I have night sweats, what could be causing them? The doctor has done blood workup, and said it was fine, Iam already taking something for menopause please answer

I am 71 and have suffered with night sweats for 8 years since coming off HRT. They occur at 2 hourly intervals from 8pm to 8am Every night. Hence sleep is constantly interrupted.
Doctor has done blood tests, says nothing wrong, just get on with it. Tried herbal remedies but only give diahorrea. Please can anyone help

Dear Anon: Night sweats are terrible because they rob your body of it ability to recuperate from the stresses and anxieties of the day. The longer you are afflicted with night sweats, the worse they seem to become, and the result is an endless spiral of sleeplessness, discomfort, and desperation. If you are approaching menopause, the key to understanding your symptoms is to also know if the nightsweats are related to menopause. One way to know if they are menopause related is that nightsweats will occur at the same time every night. They may be worse after drinking alcohol or sudden change of temperature.

There is also a direct relationship between nightsweats and diabetes. Diabetics who get nightsweats tend to get them the same number of hours after eating, but not at the same time every night. Nightsweats and weight loss are a common warning of undiagnosed diabetes and are a reason to see a physician.

Here are a couple of suggestions to consider if you are open to natural remedies:

1. A study published in the Summer 2007 issue of the Journal of the Society for Integrative Oncology showed that flax seed definitely helps with night sweats. A team of researchers, led by Sandhya Pruthi, M.D., Mayo Clinic breast health specialist published the article in the Journal of the Society for Integrative Oncology. http://www.bcdecker.com/productDetails.aspx?BJID=329

2. Sage Tea (you can grow your own sage if you have a garden or planter)
Make this sage tea one hour before bedtime every night for three nights, and then once every few days thereafter:

Pour one cup of boiling water over ten large, fresh, sage leaves (1 1/2 teaspoons dried sage). Let the tea steep for five minutes and strain. The result will be bitter, but can be sweetened with sugar or honey. If you find that the tea is too unappealing, sage is available in pill form

3. Black cohosh (300-1,000 mg daily) and soy isoflavones (not to be confused with soy foods, but a supplement of concentrated daidzein + genistein, up to 400 mg) daily offer relief to some women.

I wish you well.

I'm curious to know how old you are, if you'd like to share. Just because I also experienced night sweats when I was about 38 and later realized that I'd entered perimenopause. When I got my hormones balanced a couple of years ago, the issue resolved itself -- I'm 43 now and haven't had any since.

Night sweats aren't fun at all. I really feel for you!

According to the Mayo Clinic, night sweats are experienced by many people and usually do not have an underlying medical condition. Potential medical causes could include:

- Menopause
- Anxiety
- Medications such as certain high blood pressure drugs, over-the-counter fever reducers and antipsychotics/antidepressants
- Drug or alcohol abuse
- Gastrointestinal reflux disease (GERD)
- Diabetes
- Obstructed sleep apnea
(complete list is at link below)

Do any of these above conditions seem like anything you are experiencing? You did not provide your age, but could you be in perimenopause (if you are in your 40s).

Do you have any other symptoms? Weight loss? Fatigue? New medications?
Have you had your thyroid checked? Have you been diagnosed with depression or anxiety?

The American Association of Family Physicians provides an extensive list of possible diagnoses and tests that you can read here. After reading through all of this, if all of these tests are negative: "If all studies are negative, the patient can be reassured that the night sweats are most likely benign (may be the result of over-bundling). The patient should be taught to do self lymph node examinations and report any changes noted in the absence of active infection. The patient should report development of any new symptoms and continue annual health examinations. "

What treatments have you tried to reduce the night sweats, or be more comfortable with them?