› Forums › General Melanoma Community › Night Sweats
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rick1981.
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- January 31, 2011 at 4:01 pm
Hi Everyone:
My is Susan and my Dad is currently battling Stage IV Melanoma. He's been on and off Dacarbazine for 1 year now, he has lesions in his lungs and liver, and after frequent scans, for the most part his lesions have stayed the same, shrunk slightly, or grown slightly. they have been hesitant to say treatment is working, but his disease has been stable for the last year which is all we can hope for (after reading so many sad stories within this forum).
Hi Everyone:
My is Susan and my Dad is currently battling Stage IV Melanoma. He's been on and off Dacarbazine for 1 year now, he has lesions in his lungs and liver, and after frequent scans, for the most part his lesions have stayed the same, shrunk slightly, or grown slightly. they have been hesitant to say treatment is working, but his disease has been stable for the last year which is all we can hope for (after reading so many sad stories within this forum).
So far, other than the side effects of the chemotherapy, he's had little to no sickness. The two things that seem to bother him the most are:
1) pains in his stomach that seem to be diet related – scans have shown he has gallstones and he is going in to have an ERCP next week. He also had an infection late last year that Drs seemed to think was related to a gallstone blockage, causing his liver counts to go out of control.
2) the 'night sweats'. This is a new thing for him, and it's gotten really quite bad. it happens most nights, but not every night. I would say 4 out of 5 nights a week. Typically, he wakes up at 3-4am, his t-shirt and sheets are drenched.
I am curious to know if any other patients also have the night sweats, is this a common thing with Melanoma? Or could it be a sign of something else? I have spent a lot of time on the web (good and bad) and am pretty sure night sweats are caused by either an infection, cancer, or side effects to a certain type of Rx.
Can anyone offer me and my Dad some further insight into the world of night sweats?
Forever thankful!
Susan
- Replies
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- January 31, 2011 at 4:09 pm
While night sweats are common in Melanoma it can also be related to a Thyroid malfunction. I hadn't had night sweats since I was initially treated but during this trial the therapy caused my thyroid to go crazy…it is usually happens when the thyroid is underacting…have they tested his TSH lately? Mine has been going from not producing to over producing and so they gave me a low dose of synthroid…now I have been having night sweats…since it takes about 6 weeks for you body to recognize the changes in the levels it's kind of hard to get a handle on…then my onc says perhaps now my thyroid levels are headed back down…and perhaps need to cut the synthroid ( he wants to consutl with my endrocinologist…in the meantime I cut my own synthroid down to have a most my sweats are now gone…I see my onc on wednesday …
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- January 31, 2011 at 4:25 pm
since you also mentioned stomach pain etc, maybe you should read this…not intended to scare you, but to perhaps ask the doctor to look into it. I was researching because my friend just had a grapefruit density of melanoma removed ( 90%) from in and around her large intestine( this past thursday) which they claim was not seen on any test or scan…she was initially diagnosed because of gall bladder pain and they found melanoma-she is also stage 4 like me- I happen to be NED for now…. .http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20180962
A patient with metastatic melanoma presenting with gastrointestinal perforation after dacarbazine infusion: a case report.
CASE PRESENTATION: A 52-year-old Caucasian man presented with abdominal pain and distension, malaise, night sweats, dysphagia and early satiety.
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- January 31, 2011 at 4:25 pm
since you also mentioned stomach pain etc, maybe you should read this…not intended to scare you, but to perhaps ask the doctor to look into it. I was researching because my friend just had a grapefruit density of melanoma removed ( 90%) from in and around her large intestine( this past thursday) which they claim was not seen on any test or scan…she was initially diagnosed because of gall bladder pain and they found melanoma-she is also stage 4 like me- I happen to be NED for now…. .http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20180962
A patient with metastatic melanoma presenting with gastrointestinal perforation after dacarbazine infusion: a case report.
CASE PRESENTATION: A 52-year-old Caucasian man presented with abdominal pain and distension, malaise, night sweats, dysphagia and early satiety.
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- January 31, 2011 at 4:36 pm
thank you for posting! i'm curious to know if the night sweats are just something you have to deal with then? Or is there something that you can take? sorry to hear about your friend, but thank you for the heads up. i will make sure my dad knows to bring this up when he sees his oncologist tomorrow. good luck with your battle and stay strong!
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- January 31, 2011 at 4:36 pm
thank you for posting! i'm curious to know if the night sweats are just something you have to deal with then? Or is there something that you can take? sorry to hear about your friend, but thank you for the heads up. i will make sure my dad knows to bring this up when he sees his oncologist tomorrow. good luck with your battle and stay strong!
