Drugs That Cause Sweating
Some treatment drugs can cause sweating and hot flashes.
These include:
Aromatase inhibitors: Doctors often prescribe these as a hormone therapy to treat various types of breast cancer.
Opioids: A group of very strong pain relievers that can help a person with cancer.
Tamoxifen: This drug treats breast cancer in men and women, and it can help prevent cancer in some women.
Tricyclic antidepressants: These treat symptoms of depression, which often occur with cancer.
Steroids: These can help to reduce swelling and inflammation. Doctors sometimes prescribe them in cancer treatment.
Persistent Hot Flashes May Lead To Increased Risk Of Breast Cancer
- Date:
- The North American Menopause Society
- Summary:
- Studies examining the association between vasomotor symptoms and breast cancer are not new, but results have been inconsistent. A new larger-scale study concludes that women participating in the Women’s Health Initiative trials who had persistent VMS are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than women who never experienced VMS.
Studies examining the association between vasomotor symptoms and breast cancer are not new, but results have been inconsistent. A new larger-scale study concludes that women participating in the Women’s Health Initiative trials who had persistent VMS are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than women who never experienced VMS. Study results are published online today in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society .
Data was gathered from more than 25,000 women who participated in the WHI for this latest study that sought to identify an association between VMS and breast cancer. Through 17.9 years’ follow-up of these women, 1,399 incident breast cancers were seen. Women with persistent VMS had a higher breast cancer incidence than women who never experienced VMS.
Although breast cancer-specific mortality was higher in women with persistent VMS, the difference was not statistically significant, which meant that persistent VMS did not influence breast cancer survival rates.
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Night Sweats Alcohol And Men Night Sweats Due To Alcohol Withdrawal
img source: drugsdetails.com
Why do I sweat after drinking alcohol or why do I have this excessive sweating after drinking alcohol? Is there a relationship between red wine and night sweats? This part is going to enlighten you more on male night sweats and alcohol connection.
It is a fact that alcohol cause night sweats in men especially in alcohol intolerance, alcohol withdrawal or and alcohol dependent patients.
Effect of alcohol on your body that could cause perspiration
When you drink alcohol, it affects your circulatory system, central nervous system and every other part of your body. It also raises the heartbeat rate and makes your blood vessels much wider. All this could trigger body perspiration.
On whether you sweat out alcohol or not, perspiration can get rid of a small amount of alcohol while most of it will be broken down in your liver, so sweating yourself cannot get rid of most of the alcohol in your body.
Alcohol withdrawal night sweats
img source: healthline.com
Besides drinking alcohol, you could have nighttime sweats due to alcohol withdrawal especially to those who have developed an alcohol dependence problem.
Alcohol withdrawal symptoms often begin a few hours from your last drink and can last for a number of days to weeks. Sweating, clammy skin, and night sweats are common symptoms of withdrawal. You may also feel anxious, depressed, or moody.
Delirium tremens bad night sweats due to alcohol withdrawal
Alcohol intolerance night sweats
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What Are Hot Flushes
Hot flushes are the most commonly reported menopausal symptom caused by breast cancer treatments such as tamoxifen.
Hot flushes can be caused by several treatments including chemotherapy, hormone therapy or ovarian suppression.
A hot flush can range from a mild sensation of warming which just affects the face, to waves of heat throughout the body. Some women also experience a drenching sweat affecting the entire body.
The frequency of hot flushes can vary for each person, from a couple a day to a few every hour.
Many women also get flushes at night, which can lead to disturbed sleep and waking in a cold, damp bed and needing to change the bed linen. This can be very disruptive, especially if you share a bed.
Disturbed sleep because of hot flushes can mean being forgetful, feeling irritable and having difficulty concentrating.
For some, hot flushes will fade over time and become less severe, but for others they can last for many years.
How Can I Avoid Night Sweats
Fortunately, there are steps you can takethat may help better control body temperature and ease the symptoms of nightsweats:
- Use sheets and bedclothes made from natural fibers, like cotton. You might also want to try wick-away fabrics that absorb moisture from the skin and dry quickly.
- Sleep with one foot or leg out from under the covers. This can help cool your body temperature.
- Use air conditioning or fans to keep air moving and the room temperature cool.
- Take a cool shower before bed.
- Try to maintain a healthy weight.
- Exercise.
- Consider using a cool gel pillow.
- Practice relaxation and stress-reduction techniques, such as yoga, acupuncture, meditation, or breathing exercises. Some studies suggest that the slow and steady rhythm of breathing may reduce night sweats and help you get back to sleep.
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Information Specific To Men
Data are scant regarding the pathophysiology and management of hot flashes in men with prostate cancer. The rate of hot flashes in men receiving androgen deprivation therapy is approximately 75%. The limited data suggest that hot flashes in men are related to changes in sex hormone levels that cause instability in the hypothalamic thermoregulatory center. This is analogous to the proposed mechanism of hot flashes that occur in women. As in women with breast cancer, hot flashes impair the quality of life for men with prostate cancer who are receiving androgen deprivation therapy. The vasodilatory neuropeptide, calcitonin generelated peptide, may be instrumental in the genesis of hot flashes.
