a good friend got a similar diagnosis to me last year - mine is now 5 years ago- and she was given much better odds and had a one year old with no issues at the time of her scores! Maybe drs are being more optimistic now.

[lovelymumof4]

Doctors don't know everything! My FSH is 20 and a male doctor i saw a couple of months back told me not to take too much notice of numbers!!!

[lovelymumof4]

I'm thinking that maybe my FSH has dropped this month as i haven't had any night sweats for the past week or so and no heart palpitations. Been trying to baby dance as much as possible in case that one good egg has decided to pop!!

[learnasyougo]

night sweats can occur at any time. I get them now and again. a bit of sweating under the boobs doesn't sounds like night sweats to me. my night sweats meant the sheets were drenched. sweating like you're running a marathon, the sheets would be soaking wet and would need changing. I'd have to sleep on a towel to finish the night sleep (or turf dh out of bed to change the sheets).

[BigPawsBrown]

I am not going through the menopause and I sweat at night - not nightsweats but think it's pretty normal to wake up a bit sweaty. I do anyway, especially if I moisturise! I'm an anxious type too and it's a classic anxiety symptom.

[lovelymumof4]

I think most of mine is anxiety. Not convinced i'm in early menopause even with high FSH. I read an article that said Stress and anxiety can cause FSH to rise.