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- January 31, 2011 at 4:41 pm
It may have something to do with the tumor burden- I just don't know..My first onc says it was a sign I had melanoma ( wasn't expecting any kind of cancer) and thought perhaps it was the change of life- lol –
However the night sweats went away after I did radiation and Temodar ( Newer sister to DTIC ( decarb) without as many side effects)…
I would have your dad ask for a thyroid panel done…get his TSH and HDL level
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- January 31, 2011 at 4:41 pm
It may have something to do with the tumor burden- I just don't know..My first onc says it was a sign I had melanoma ( wasn't expecting any kind of cancer) and thought perhaps it was the change of life- lol –
However the night sweats went away after I did radiation and Temodar ( Newer sister to DTIC ( decarb) without as many side effects)…
I would have your dad ask for a thyroid panel done…get his TSH and HDL level
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- January 31, 2011 at 4:09 pm
While night sweats are common in Melanoma it can also be related to a Thyroid malfunction. I hadn't had night sweats since I was initially treated but during this trial the therapy caused my thyroid to go crazy…it is usually happens when the thyroid is underacting…have they tested his TSH lately? Mine has been going from not producing to over producing and so they gave me a low dose of synthroid…now I have been having night sweats…since it takes about 6 weeks for you body to recognize the changes in the levels it's kind of hard to get a handle on…then my onc says perhaps now my thyroid levels are headed back down…and perhaps need to cut the synthroid ( he wants to consutl with my endrocinologist…in the meantime I cut my own synthroid down to have a most my sweats are now gone…I see my onc on wednesday …
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- January 31, 2011 at 5:21 pm
Hi Susan – I'm stage 4 since 06/10 with two brain mets and an adrenal met. I have night sweats off and on mostly from medications. I take oxycodone and cymbalta both for chronic pain and they both cause drenching night sweats on occasion but I can never quite figure out what triggers it. I am on a clinical drug trial now of carboplatin carbotaxol and temodar and during the week I'm on chemo I have major sweats that hit me during the day as well as at night.
One thing that oddly helps me is to get my feet cold. I can either stick them out from under the blankets or put an ice pack at my feet. I've heard from other people that putting an ice pack at the base of your skull can stop the night sweats too.
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- January 31, 2011 at 5:21 pm
Hi Susan – I'm stage 4 since 06/10 with two brain mets and an adrenal met. I have night sweats off and on mostly from medications. I take oxycodone and cymbalta both for chronic pain and they both cause drenching night sweats on occasion but I can never quite figure out what triggers it. I am on a clinical drug trial now of carboplatin carbotaxol and temodar and during the week I'm on chemo I have major sweats that hit me during the day as well as at night.
One thing that oddly helps me is to get my feet cold. I can either stick them out from under the blankets or put an ice pack at my feet. I've heard from other people that putting an ice pack at the base of your skull can stop the night sweats too.
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- January 31, 2011 at 5:58 pm
Hi,
I have night sweats that leave me, and my bed, drenched several times a night. I rarely get a full night's sleep.
As someone mentioned below, sometimes keeping the feet cold is supposed to help. I have a standing fan that sits right next to my bed which I turn on quite often in the winter, and run pretty much full time in the summer. It doesn't stop my night sweats, but it offers almost immediate relief..though sometimes it takes a trip to the bathroom to splash cold water too…
There's a product out there which you might Google called a 'Chillow" It's a flat, water filled pillow which maintains a slighter lower than normal temperature.
Also..I don't know what kind of bedding or bed situation he has. Those 'miracle foam' mattresses are very popular these days, but I can tell you from experience that they are not good for someone with night sweats. not only do they keep you overly warm, they keep the mattress that way! I finally had to take that toper off the bed because I was constantly wet.
AND..finally.. I swear by goose down blankets. I often throw my covers off at night, but I can tell you after years of experimenting with different blankets that goose down keeps one cooler, it's lighter weight, and is the BEST for someone suffering these things.
Your dad has my sympathies!
dian in spokane
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- January 31, 2011 at 6:54 pm
Hi everyone,
Oh wow! I have been having night sweats and day sweats…….just when I thought the ones from menopause had subsided, wham here they are back again. I wake up drenched (wear a sleeveless nightgown to bed, with a fan on me), and then I make coffee in the morning, and drink it while reading on the computer and I have to put a towel around my neck…..then I shower and have to put on cotton shirts and still a towel around my neck for a little while…..today I started an exercise routine with a personal trainer and had to get a towel for around my neck. My head, scalp, and upper body sweats profusely. I am stage 3a, and doing Ipi. I do have the unhealed wounds that I take narcotics for every day (oxcycodone…it was mentioned above that this drug can cause the sweats?) It was mentioned that having cancer or melanoma can cause the sweats? I had asked my GP and she said it was probably still "THE CHANGE", still rearing its ugly head (I'm 56). It just seemed to me that they were subsiding and now are back, full force, for the last several months. I see my melanoma oncologist for round 4 of Ipi this Wednesday and I will explore this with him! So glad to know I am not alone with the sweats, but boy are they ever ANNOYING as if having melanoma isnt ANNOYING ENOUGH!!!!!
