Waking up overnight DRENCHED in sweat

Just wanted to add - my DH's white blood cell count was raised too. The very last test he had was a bone marrow biopsy, which confirmed it was indeed lymphoma. Once the bone marrow results were back, his feet didn't touch the floor, and treatment went ahead at breakneck speed.

@cinnamonrolls3 please push for further investigations.

Those are severe night sweats! You need to go back to your GP, OP. There are so many possibilities. You need to be referred - probably to a gynaecologist and an endocrinologist. And possibly an oncologist.

I too am concerned @cinnamonrolls3 is not pushing for this to be investigated further.

An ultrasound on the lump will not solve anything as this appears to be a symptom rather than the root cause.

Drenching night sweats are a major red flag for lymphoma and simply cannot be ignored. Many posters on here have experience of suffering from them and were subsequently diagnosed with lymphoma of one type or another.

I know this message is being conveyed to the OP sensitivily and kindly, but to ignore this advice is madness.

My DH was suffering from fatigue and drenching night sweats, and he was fobbed off by our GP for a couple of months. Try this / that medicine - and nothing helped.

DH ended up in A & E not long afterwards, and two weeks later, after every test under the sun, he was diagnosed with lymphoma. Without treatment, his consultant said he would certainly die in a few weeks.

DH had treatment, and thankfully it worked. The night sweats stopped, he is in remission, and he is back to his old self again. It could have been such a different outcome if he had buried his head in the sand and carried on regardless. 😔

It may be something simple, and so far nothing has shown up in routine tests - but if the OP chooses not to request further investigations, then I really don't think we can do any more. 🤷

I have to agree with this. My lymphoma is in my chest and therefore there were no visible lumps/swollen lymph nodes. But one of my major symptoms was drenching night sweats.

I don't think this is relevant here because the OP is describing very specific symptoms which most medical advice would say need to be investigated to rule out possible serious illnesses.

I don't have anxiety or health anxiety but I am worried about the OP unless she gets this properly investigated.

Op do you suffer from anxiety, health anxiety or generalised?

I've been avoiding writing exactly the same because I don't think you want to hear it OP and I don't want you to feel that you've wasted your money, but an ultrasound can't detect lymphoma. My lump wasn't cancerous, it was just swelling caused by the underlying tumour. It was picked up on a CT scan looking deep into the chest.

But even if the lump is completely benign, the night sweats are still very concerning and you haven't had them explained yet. I know it sounds like a lot of people are badgering you, but I do think you should go back to another GP and ask for more investigations - about the night sweats, not the lump.

I'm hesitating whether to write this OP as I'm not qualified to question medical advice (I'm not a medic but do have some medical knowledge). I'm also not generally prone to health anxiety, despite my past health issue.

However I am still a bit concerned about you. The combination of that very specific lump plus the drenching night sweats is still a red flag for lymphoma to me. The lump itself isn't necessarily cancerous but can be the collarbone being pushed forward by a mass in the chest cavity. I'm not sure an ultrasound would pick this up - would generally be a chest x-ray or CT scan. I note you said you had an x-ray but that it was a while ago.

I think if it was me I'd be going back to the GP and mentioning the concern about lymphoma specifically.

Of course I hope I'm wrong and that it is actually nothing serious!

Glad you’re ok and just ignore the weird man! Probably a salesman on commission

I’ve had the same symptoms as you regarding sweating all through the night and day in my case and it turned out it was spinal bone infections from previous surgery. I had back surgery before the infections were found. Have you had any surgery in the past especially where you have metal in you? If so ask your GP to do a CRP blood test.
it’s horrible waking up wet through with sweat I sympathise, truly awful. Have you also had your hormone levels checked for Pery menopause or menopause as unfortunately that can happen (rarely) at any early age.
I do hope you find the cause shortly as it’s most uncomfortable and draining.

It might just be genetics, I had these my whole life (sometimes not for years, sometimes every nights in a given week) and just learned recently that my dad does as well!

I have a similar lump. Had CT scan: arthiritis in the joint.

But then I'm a lot older than you are, so you're right to pursue it.

Disclaimer I am perimenopausal. I found taking magnesium each morning helped reduce my night sweats. Not completely but I am not drenched every night. If you don’t like to take pills you can get it as a cream but the absorption will not be as good.

Friend had similar it was lupus.
Another thing to consider is Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Have you got other GPs in your practice? You really need a second opinion.
Have you got a partner, friend or family member to take with you to the Doctors who can advocate for you?
Sometimes you have to be a pain to be taken seriously.

I had this from about 26-30 years old. I think it was to do with my metabolism as I was really into running at the time. I got pregnant at 30/31 and since then I haven't had them. I have also calmed down the running! Nothing I tried worked, it would be sporadic, so my guess was hormones and metabolism

One of my dc had Hodgkins, no symptoms at all just a lump in the collarbone. Luckily our gp sprung into action and a few days later we were having ultrasounds and fine needle biopsies. Her bloods came back as a bit raised white blood cells and esr. A chest x ray revealed a shadow in the chest which turned out to be lymphoma in the chest. The ones in the neck couldn’t be felt or seen. Just the lump in the collarbone.

Also, it didn't show up on any of my blood tests in the beginning. Just wondering - persistent cough? Fatigue? Pain in the lump if you drink alcohol? Be aware of any of those symptoms

Please push for more tests OP. My lump in the clavicle and night sweats were Stage 4 Hodgkin's Lymphoma. I've been in remission for a year. If it's that, it's usually very treatable but you should act now. If it's not, then all the better.

Fair enough .it was just my experience

That looks almost identical to my lymphoma lump. But, my blood tests were all over the place and my xray showed the tumour very clearly.

Funnily enough I have my last ever clinic appointment today, 2 years post treatment. I am completely fine now. As a pp, I had 6 months of chemo and it worked. Even stage 4 lymphoma is very treatable.

OP I wanted to give you a positive "worst case" story.

I went to the doctor with a lump exactly like yours, no other symptoms. I was 27 and otherwise healthy. It was Hodgkin's lymphoma.

I had 6 months of chemo (which while not lovely, wasn't that bad either) and that was it. That was 20 years ago and I've been fine since and also went on to have two children.

Of course I know not everyone has such a good outcome, but for young otherwise healthy people with lymphoma the prognosis is generally very good. Not wanting to seem flippant but if it is lymphoma, your treatment could be over and done with by Christmas. Of course it may be something else.

Please do get checked and, if needed, treated. Good luck OP.