Burning up at night…a herx?

[Ellen RA-AP]

I am wondering if anyone else has this experience, which for me has been going on for the 3 years I have had RA, on and off….

The experience usually happens after I have been having an increase in disease activity, swelling, soreness, stiffness that I will go to bed and my body will burn up.  I don't feel feverish where I would have chills and feel cold, I actually feel like I am on fire.  If I keep the covers over me I will eventually break out into a major sweat, but if I peel them off I can feel the heat emit from my body.  My husband will on occasion wake me to tell me I am burning up, and he says that I have a certain “scent” which isn't like a post work out body odor, it isn't yucky but it is its own smell.  I can't really smell it but I believe him.

Sometimes I will have this for a couple of nights in a row and then I might feel better, but it isn't like a hormonal hot flash that comes and goes, rather it lasts for several hours.

I haven't yet taken my temp during one of these phases, but I should.

[Maz]

Hi Ellen,

I was going to say it 'sounds' like a night sweat…I get these a few days in a row, too, when my hormones are dwindling. I wake up drenched and it can go on for hours, too. I put it down to perimenopause, as I was getting them for a year or so pre-RA, too. Now that you mention it, though, I wonder if it has got a component of something to do with RA….perhaps detoxing? Apparently the liver does much of its dumping in the wee small hours, so it could be related to this. Might it also be a herxing thing, especially as its coming on the heels of disease activity? Another thought that came to mind is “candida,” particular as you mention the scent that goes along with it. For people with Lyme and coinfections, night sweats are pretty common, too….I think particular where babesia may be involved, but I'd have to check that specific pathogen correlation. 

Anyway…I empathize…night sweats suck! :sick: I get them so intensely at times that my bed sheets look like the shroud of Turin!!!

Peace, Maz

[A Friend]

This is an interesting link on Hot Flashes and Night Sweats. 

http://www.project-aware.org/Managing/Alt/hotflash.shtml

Besides the recommendations in the link, am wondering if the whole lemon olive oil drink might be helpful.

AF

[Ellen RA-AP]

Thanks for the information AF!  I know I have brought up this topic of night sweats in the past, everytime I go through it I think to myself “someone else must be going through this”.  The information in  the article you sent me will hit home soon, as I am 42.  Right now, though, I feel much more like this is RA related.  My skin doesn't turn red and sometimes the heat increase will last all night or for a couple of days in a row.  I wonder if my body isn't trying to kill something off on its own.  In addition, when my body starts to burn up I feel really sick and uncomfortable, sometimes I even feel edgy. 

 I have always felt that a flare up feels a lot like the flu, and my initial signs of disease felt more like mono than anything else, which was why The Arthritis Breakthrough really hit home for me.

Thanks again,

Ellen

[Ellen RA-AP]

Hi Maz,

I do take Diflucan, so yeast is an issue for me, and it has crossed my mind that maybe the yeast is getting out of control and my body is trying to kill it off.  But what is Babesia?  Have you been tested for that?

 

Also, I wanted to ask you, do people who get Lymes Disease also test RF pos?

 

Thanks!

Ellen

[Maz]

[user=66]Ellen RA-AP[/user] wrote:

But what is Babesia?  Have you been tested for that?

Also, I wanted to ask you, do people who get Lymes Disease also test RF pos?

 

Hi Ellen,

Babesiosis is a “coinfection” of Lyme (borrelia burgdorferi), although it's also possibe to have a tick bite and not get borreliosis, but one of the associated tickbourne diseases, too. This probably isn't the most official website, but it lists the typical symptoms of “babs.” Not everyone gets all the symptoms, but an often confusing array of them.

http://www.anapsid.org/Lyme/symptoms/tbi-symptoms.html

There is a lot of info out there on babesia, which is essentially a malaria-like protozoan infection, normally treated with azithromycin, mepron or flagyl.

Definitely, RF can be elevated in Lyme (as the other RA/Lymies here can attest) and a number of other conditions. Lyme is also known to trigger “autoimmune” conditions if allowed to become chronic (in as many as 20% of cases, it's been estimated).

I was tested for babs when I first saw my Lyme doc and have been treated for it, along with a number of other possible coinfections he wanted to make sure to cover. The babs diagnosis was given based upon the fact that I have night sweats, too, but I did mention to him I'm also going through perimenopause. Nevertheless, he didn't want to risk overlooking this possibility and started treatment before my results came back. Have to admit, I can't recall if they came back positive or not.

Peace, Maz

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