Hi there, the last couple of nights K has been plagued by night sweats, the bed and bed sheets are drenched and I change then. Is there anything we can do to prevent these.
Current medication prednisone, beta blockers. Seretide inhaler, metformin, acenocourmarol, sinfastine and fumil forte 600mg. Chemo on halt at the moment until he gets stronger. Round 1 cisplatin/etoposide, round 2 carboplatin / gemcitabine completed 14/2/2014. Original tumour stable, Progression mediastinal lymph nodes, small tumours both lungs and small mass pericardium, something in the spleen, and slightly abnormal liver but not showing definite mets. Very small pericardial effusion and small pleural effusion. Just recovered from left lung infection now clear, treated with extensive cocktail of antibiotics.
Prednisone started on Friday last week. He was having temperatures spikes each evening of 39.+, these have stopped with the prednisone. I wondered whether the sweats are also linked to this. Feeling better following transfusion of 2 units prbc last Friday as Hb fallen to 4.9.
Any help or advice gratefully received.
Reply # - April 30, 2014, 05:34 AM
Reply To: Night sweats nsclc squamous stage 4 help please
Hi Sarah,
Since he just started the steroids on Friday, they could certainly be the culprit, as others here on GRACE have reported night sweats in conjunction with steroid use. Probably something worth discussing with his doctor, to see if an alteration in the dosage might be appropriate.
Cancer itself can also cause night sweats, even if it is under control. As Dr. Weiss stated:
"Sometimes chemo can control cancer growth without helping with symptoms related to the inflammatory chemicals that some cancers give off. These inflammatory chemicals cause symptoms such as fatigue, anorexia, night sweats, and blood clots." - http://cancergrace.org/forums/index.php?topic=11200.msg92134#msg92134
And Dr. West has also said: "It’s often a symptom of the underlying cancer, or possibly infection. It’s very appropriate to tell your oncologist about the symptom, especially if it represents a change." - http://cancergrace.org/topic/neck-night-sweats#post-1258149
JimC
Forum moderator
Reply # - April 30, 2014, 09:04 PM
Reply To: Night sweats nsclc squamous stage 4 help please
I'm sorry I don't have anything to add. I hope his oncologist has some insight.
Good luck.
-Dr. West
Reply # - May 2, 2014, 10:00 PM
Reply To: Night sweats nsclc squamous stage 4 help please
Hi, I wrote to his Dr, have not heard anything back though ....
Some good news, the coughing seems to have abated and the night sweats disappeared. We have the night back for sleeping!
A question ... How long after giving/receiving packed red cell transfusions (2 units) would it be sensible to check the Hb level?
If starting with an Hb of 4.9, how much would the 2 units elevate the Hb level?
I am just wondering because K does have more energy but is still so tired and easily fatigued so thought maybe if his Hb level was restored that that might give him a big boost, energy wise and psychologically.
I do wish we could get something to rekindle his desire to eat too. He is existing on 4 bottles of nutridrink (1200 cals) some full fat milk and 1/2 lager!
Any help or advice gratefully received thank you so much for your help here.
Reply # - May 3, 2014, 08:08 AM
Reply To: Night sweats nsclc squamous stage 4 help please
We usually don't schedule a special blood check after a transfusion and just check it when we otherwise would plan to do it next on a chemo schedule, for instance. We would generally see the hemoglobin level go up 1-1.5 per unit of blood. Was his hemoglobin level really below 5? That corresponds with a hematocrit of about 15%, which is amazingly low for someone on chemotherapy. We would usually want to get someone on chemotherapy up to a minimum hemoglobin of around 8-9 and hematocrit at least 24-27% (hematocrit is usually about 3x the hemoglobin number).
As for appetite, that's a tough one that usually reflects the status of the cancer, so the best thing is to treat the cancer as effectively as possible. Beyond that, megace (megestrol acetate) is the most commonly used agent to help stimulate appetite, but it can slightly increase the risk of a blood clot. Marijuana or its purified medical pill derivative, Marinol, are also sometimes tried.
Good luck.
-Dr. West