Excessive sweating....!!! - Pain Management Message Board

09-25-2003, 04:15 PM

Can anyone tell me if excessive sweating is a prominent side effect of Morphine or Fentynal or both? It mostly occurs at night where I wake up 2-3 times a night drenched and needing to change my shirt. In addition, why is this only happening at night so much? I am sweating during the day more than usual before taking the meds, but nothing compared to the nighttime. Any help - thanks!

grizzk62 · 09-25-2003, 06:30 PM

Hey OrNurse,

And welcome to town. Hhehe. Yes sweating is a side effect for all opiate pain killers like,morphine and methadone and oxycodone and those night sweats are the worst. But I must say that the longer the better about the sweating thing. I have now been on longterm cont opiate use for over 2-3yrs. And it does get better but you are going to have to go along time for this one to get better. I consider that the benefits of of methadone use is better pain control. I don't mind sweating because I get such a more quality of life. Alot better than the one I left behind since being in pain management. So there is always tradeoffs. Some of the trades are worth it some aren't. You just need to decide which trades are for you. Take care ....

Matt

avogadro · 09-25-2003, 07:49 PM

I TOTALLY relate. The night sweats are HORRIBLE!! I wake up, have to change clothes, change my sheets... everything. It is disgusting! I thought it was because I have spent the last month going through so many different meds, changing dose, and just trying to get it right! In the last 6 weeks:

Started with:
MS Contin - 15mg twice a day then to
MS Contin - 30mg twice a day then to
Methadone - 5mg 3 times a day then to
Methadone - 10mg twice a day and finally to
Duragesic - 25 every 3 days

By the way, I was not taking all of these at one time! Each time I switched meds, I had to take the remaining bottle of the previous med to my doctor!

The patch seems to be helping but only in combo with Vicodin, which I am now out of until Tuesday so it will NOT be a fun weekend. I did call my doctor about a refill but he said "no". He was not comfortable with the amount of Vicodin I have been using. I admit that I have been using more, while going through all these meds and dosage adjustments. So, I understand, and I will make it until Tuesday. Hopefully the patch will kick in more (I am on day 4) and it will not be a miserable weekend!

AV

whaleylaker · 09-25-2003, 08:11 PM

Hi Night sweats stink. I find mine are the worse when I change meds. Recently I increased my dosage and I found myself soaked. I think in my case is that I was going through early w/d syptoms so I'd use a bt, BUT that's me and if I remember right you're on lollipops so I wouldn't necessarily suggest that route. See if you can take your time release alittle later that might help, but as Matt suggested it could be your body getting used to the meds. Kadian and Actiq? Sorry if I'm wrong sometimes I forget what meds I'm taking.Take care and don't feel alone, Lake

HockeyCrystal · 09-25-2003, 08:23 PM

I get night sweats not just from my meds, but also from my blood sugar dropping. I discussed this with my doctor. He told me to eat a little protein before bed, so as to make it so my blood sugar doesn't drop so much in the middle of the night. It may help, you might try it! Mine are MUCH more tolerable when I eat a LITTLE not a lot of protein before bed. Such as a little bit of cottage cheese or even a couple crackers with cheese, or even just a piece or two of cantelope or anything like that. Just try eating a little protein before bed. It may not be totally related to your meds... Although I imagine it could be at least partially related.

It works for me, so I just thought I'd give my insight to you guys, and maybe it'll help you guys too.

Who knows!

Much

Crystal