# Night Sweats and IBS



## joell (Jan 24, 2002)

I have been diagnosed with IBS for over 10 years. I am a 40 year old male. Most of my IBS has consisted of bloating, gas, abdominal pain and some IBS D. It has come and gone for periods of time and I have tried a variety of prescriptions with some working and some not. I have been under a major flare since last October in which my symptoms worsened to nausea, excessive gas and belching, abdominal pain and more bloating. I have been majorly stressed about all of this.For the last 5 weeks I have been experiencing night sweats almost every night. I do not wake up drenched- but my shirt is usually damp and when I wake up I feel sweaty. I have not lost any weight and do not have any swollen lymph nodes.I know night sweats can be cause for concern but I have already had all of the following tests done since mid Nov:blood test- cbcblood test- carcinoidurinalysis- carcinoidcat scan -abdomen with dyecolonoscopyupper endoscopysonogram of abdomengall bladder scanlower gi series with contrastand all have come back normal. My GI doc says they have put me through the gammet. My question is can night sweats be caused by irritable bowel syndrome? Does anyone else have them? I am getting close to my wits end over this. My wife thinks I am a hypochondriac. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

No it isn't typical as far as I know. Have you had your sugar checked?Here is some info about them I found:http://www.medicinenet.com/night_sweats/article.htmBQ


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Generally not an IBS symptom.I'm assuming you are having regular physicals and everything for that checks out, including things like thyroid issues and diabetes screening?You are a bit young but guys have a drop off in hormone levels as they age, just not as dramatic as what happens to women and they can get night sweats from that like a woman can.Do you snore? I've heard some people with obstructive sleep apnea can get night sweats with that so it may be worth to have someone listen to you sleep to see if you do the snore and gasp thing.


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## CatUK (Dec 15, 2006)

I've been having night sweats and hot flushes as well recently. Not all the time but I wake up thinking I'm going to be sick I'm that hot. I know my thyroid is normal as it's been tested, also had full blood works 3 times over the last couple of years. I'm 28 so doubt it's hormonal ( I was awake last night thinking my appendix was going to burst with awful pain low down on the right, still hurting this morning). I've got a Dr's appointment next Friday so will be mentioning my symptoms and see what she thinks


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## Brennas-Belly (Feb 14, 2009)

I get them occasionally, usually about 4 am, when I wake up with that feeling that I'd better get to the toilet. After that I cool down. My acupuncture friend said it's what they call "heat in the gut". Whatever it is, it's no fun to deal with that at 4 in the morning.


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## gregd (Dec 23, 2008)

Hi folks, I used to suffer from night sweats also, I put it down to anxiety/stress as there was alot going on in my life incl a flare up of IBS at the time. Although I did have an undiagnosed under active thyroid gland which I note is being referred to in previous posts, not sure if connected but it was picked up during a routine blood test not long after the sweats were happening. When the stress/anxiety eased so did my night sweats and not had them since.


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## mrsamwhite (Jan 4, 2009)

Yeah - I get night sweats. Your not on your own x


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## Kerrij34 (Mar 4, 2009)

Yes I have night sweats also, I thought it was just me...I have never asked my doctor about it. I am on Bentyl and Desiperamine, they help but when I do have a flair up, I am just sick.


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## doyle (Apr 12, 2009)

Yes, I have had nightsweats now for nearly 1 year, at one point I lost 35 pounds in one month, had nearly 20 swollen lymph nodes and extreme pain in the abdoman. After nearly a year, they put me on Flagyl, which worked great but gave me peripheral neropathy in my feet.(hurts like a son of a gun but still better than the pain in the abdoman) The abdominal pain came back in a couple of weeks and they have now put me on Xifaxan which helps take the pain away but I am still having the nightsweats nearly every night. Have some abnormalities in the blood but never high enough levels to point them in any given direction. I'm a 40 year old farmer, my family and friends are doing my work. I'm better but still can't do much work.


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## JenniferNS (Jan 23, 2009)

I was suffering from severe anxiety and depression. During this time, I would wake up every morning around 5 am and would be quite damp. Not drenched, but definitely damp.I started taking Zoloft and after a few weeks, I was sleeping through the night and not waking up damp anymore.You mentioned stress, perhaps it is the stress/anxiety causing the night sweats? Is it possible you are also suffering a bit of depression due to the stress?


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## Tallgirl (Nov 14, 2007)

I had night sweats on and off for a few months, but haven't had any for a while. I think I might have been taking Bentyl at the time, so don't know whether that caused it or whether it was something hormonal.Tallgirl.