In a prespecified secondary analysis of a prostate cancer clinical trial, 93% of men receiving 12 months of androgen deprivation therapy experienced hot flashes. The hot flashes occurred at castrate levels of testosterone, and cessation of hot flashes preceded full recovery of testosterone in most men, with 99% of men reporting resolution of hot flashes.
With the exception of clonidine, the agents mentioned previously were effective in treating hot flashes in women have shown similar efficacy rates in men. Treatment modalities for men have included the following:
- Estrogens.
What Is A Hot Flush
A hot flush can vary from a slight feeling of warmth in the face to night sweats that affect your whole body.
Hot flushes generally last for about 4 to 5 minutes. You may feel sudden warmth in your face, neck and chest. You may become flushed and sweaty. You might also feel your heart beating faster during a flush.
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Managing Sweating And Hot Flashes
Although hot flashes are annoying and somewhat uncomfortable, you can steps to minimize the intensity and discomfort of sweating.
- With your doctor’s approval, take a medicine such as Tylenol that reduces fever.
- Dress in loose layers so the outside layer can pull moisture away from your skin.
- If your clothes become wet from sweating, change them as soon as possible and keep your bed linens dry.
- Bathe daily to soothe your skin and maintain good hygiene.
- Practice relaxation and deep breathing exercises.
- Use fans or open your windows when possible.
Cancer Survivors Can Combat The Long
Categories:Cancer Survivorship,Survivorship & Side Effects
Night sweats are common side effects that both cancer survivors and patients, alike, often face. Radiation therapies, certain prescription medications, and some cancer-related surgeries can even worsen the frequency and intensity of a patient’s night sweats. Waking up in the middle of the night with wet bedsheets and pajamas is never ideal, but there are ways to manage night sweats.
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Cancer Symptoms In Women
Breast lump or change. Although it’s a hallmark symptom of breast cancer, most lumps aren’t cancer. They’re often fluid-filled cysts or noncancerous tumors.
Still, see your doctor right away if you find any new or changing growths in your breasts, just to make sure.
Also get these changes checked out:
- Redness or scaling of the skin over the breast
- Breast pain
- Lump under your arm
- Fluid that isn’t breast milk leaking from the nipple
Bleeding between periods or after menopause. Bleeding from the vagina during women’s reproductive years is usually theirà monthly period. When it happens after menopause or outside of normal periods, cervical or endometrial cancer is a possibility. Call your doctor if you have any bleeding that’s unusual for you.
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What Cancers Cause Night Sweats
Lymphoma and leukemia patients often report night sweats in conjunction with fevers, weight loss, chronic fatigue, and excessive bruising. Excessive perspiration is also a common side effect for patients undergoing treatment for adrenal and carcinoid tumors.
In truth, many cancer survivors acknowledge that consistent night sweats were part of their recovery process, mainly if their treatment plans consisted of hormonal therapies. Patients battling breast cancer, prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and all types of gynecologic cancers tend to fall into this category.
While it’s commonly known that women get night sweats due to swings in their hormones, especially if they are breast or gynecologic cancer survivors, men also experience this side effect. Because the testes produce the hormone testosterone, many men undergoing surgery for testicular or prostate cancer can experience hot flashes and excessive sweating as a post-surgery side effect.
Estrogen or gonadotropin-releasing therapies can produce night sweats in both men and women, as well. Sometimes, certain medically-prescribed opioids, antidepressants, and steroids that cancer patients use can also induce excessive sweating.
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Side Effects From Drug Therapy For Hot Flashes And Night Sweats May Develop
Side effects of non-hormonal drug therapy may include the following:
- Antidepressants used to treat hot flashes over a short period of time may cause nausea, fatigue, dry mouth, and changes in appetite. Some antidepressants may change how other drugs, such as tamoxifen, work in the body.
- Anticonvulsants used to treat hot flashes may cause fatigue, dizziness, and trouble concentrating.
- Clonidine may cause dry mouth, fatigue, constipation, and insomnia.
Side effects from drug therapy may vary from person to person, so treatment and dose will be specific to your needs. If one medicine does not improve your symptoms, switching to another medicine may help.
Thyroid Disorders Also Contribute To Hot Flashes
Klewis,
Thanks for sharing your experience. I wonder what may have been the level of testosterone when you were on and when you were off drugs . Typically it takes at least two months to recover any significant amount of T that is enough to suppress the symptoms from hypogonadism. In any case, the hot flashes in guys with normal T levels can be a cause of thyroid problems. Unbalanced hormonal systems lead to disruption of the hypothalamus in charge of regulating our body temperature, thirst and hunger. If you have thyroid disorders like hypothyroidism, you may experience tiredness, weight gain and depression. Hyperthyroidism would give you weight loss and heat intolerance, which are also symptoms we PCa patients experience while on ADT. I recommend you to test the thyroid if the hot flashes persist.