Vermont_Donna, stage 3a, currently doing Ipi
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- January 31, 2011 at 6:54 pm
Hi everyone,
Oh wow! I have been having night sweats and day sweats…….just when I thought the ones from menopause had subsided, wham here they are back again. I wake up drenched (wear a sleeveless nightgown to bed, with a fan on me), and then I make coffee in the morning, and drink it while reading on the computer and I have to put a towel around my neck…..then I shower and have to put on cotton shirts and still a towel around my neck for a little while…..today I started an exercise routine with a personal trainer and had to get a towel for around my neck. My head, scalp, and upper body sweats profusely. I am stage 3a, and doing Ipi. I do have the unhealed wounds that I take narcotics for every day (oxcycodone…it was mentioned above that this drug can cause the sweats?) It was mentioned that having cancer or melanoma can cause the sweats? I had asked my GP and she said it was probably still "THE CHANGE", still rearing its ugly head (I'm 56). It just seemed to me that they were subsiding and now are back, full force, for the last several months. I see my melanoma oncologist for round 4 of Ipi this Wednesday and I will explore this with him! So glad to know I am not alone with the sweats, but boy are they ever ANNOYING as if having melanoma isnt ANNOYING ENOUGH!!!!!
Vermont_Donna, stage 3a, currently doing Ipi
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- January 31, 2011 at 8:32 pm
thanks dian! all of the information you have provided is most helpful! the weirdest thing is, he's not hot. or he doesn't wake up feeling hot. he actually wakes up because he's freezing, probably from lying in soaking bed sheets and clothes no doubt. but the one thing he doesn't complain about is being cold – so getting him to do all of the cold presses etc, will be harder than getting him to even bring this up with the dr 🙂 he's a stubborn man! although my mum can contest to the fact that he is BOILING. she's gone out to get a thermometer and will take his temperature the next time to prove to him that he's actually hot (and not cold like he's been saying). thank you again for getting back to me, most appreciated. good luck in your battle!
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- January 31, 2011 at 9:18 pm
Susan,
Mine are not nearly as bad as they used to be. One thing I did was buy pj's that wick away the sweat from you, that could be why he is waking up cold. After a hot flash I usually do get chilled.
You also (if you can convince him to talk to his Dr.) might want to suggest accupuncture for the night sweats. I have not done this but I do know that others have.
One of the most difficult parts of cancer is the control we have lost. If you father's stubborn it could be just his way of hanging on to some of his control. I have actually had a hot flash while sitting in a Dr office having my temp taken and it isn't reflected on the thermometer!! I also do much better if the house is at 67. If it gets to 68 the hot flashes start! My husband thinks I'm crazy. If I'm stressed I instantly have a hotflash. My flashes rarely become what I think of as sweats.
Wishing your father the best,
Linda
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- January 31, 2011 at 9:43 pm
Thanks Linda! he was doing accupuncture before, as well as seeing a chinese medicine dr and getting vitamin c infusions. interesting that the night sweats only started AFTER he stopped seeing both the accupuncturist and chinese medicine dr. i will suggest it. the hardest part of watching him go through this, is seeing the loss of control. but the one benefit, which i'll take with me forever is that i'm so much closer to him than i ever have been. together, we're stronger 🙂
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- January 31, 2011 at 9:43 pm
Thanks Linda! he was doing accupuncture before, as well as seeing a chinese medicine dr and getting vitamin c infusions. interesting that the night sweats only started AFTER he stopped seeing both the accupuncturist and chinese medicine dr. i will suggest it. the hardest part of watching him go through this, is seeing the loss of control. but the one benefit, which i'll take with me forever is that i'm so much closer to him than i ever have been. together, we're stronger 🙂
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- January 31, 2011 at 9:18 pm
Susan,
Mine are not nearly as bad as they used to be. One thing I did was buy pj's that wick away the sweat from you, that could be why he is waking up cold. After a hot flash I usually do get chilled.
You also (if you can convince him to talk to his Dr.) might want to suggest accupuncture for the night sweats. I have not done this but I do know that others have.
One of the most difficult parts of cancer is the control we have lost. If you father's stubborn it could be just his way of hanging on to some of his control. I have actually had a hot flash while sitting in a Dr office having my temp taken and it isn't reflected on the thermometer!! I also do much better if the house is at 67. If it gets to 68 the hot flashes start! My husband thinks I'm crazy. If I'm stressed I instantly have a hotflash. My flashes rarely become what I think of as sweats.
