Night sweats?

[MarieElaine]

Has anyone experienced night sweats on a Camino? I am in Santiago now, having finished the Primitivo on May 21. Five years ago I walked the Frances, also finishing in late May. On both Caminos, I started getting night sweats 5 - 7 days before the end. My walking partner on the Frances also had them. We didn't keep in touch, so I don't know how it went for him, but mine lasted for a month or so after I got home, then disappeared. I ignored them that time but now I wonder if I should check with my doctor. Is it food-related? Anyone have any advice? I feel perfectly fine and have no other symptoms.

 

[C clearly]

Never heard of any Camino connection.

 

[henrythedog]

If you are concerned it would be sensible to have a discussion with your regular doctor.

You might explore the effects of multi-day exercise, changed diet or water or environmental factors?

Unusually high concentrations of cruzcampo, quercetin and pimentón have a similar effect on me.

 

[jerbear]

Possible eating too late. My .02

 

[dbier]

Chat with your doctor. Be prepared to talk about your reproductive status, since he/she will ask.

 

[ShellToucher]

Has anyone experienced night sweats on a Camino? I am in Santiago now, having finished the Primitivo on May 21. Five years ago I walked the Frances, also finishing in late May. On both Caminos, I started getting night sweats 5 - 7 days before the end. My walking partner on the Frances also had them. We didn't keep in touch, so I don't know how it went for him, but mine lasted for a month or so after I got home, then disappeared. I ignored them that time but now I wonder if I should check with my doctor. Is it food-related? Anyone have any advice? I feel perfectly fine and have no other symptoms.

Yes I had that as well a few nights...soaked thru my sleeping bag! This also happened to others in my Camino Fam. I just chalked it up to hot nights (May), 5- 25 other bodies in a room and often...one window! Also, I was coming from Arizona where I was very used to AC or at the very least a fan. But yes...happened to me and others! NOTE: Last years Camino I didn't notice it. Granted a few weeks out I started sleeping without a fan, one pillow and the AC turned way down. Hope this helps and maybe calms your nerves.
Buen Camino!

 

[K_Lynn]

I like to walk to the far end of the pier before seeing sense and coming back. So...Tuberculosis. HIV. Menopause. Thyroid. Diabetes. COVID. Flu. UTI.

Most likely: Hot room with too many people and no open window. Late night meals. Too much wine. Exhaustion.

Please seek medical advice from your physician.

 

[CaminoObsessed]

I like to walk to the far end of the pier before seeing sense and coming back. So...Tuberculosis. HIV. Menopause. Thyroid. Diabetes. COVID. Flu. UTI.

Most likely: Hot room with too many people and no open window. Late night meals. Too much wine. Exhaustion.

Please seek medical advice from your physician.

I like that expression! I never heard it before. I myself do this too.

 

[MichelleElynHogan]

When in doubt, always check with your Doctor…then let us know, if willing, what it was about.

 

[MarieElaine]

Thank you everyone. Last night I didn't eat a late supper, and that seemed to fix it. I guess my body just can't absorb that much food so soon before bed, especially as I'm eating much more meat than usual. (And thanks for the "walk to the end of the pier..." line. Good one!) Had lunch in a good vegan restaurant today in Santiago (Entre Pedras) and that set me right.

 

[kuhawkhead]

Thank you everyone. Last night I didn't eat a late supper, and that seemed to fix it. I guess my body just can't absorb that much food so soon before bed, especially as I'm eating much more meat than usual. (And thanks for the "walk to the end of the pier..." line. Good one!) Had lunch in a good vegan restaurant today in Santiago (Entre Pedras) and that set me right.

I plan on being mostly vegetarian on the Portuguese coastal route as many seem to get sick after eating meat.

 

[Jan Jones]

Has anyone experienced night sweats on a Camino? I am in Santiago now, having finished the Primitivo on May 21. Five years ago I walked the Frances, also finishing in late May. On both Caminos, I started getting night sweats 5 - 7 days before the end. My walking partner on the Frances also had them. We didn't keep in touch, so I don't know how it went for him, but mine lasted for a month or so after I got home, then disappeared. I ignored them that time but now I wonder if I should check with my doctor. Is it food-related? Anyone have any advice? I feel perfectly fine and have no other symptoms.

