Waking up overnight DRENCHED in sweat

[cinnamonrolls3]

Posting here in case anyone else has had this and knows what it is!

ive been struggling with really bad night sweats recently. All my life I’ve naturally been a cold person but for a few months now I’ve been feeling absolutely boiling hot at night. It usually starts about midnight or so, feels like I’m unbelievably hot and the sweat literally soaks my pjs and bedsheets and I’m dripping wet with it. If I’m up late then I’ll feel it start but if I’m in bed early then it’ll wake me up during the night when it starts . I’ve tried light bedding, no bedding, light pjs, no pjs, windows open (my bed is literally right beside it). I live in northern Scotland where it’s been baltic recently and my car is iced up every morning but I’m still waking up roasting. Heating thermostat is set to 15 overnight but I’ve tried even lower and it makes no difference. My room isn’t particularly warm or a heat trap, I’ve never had this issue before and I’m completely fine during the day. Does anyone know wtf this is and what I can do to stop it? Frankly I’m fed up having to wash my hair in the morning because it’s wet with sweat from during the night

i went to the gp who checked my thyroid and hormones and it was all normal. I even went privately for amother full hormone check so I could make sure the levels were normal and they were all completely fine. I’ve had a few full blood tests recently (for a completely separate thing) and I remember on once instance the doctor said my white blood cells were high, I think it was 15.5? Then another doctor said whilst it’s high it doesn’t matter because they’ve seen that for me in my other recent blood tests so that’s normal for me. Otherwise it was all fine

I’m just at a loss for what it is! I’m not menopausal, I’m 28, female, I’m not stressed, I exercise regularly and don’t drink or take drugs. Just at a bit of a loss! The doctor said not to worry about it and it’s just one of those things but it’s having a big impact on me

You would need to ask for a full blood count including lymphocytes, and examination of your lymph nodes.

OP, a boney-feeling lump on the sternum/clavicle can definitely be lymphoma, even in the absence of any other symptoms. Hodgkin's lymphoma often occurs in the mediastinum (inside middle of chest).

Night sweats and high WBC are also risk factors for lymphoma.

Lymphoma, although a cancer, is usually very treatable, but of course better to catch it early.

Please go and get checked again for this and don't be fobbed off. I wish you the best of luck.

Night sweets are not normal at your age.

Please go back to the GP ASAP and tell them very clearly, what you are worried about

Meds? Anti-depressants can cause night sweats.

Do you have a synthetic mattress topper? I had to take mine off the bed as it was making sweat buckets in the night.

bloodcancer.org.uk/understanding-blood-cancer/lymphoma/hodgkin-lymphoma/symptoms/

The most common symptom of Hodgkin lymphoma is one or more swellings or lumps in the neck or above the collarbone. These are swollen lymph nodes (also called lymph glands).

Some people with Hodgkin lymphoma get these symptoms:

• drenching night sweats (that soak through your clothes or bedding)
• a high temperature (fever)
• unexplained weight loss.

Other symptoms that can sometimes happen to people with Hodgkin lymphoma include:

• tiredness (fatigue)
• itching
• increased risk of infections
• excessive bleeding – such as nosebleeds, heavier periods than usual and spots of blood under the skin.

If you have raised white blood cells please don't let this drop. I don't want to be alarmist and I am sure it's a sign of lots of different things, but it does mean something isn't right. For my father in law this was the first early medical sign (which he then ignored for 3 years) of cancer which may have been very treatable at that stage but was terminal by the time other symptoms showed up. Again, I apologise as I realise it probably isn't anything anywhere near as sinister but I had to say it.

This. Not to alarm you, OP, but some blood cancers can begin in the bone marrow and not elevate white blood cell counts for a while. You need to go to a different doctor and be very clear with them about the extent of these drenching night sweats, and how abnormal they are for you. In addition to the fact that your hormone levels have come back normal. Be calm but clear about the source of your concern.

It's also worth keeping in mind that your white blood cell count could shoot up very fast, if it was leukemia. The picture could look totally different within a matter of weeks. I'd test again in the near future if I was you, just to be safe.

I'm not trying to scare you, but if there's any possibility at all, it needs looking into. Don't let the GP fob you off. Record your appointments and take notes if you don't feel listened to, and don't be afraid to seek out a second opinion. There is no harm in looking into it. Even if it turns out you're fine, you'll have given yourself peace of mind.