Wishing your father the best,
Linda
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- January 31, 2011 at 8:32 pm
thanks dian! all of the information you have provided is most helpful! the weirdest thing is, he's not hot. or he doesn't wake up feeling hot. he actually wakes up because he's freezing, probably from lying in soaking bed sheets and clothes no doubt. but the one thing he doesn't complain about is being cold – so getting him to do all of the cold presses etc, will be harder than getting him to even bring this up with the dr 🙂 he's a stubborn man! although my mum can contest to the fact that he is BOILING. she's gone out to get a thermometer and will take his temperature the next time to prove to him that he's actually hot (and not cold like he's been saying). thank you again for getting back to me, most appreciated. good luck in your battle!
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- January 31, 2011 at 5:58 pm
Hi,
I have night sweats that leave me, and my bed, drenched several times a night. I rarely get a full night's sleep.
As someone mentioned below, sometimes keeping the feet cold is supposed to help. I have a standing fan that sits right next to my bed which I turn on quite often in the winter, and run pretty much full time in the summer. It doesn't stop my night sweats, but it offers almost immediate relief..though sometimes it takes a trip to the bathroom to splash cold water too…
There's a product out there which you might Google called a 'Chillow" It's a flat, water filled pillow which maintains a slighter lower than normal temperature.
Also..I don't know what kind of bedding or bed situation he has. Those 'miracle foam' mattresses are very popular these days, but I can tell you from experience that they are not good for someone with night sweats. not only do they keep you overly warm, they keep the mattress that way! I finally had to take that toper off the bed because I was constantly wet.
AND..finally.. I swear by goose down blankets. I often throw my covers off at night, but I can tell you after years of experimenting with different blankets that goose down keeps one cooler, it's lighter weight, and is the BEST for someone suffering these things.
Your dad has my sympathies!
dian in spokane
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- January 31, 2011 at 10:00 pm
Hi, sorry you have to come here…Have you dad checked out well in the stomach area. I just lost my husband…It mestasized to the intestines, stomach was extended, night sweats…also appetitie got bad. I hope and pray things turn out very well for your dad.
Take Care,
Sherron, wife to Jim FOREVER
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- February 1, 2011 at 2:47 pm
hi sherron,
so sorry to hear about your beloved jim. melanoma really is a nasty beast. my sincere condolences to you and your family. no one should have to go through it. i do know that dad has mets in his stomach, but his oncologist has said they've remained stable (he hasn't, however, had a scan since november). i have STRONGLY encouraged for them to bring it up today. thank you for sending me the note. wishing you all the strength!
Fondly,
susan -
- February 1, 2011 at 2:47 pm
hi sherron,
so sorry to hear about your beloved jim. melanoma really is a nasty beast. my sincere condolences to you and your family. no one should have to go through it. i do know that dad has mets in his stomach, but his oncologist has said they've remained stable (he hasn't, however, had a scan since november). i have STRONGLY encouraged for them to bring it up today. thank you for sending me the note. wishing you all the strength!
Fondly,
susan
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- January 31, 2011 at 10:00 pm
Hi, sorry you have to come here…Have you dad checked out well in the stomach area. I just lost my husband…It mestasized to the intestines, stomach was extended, night sweats…also appetitie got bad. I hope and pray things turn out very well for your dad.
Take Care,
Sherron, wife to Jim FOREVER
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- December 12, 2014 at 9:37 am
Hi all,
My wife has Stage IV melanoma and had night sweats around her diagnosis and these then stopped when she started the Dabrafenib/Trametinib combo. Those have now failed and she just started immune therapy. Her body is probably in "free fall" now (CT showed growth and new tumors) and the sweats have returned as well.
I have read here how you can counter the night sweats but nobody has mentioned so far how you can ensure you replenish the fluids. My wife is losing 1-2L at night at my estimate (4-5 soaked pairs of clothes). Did anyone get an infusion/drip of other medications?
Thanks,
Rick
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- December 12, 2014 at 9:37 am
Hi all,
My wife has Stage IV melanoma and had night sweats around her diagnosis and these then stopped when she started the Dabrafenib/Trametinib combo. Those have now failed and she just started immune therapy. Her body is probably in "free fall" now (CT showed growth and new tumors) and the sweats have returned as well.
I have read here how you can counter the night sweats but nobody has mentioned so far how you can ensure you replenish the fluids. My wife is losing 1-2L at night at my estimate (4-5 soaked pairs of clothes). Did anyone get an infusion/drip of other medications?
Thanks,
Rick
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- December 12, 2014 at 9:37 am
Hi all,
My wife has Stage IV melanoma and had night sweats around her diagnosis and these then stopped when she started the Dabrafenib/Trametinib combo. Those have now failed and she just started immune therapy. Her body is probably in "free fall" now (CT showed growth and new tumors) and the sweats have returned as well.
I have read here how you can counter the night sweats but nobody has mentioned so far how you can ensure you replenish the fluids. My wife is losing 1-2L at night at my estimate (4-5 soaked pairs of clothes). Did anyone get an infusion/drip of other medications?
Thanks,
Rick
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