Night sweats even BEFORE I had surgery, worse now...

I had my surgery on June 8th. My doc has started me on the Vivelle Dot patch. I am not sure if this is related to the surgery, but feel it certainly has something to do with it...but I am waking up drenched every night. Thing is, this was happening BEFORE my surgery, even though my estrogen levels were at the normal level, in my blood tests. About one week, prior to starting my menstrual cycle, I would have night sweats. And, now it's every single night. It's very uncomfortable and I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem prior to surgery that has been enhanced since surgery...

Hi,

Night sweats are caused by fluctuating hormones, which can explain why you were experiencing them before your surgery. It can also explain what is happening now. Your body had stored up some estrogen to use during stressful times such as exercise, illness or just plain stress. When our ovaries are removed, we begin to use this stored estrogen. It eventually runs out, sooner for some than for others, but most deplete their estrogen "stores" within 6 months. During this time, there is just no getting around the fluctuations that occur. Have you discussed this with your Dr?

Another thing to consider is that you are still very early in recovery, and your body is still healing and possibly even still getting rid of pain meds and anesthesia meds used during surgery. This can also cause the night sweats you are describing.

Talk to your Dr about this, as he may be able to either increase your estrogen or give you something to help you feel more comfortable. In the meantime, you will likely find others who are experiencing this in the Post Op forum who can share how they are managing their post op symptoms.

and Best wishes for a continued good recovery.

Kay

Thank you so much, Kay. I hadn't heard that before, about the body storing up the estrogen...wow, that's interesting. I am going for my post-op, on Monday, and will discuss it all with my doctor then. I have so many other concerns to address, too! Thanks again for your informed words and good wishes.