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Night sweats

DevonVee

Well-Known Member
Messages
108
Location
Deepest darkestDevon
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
hi
I was diagnosed as type 2 before xmas. Hba1c 53. PCOS for 30 yrs. Cannot take metformin very ill. I have been trying lchf and blood testing to eliminate carbs that upset me. I am 55 and well past menopause I thought. For last few weeks started getting night sweat at about 3-4am. Have read that it might be caused by hypo but morning figures are usually between 6 and 7. A little confused. Has anyone experienced this?
 
Did you test your blood sugar at 3am when you had the sweats?
 
No
I was running out of strips. Just bought another 50. Was not very together as I have had a cold. But this has been going on longer. I am just a bit confused as I have quite high BG levels in the morning. I put that down to dawn phenomenon as it goes down when I eat. But as I am not on medication apart from adizem for blood pressure I don't know why I would have low BG at night. Will try to test at night and see.
 
I get these too. I'm 61 and had an early menopause at 50 due to hysterectomy. These sweats aren't the same as hot flushes, they just feel different. Like you I always wake up with BG higher than when I went to bed. I have tested a few of these. A 2am one measured 5.6 and a 4.30am was 7.2 . I put it down to DP or liver dump. I'm considering investing in a Libre to track a better picture of what's happening as my daytime readings are great and it must be the night time ones that raise my Hb readings ?
Again like you I'm on no meds.. metformin made me ill too.. and just on LCHF diet.
 
Thanks . I am glad I am not bonkers. Did the menopause 4 times on IVF did not want it again.
 

If you test when you have the sweating and your blood sugar isn't low, I'd suggest asking your doctor what it might be. I think thyroid problems can cause night sweats, along with other conditions, so it would be worth ruling things like that out.
 
azure said:
If you test when you have the sweating and your blood sugar isn't low, I'd suggest asking your doctor what it might be. I think thyroid problems can cause night sweats, along with other conditions, so it would be worth ruling things like that out.
Click to expand...

Thanks @azure . My thyroid was tested a while ago and was Ok, Maybe an update required.
The sweats don't last long and with me they are more of an overheating than a clammy sweat. I will say it's an odd feeling, it's like a quick shot of adrenalin, as I get a slight tingle all over and then the overheating. I can get anything from 2 to 8 a night
 
It sounds strange @daisyduck and must be unpleasant. I've only ever had night sweats due to low blood sugar or illness/fever so I can't really help, but to my mind if you're having an issue it does no harm to speak to a HCP

It might just be 'one of those things' but knowing that would be reassuring, and would at least be an explanation of sorts, and some kind of reassurance.
 
Hi
They did thyroid check during the blood tests and they were normal. Like daisyduck it is more like an overheating than a cold sweat. Just getting frustrated as I want to sleep well to get over the fogginess last year. Plus 2 kids 12 and 14 to keep up with.
 
I also have very many sweat attacks also in the night, but I think mine are due to weight loss, as I get more of them the days where I have done really a lot of excercise then in the evening I first freeze and then get very hot and have to take of some clothes and then ten minutes later put it all on again and the same in the night where I have 3 blankets to choose between as they sometimes get wet from my sweating... I think it is also due to lowering oestrogene while loosing fat...
 
I hope you can get it figured out as what is causing this for you. Another thought I have is that your blood sugar could be dropping fast... it may not necessarily be too low, but the drop may be causing symptoms like sweats. As for me I get hypos and I'm on insulin to treat my diabetes so my situation is probably different to yours. Although as others have suggested, check your blood sugar to see what it is. I wish you the best.
 
Hi DevonVee, it sounds like you are going low and your liver is giving you a boost, but you could also be going high, the Dawn Phenomenon can happen at any time not just dawn, the only way to be really sure is to do a test on at least 2 different occasions and if you are consistently either high or low you will be able to tell your HPC and get some advice from them........good luck.
 
I started having these night sweats last year (before I was diagnosed) and thought it the start of the menopause. Strangely, they've stopped now. You have my sympathy as they're horrid.
 
Personally I get them when my FBG is running high. I had them really dreadfully until diagnosed, if my morning FBG is in the 5's I wake up none sweaty. If I'm running around 7 or so I have unpleasant nights.
 
I'm generally in very good health so these don't bother me too much. It's slightly annoying waking so much, but I just throw the covers off and am Ok in a couple of mins.
My theory ( not proven) is that my BG dips in the night to below what my liver deems acceptable and it responds with a quick boost. Hence my considering investing in a Libre to see if there is a pattern ?
 
This is just speculation. And to be honest, I can't think of a way you could test it, other than sticking on a Freestyle Libre which would give you a record of what your blood glucose was just before you experience your hot sweats.

Sometimes, when our blood glucose dips too low, our body triggers a liver dump by releasing a shed load of stress hormones. So that by the time you feel the symptoms blood glucose has already risen too high to register as a hypo.

If this is what is happening then you need to test a few minutes before the symptoms, then again when the hormones and the blood glucose have been released. If the first test is low, and the second test is higher, then it would be a potential explanation.

I've got a screenshot of it happening to me. I will try and find it, and post it.

Having said that, some people get sweaty symptoms with high readings. Sometimes it doesn't take much.
 

Thanks @Brunneria I will have to get the Freestyle Libre. I only wake up after it has happened . so too late to test beforehand. The stress hormone thing could possibly be the tingle I feel before the heat ?
 
Here you go. Sorry the hypo is squished up on the end of the screen, but you can see how the drop is sharpish, hits the red 'hypo zone' and once the line hits its lowest point, it shoots upwards again really quickly - because of that cocktail of stress hormones I mentioned, and the rapid response by the liver dumping glucose into the bloodstream.

- this is a natural hypo (not induced by injected insulin) and it is the natural response of my body which drives the blood glucose back up as quickly as possible.

Basically, catching the low point using a meter on a hypo like this is like pinning the tail on a donkey, because by the time you are feeling it, it is already over - unless you have a Libre.

 
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yes. Sometimes I get the shakes, wobbly knees (If I am standing), maybe feel a bit faint/hollow/spacy. My hands always tremble and I get very clumsy.

The best I can compare it to is like just after a near-miss car accident. When you feel all shakey and disconnected for a bit.
I don't ever get the sweats, unless I am in bed at night. When I am, I usually wake up with a jolt and a feeling of impending doom/bad dream, and the backs of my knees are always horribly sweaty. Sometimes I sleep through them though.

In the screen shot, I think I slept through that one.
Suddenly felt v tired in the evening (classic sign of bg dropping rapidly), and went to bed. First thing I knew about it was when I scanned the sensor the following morning.

Trouble is, your symptoms may NOT be to do with blood glucose. They could be thyroid or even bad dreams. So don't make any assumptions at this point.
 
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