night sweats

Has anyone had debilitating nnight sweats from their chemo? My sister is going through chemo, and although the nausea was not as profound this time thanks to the meds, her night sweats are terrible. She has to change several times during the night, and the mattress and bed clothes are soaked. She said it is so bad that when she moves the sheets, the moisure sprays on the wall. The resulting loss of fluids and electrolytes causes her to feel weak and she is not able to do much. She is trying electrolyte replacement products, but it doesn't seem to help that much. She is a stage iii cancer, with all lymph nodes affected. this is her second month of chemo. She expects to be on chemo for 6 months, and then have radiation for 3 more. Initially the nausea was violent and explosive. This last round hasn't caused that effect, but the profuse sweating. I am worried in case she decides not to go the course. I do understand that it is not my decision, but i hate to see her go through these devastating side effects.

I can only suggest first thing in the morning to call the oncologist's office and ask for some medication or change in medication to solve this problem. Good luck.

Has anyone had debilitating nnight sweats from their chemo? My sister is going through chemo, and although the nausea was not as profound this time thanks to the meds, her night sweats are terrible. She has to change several times during the night, and the mattress and bed clothes are soaked. She said it is so bad that when she moves the sheets, the moisure sprays on the wall. The resulting loss of fluids and electrolytes causes her to feel weak and she is not able to do much. She is trying electrolyte replacement products, but it doesn't seem to help that much. She is a stage iii cancer, with all lymph nodes affected. this is her second month of chemo. She expects to be on chemo for 6 months, and then have radiation for 3 more. Initially the nausea was violent and explosive. This last round hasn't caused that effect, but the profuse sweating. I am worried in case she decides not to go the course. I do understand that it is not my decision, but i hate to see her go through these devastating side effects. Rose

Not from chemo, but I do have them as a result of Tamoxifen - did you sister stop taking estrogen recently?

Not as far as I know. But it may be symptomatic of the 'induced' menopause caused by the chemo.

I didn't have chemo but I am going through menopause...and have horrible night sweats. I tried vitamin E for a bit until I read somewhere that it wasn't a good idea. Decided just to tough it...and change the sheets a lot.

Hi Rose, I had that kind of night sweating with my chemo. It was a long time ago (18 years) and I was 35 at the time. The chemo did induce an early menopause. I didn't have any particular help for it and after a while (a few years) it lessened. Then, when I came to the age of a natural menopause, I did it again! It wasn't pleasant, but I sure didn't consider not doing the treatment because of this snafu. My husband likes to say that he survived the first round of night sweats, but he was sure he'd die of pneumonia from being rapidly uncovered multiple times in the night during the cold winter, with the second round of hot flashes. We've both gotten through it. I hope that there is some help for your sister, or she stays determined to see her treatment through, in any case.

Barb