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## leeballz (Mar 12, 2009)

I've had night sweats off and on for the past few months. I think they have something to do with being sick in general, and if that means IBS sick then I don't see how they couldn't be related...


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Well there is "general reaction to physical stress" which means it isn't related specifically and directly to IBS, but may be something that happens to you no matter what illness you have at any given time.Then there is night sweats that are a specific symptom of a specific thing like menopause.Just because you have a symptom that is part of your physical stress response that doesn't mean some or even most IBSers all have that symptom to where it is included as a part of the syndrome.I get them off and on, but I'm at an age where the hormones are the most likely thing causing it and it happens independently of my IBS.It is like most every virus on the planet starts out with "flu-like symptoms" that isn't because every virus causes influenza, but that the bodies response to viruses at the start of an illness is pretty similar no matter which virus you have.


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## diogenes (Jan 2, 2009)

I can relate; I have had really bad night sweats for years. At times they have gotten so bad I have resorted to enemas before going to bed (which seem to work). I haven't had as many tests as you but if my night sweats were caused by anything serious besides my IBS I'd probably know it by now since I've had them so long. My theory is that it is linked to the bloating I get. As my typical day progresses I become more and more distended, until at night it looks like I'm ready to give birth. I have noticed that on some evenings when I'm distended like that I can briefly get very hot, like I'm having hot flashes, and even sweat in cold weather, so I believe the night sweats are basically the same thing happening only while I'm sleeping.It's interesting that someone mentioned their acupuncturist calling it "heat in the gut," because there is a meditation technique that utilizes a gut focused technique. Tibetan monks use it to increase their body temperature to the point where they can dry wet blankets on their bare backs in the freezing cold. I think it's likely that gut related hot flashes are being triggered by a similar mechanism.Besides enemas, the only way I've ever gotten relief from night hot flashes is from practicing relaxation techniques and breath focused meditation during the day. Unfortunately sometimes it's tough to find the time to keep that up consistently.


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## IBSick (Apr 9, 2013)

I've had IBS for 40 years and I have observed that night sweats are a symptom when you are unusually stressed. Allergy season coupled with IBS will invariably produce night sweats. Of course, the night sweats are a stressor as they disrupt sleep, so they add to the problem. I have found that a no-nightshades diet help the IBS profoundly, and the allergies somewhat.


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## rubydid (Oct 29, 2014)

I've been diagnosed with IBS. I'm suffering from night sweats (get up drenched) and heart palpitations. Anyone else have these symptoms?


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## calimagirl (Aug 4, 2016)

I have IBS that is from poor digestion (especially of low quality foods). I have to be really careful about what I eat-especially at restaurants-otherwise I will have a gigantic pregnant looking belly, cramping pain and horrible smelling gas. I've basically had to eliminate all beans from my diet because my stomach can't seem to handle them, and can only eat organic home cooked meat (I'm also very sure that poor quality oil from restaurants sets off my IBS as well.) I eat as well as I can, and stay away from sugar, minimal gluten, very infrequent alcohol and generally try to eat organic fruits, nuts, veggies and complex carbs. I (knock on wood) haven't had a huge IBS pregnant looking belly since the last time I ate fast food. I've gotten my IBS somewhat under control, though my stomach is definitely super sensitive and I get a lot of nausea.

My problem is that even with all my diet changes, I've still been having night sweats for 6-7 years now, every single night I wake up drenched in sweat around 4 or 5am. I'm worried something is seriously wrong with me, and had a ton of tests run and nothing came up. I don't have that bad of stress, I exercise all the time and am in great shape at the moment. I'm 32, and it's been going on for so many years, I don't think its "pre menopause" otherwise I've been menopausal since I was 25! My doctor brushed this all off and asked if I eat a lot of spicy foods or if my bedroom was hot. But it's been YEARS and every single night, I wake up freezing cold and sopping wet and have to change my clothes in the middle of the night. I don't sleep well at all.

Not sure what to do, but I'm wondering if there could be a connection.. maybe the bloating or the gas could cause night sweats? Maybe the toxins from the gas create a fever like response in your body? Those are just ideas but it's very interesting to me that there seem to be many IBS sufferers with the same issue.

By the way a Chinese Doctor suggested Ashwaganda to help, I'm on the 5th night tonight of taking it, haven't noticed any difference yet but will post again if I notice a change.


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