I get occasional night sweats, I have had a raised white blood cell count since at least age 32. I’m 73 now, fairly healthy. GP said some people naturally have this.
OP you should get it all checked, as others have said, but please don’t worry - you may just be, like me, a freak of nature!

Do you have other symptoms with the bleeds? I'm asking this because you may want to get checked for Adenomyosis or Endometriosis both of which can have a symptom of night sweats. In the first instance you would need an internal ultrasound to check and possibly a referral to Gynecology.

Apart from the menopause, when I often had to get a towel to lie on at 2 am, I’ve only experienced that with some wretched infection - nasty-cold or fluey bug. Most notably, post-menopause, when I was in hospital with pneumonia- I was having to ask someone to change the bottom sheet just about every night, and good old dh was bringing me 2 changes of PJ tops and bottoms every day, and taking the sodden ones away to wash.

Diabetes can give you night sweats.

I had a couple of bouts of night sweats in my late 30s / early 40s and I think it was a combination of cyclical hormone fluctuations and stress (wasn’t peri-menopause). However, night sweats were the first and only real symptom of my Dad’s non Hodgkins Lymphoma so should you should get checked - not least because the stress of wondering what the cause is could be prolonging them. There was a blood marker that prompted my Dad’s speedy referral. I can’t remember what it was, but it wasn’t white blood count.

I knew someone who went through the menopause at 29. It happens.

The raised WBC suggests some sort of inflammatory process. Do you have hx of Ibd or bowel issues? Have you checked your boobs for lumps, just in case, this is one sign in breast cancer although very unlikely.

Would chase GP about the hormonal period stuff, do you have a GUM clinic that you can self refer to? Might be quicker depending on how useful your gp is.

Any other medications?

OP, you are young so I assume you have the NHS app.

Have you looked at the actual blood markers and The ranges and checked them yourself? You shouldn't have to but often on here people find our that they are actually out of range when a GP has said they are in range.

I'm the same except my night sweats in not hot, I wake up drenched and freezing cold! Anyone have any ideas??

@cinnamonrolls3 do not be fobbed off, what you're experiencing necessitates further investigation

Agree with @DisappearingGirl, hodgkin lymphoma can present with the symptoms you describe

Came on to say the same, I have terrible night sweats when my sugars go below 3 in the night, wake up feeling very jittery too. You used to be able to get a blood sugar reading at the chemist, I'd fast for 12hrs then get one done

Agree it should be investigated
im medical and didn’t fully understand what ‘drenching’ night sweats from the red flag text books were until I had them myself. Mine turned out to be a weird post covid thing but my gp did bloods and a chest xray as first step of investigations

Can you feel any enlarged lymph nodes?
I know it's been said a few times, but my friend had this and was diagnosed with lymphoma. The first symptoms was night sweats, then she noticed some enlarged lymph nodes in a her groin a few months later.
Hopefully not, but I'd want it ruled out.

If your lymphocytes are higher than normal range then you need a flow cytometry to check for leukaemia/lymphoma.
The blood will be sent to a specialist laboratory.

I’ve had them since age 21. But not as bad as you OP. Autoimmune or arthritis? Never got to the bottom of it!
I hope you get some answers.

Please go to another Dr and ask for further testing, a CT ideally to rule out Lymphoma. It can be slow growing and asymptomatic for years and doesn't show up on blood tests in most cases. But elevated white cells and drenching night sweats are classic signs. The others to look out for are fatigue that sleep doesn’t eleviate, unexplained weight loss (or gain in my case), itching skin without an obvious reason, bruising more easily than usual, and several others.

In my case they suspect I had it for years before presenting with more serious symptoms that meant it got picked up.
It very probably isn’t this, but its not unheard of at your age and is something much more easily treated if you catch it earlier, and I know several fellow Lymphoma or Leukaemia sufferers who were fobbed off for years before being taken seriously. Often the only way to diagnose is through CT scans or biopsy.

Op same thing happend to me at age 30. Went from being a person who wore thick heavy pjs and an extra blanket to a night sweater almost over night. At the time I was worried about early menopause and got tested. Negative. Went on to have 3 children , last one when I was 45! I never discovered the reason for this but since then I have had to sleep naked and have night sweats. I am perfectly healthy.

whn I have researched it some people just have different hormonal changes at night.