Regarding your ADT protocol may be appropriate to your case but you could ask your oncologist to extent the periods to verify if you manage lesser symptoms while maintaining a grip on the bandit.
Vitamin E seems to be good to lower hot flashes. A cold drink is also good for those moments. The worse causes behind hot flashes is drinking too much water, calcium, iron and eating too much fruits and vegetables. These all represent healthy items recommended to aged fellas but too much of the stuff may revert to unpleasant results.
Welcome to the board. Best wishes for continuing control over the bandit.
VGama
Sweating is not always the result of cancer or a hormonal problem.
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Herbs And Dietary Supplements Should Be Used With Caution
It is important that your health care providers know about all of the dietary supplements, such as soy, and herbs you are taking with your medicines.
Studies of vitamin E for the relief of hot flashes show that it is only slightly better than a placebo . Most studies of soy and black cohosh show they are no better than a placebo in reducing hot flashes. Soy is rich in estrogen-like substances, but how it affects cells in the body is unknown. Studies of ground flaxseed and magnesiumoxide to treat hot flashes have shown mixed results.
Claims are made about several other plant-based and natural products as remedies for hot flashes. These include dong quai, milk thistle, red clover, licorice root extract, and chaste tree berry. Since little is known about how these products work or whether they affect the risk of breast cancer, you should talk with your doctor before using them.
Hot Flashes And Night Sweats May Be Controlled With Estrogen Replacement Therapy
Hot flashes and night sweats during natural or treatment-related menopause can be controlled with estrogen replacement therapy. However, many women are not able totake estrogen replacement and may need to take a drug that does not have estrogen in it. Hormone replacement therapy that combines estrogen with progestin may increase the risk of breast cancer or breast cancer recurrence.
Treatment of hot flashes in men who have been treated for prostate cancer may include estrogens, progestin, antidepressants, and anticonvulsants.
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In Women And Men Hot Flashes And Night Sweats May Be Caused By Surgery Radiation Therapy And Taking Certain Medications
Women
Menopause occurs when the ovaries stop making estrogen. Hot flashes and night sweats are common symptoms of menopause. Early menopause is a condition in which the ovaries stop making estrogen at a younger age than usual. Early menopause can occur when both ovaries are removed by surgery, such as a bilateral oophorectomy to lessen the chance cancer will occur or as part of a hysterectomy to treat cancer.
Other treatments that can cause hot flashes and night sweats include the following:
In breast cancer patients, severe hot flashes have been linked with the following:
- Problems sleeping.
In premenopausal breast cancer survivors, hot flashes and night sweats have also been linked with depression.
Men
In men, the testes produce testosterone. Surgery to remove one or both testicles for the treatment of prostate cancer can trigger a set of symptoms that include hot flashes and night sweats. Hormone therapy with gonadotropin-releasing hormone or estrogen also causes these symptoms in men.
Other drug therapy, such as opioids, tricyclic antidepressants, and steroids, may also cause hot flashes and night sweats.
Acupuncture Has Been Studied In The Treatment Of Hot Flashes
Pilot studies of acupuncture and randomized clinical trials that compare true acupuncture and sham treatment have been done in patients with hot flashes and results are mixed. A review of many studies combined showed that acupuncture had slight or no effects in breast cancer patients with hot flashes. In contrast, a randomized clinical trial that was not included in the review showed that breast cancer patients who were given acupuncture had fewer hot flashes. Another randomized clinical trial showed that breast cancer survivors who were given electroacupuncture had a reduction in hot flash symptoms.
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How To Manage Night Sweats
Take these simple steps to ease the discomfort:
- If you have a fever, take medicine like acetaminophen — so long as your doctor says itâs OK.
- Change out of your wet clothes ASAP.
- Change the sheets if you have to.
- Bathe at least once a day to soothe your skin and stay clean.
- Keep a fan on at night.
- Donât use too many blankets.
- Sleep in fabrics that move moisture away from your skin.
- Try a cool gel pillow.
- Stick one foot outside the covers, to lower your body temperature.
- Take a cool shower before bed.
- Stay at a healthy weight.
You can also try relaxation and stress-reducing techniques like yoga, acupuncture, meditation, or breathing exercises. Some studies show that the slow and steady rhythm of breathing may ease night sweats and help you get back to sleep.
Late in the day, and especially just before bedtime, donât:
- Drink alcohol or hot beverages
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PDQ® Supportive and Palliative Care Editorial Board. PDQ Hot Flashes and Night Sweats. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute. Updated < MM/DD/YYYY> . Available at: . Accessed < MM/DD/YYYY> .
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