Plastic Mattress protectors are my nemesis . ! I like to have my own room so I stay in albergues with private rooms or pensiones . My first task upon arrival is to check beneath the sheets - if the mattress protector is plastic I remove it and usually replace it in the morning. If it’s a double bed I will sometimes just dismantle half . On the odd occasion that I forget to check I will generally wake up, bathed in perspiration and discover the plastic protector below. I know this is a bit of the Princess and the Pea so please no turigrino snark - I do know it’s not a solution in albergues - but it is a posisible explanation.
I also think that high dose ibuprofen can make my thermostat go awry but I don’t have any sound evidence for that- it is not my drug of choice but I was given a ( as I subsequently discovered - a ridiculously high dose) 600 ml supply by a pharmacist on my first Camino for a short term knee issue and I suffered night sweats badly then too.
I’m sure the medicos will put me straight on this .
Yes, we women of a certain age do have such issues but we tend to know our bodies and if we ask the ? it isn’t because we haven’t thought of this.
I guess you will know once you get home whether it’s a Camino anomaly or something more persistent .

 

[ShellToucher]

Plastic Mattress protectors are my nemesis . ! I like to have my own room so I stay in albergues with private rooms or pensiones . My first task upon arrival is to check beneath the sheets - if the mattress protector is plastic I remove it and usually replace it in the morning. If it’s a double bed I will sometimes just dismantle half . On the odd occasion that I forget to check I will generally wake up, bathed in perspiration and discover the plastic protector below. I know this is a bit of the Princess and the Pea so please no turigrino snark - I do know it’s not a solution in albergues - but it is a posisible explanation.
I also think that high dose ibuprofen can make my thermostat go awry but I don’t have any sound evidence for that- it is not my drug of choice but I was given a ( as I subsequently discovered - a ridiculously high dose) 600 ml supply by a pharmacist on my first Camino for a short term knee issue and I suffered night sweats badly then too.
I’m sure the medicos will put me straight on this .
Yes, we women of a certain age do have such issues but we tend to know our bodies and if we ask the ? it isn’t because we haven’t thought of this.
I guess you will know once you get home whether it’s a Camino anomaly or something more persistent .

YES! Those plastic covers don’t help. Many times I’d wake up on a slip and slide! Lol (I hope they wash them in between pilgrims)

 

[kuhawkhead]

Plastic Mattress protectors are my nemesis . ! I like to have my own room so I stay in albergues with private rooms or pensiones . My first task upon arrival is to check beneath the sheets - if the mattress protector is plastic I remove it and usually replace it in the morning. If it’s a double bed I will sometimes just dismantle half . On the odd occasion that I forget to check I will generally wake up, bathed in perspiration and discover the plastic protector below. I know this is a bit of the Princess and the Pea so please no turigrino snark - I do know it’s not a solution in albergues - but it is a posisible explanation.
I also think that high dose ibuprofen can make my thermostat go awry but I don’t have any sound evidence for that- it is not my drug of choice but I was given a ( as I subsequently discovered - a ridiculously high dose) 600 ml supply by a pharmacist on my first Camino for a short term knee issue and I suffered night sweats badly then too.
I’m sure the medicos will put me straight on this .
Yes, we women of a certain age do have such issues but we tend to know our bodies and if we ask the ? it isn’t because we haven’t thought of this.
I guess you will know once you get home whether it’s a Camino anomaly or something more persistent .

Totally makes sense as the mattress cannot breathe. Your body Heat is just transferring and staying.

 

[trecile]

If you can, put a blanket or something between you and the plastic covered mattress.

 

[SabsP]

Plastic Mattress protectors are my nemesis . ! I like to have my own room so I stay in albergues with private rooms or pensiones . My first task upon arrival is to check beneath the sheets - if the mattress protector is plastic I remove it and usually replace it in the morning. If it’s a double bed I will sometimes just dismantle half . On the odd occasion that I forget to check I will generally wake up, bathed in perspiration and discover the plastic protector below. I know this is a bit of the Princess and the Pea so please no turigrino snark - I do know it’s not a solution in albergues - but it is a posisible explanation.
I also think that high dose ibuprofen can make my thermostat go awry but I don’t have any sound evidence for that- it is not my drug of choice but I was given a ( as I subsequently discovered - a ridiculously high dose) 600 ml supply by a pharmacist on my first Camino for a short term knee issue and I suffered night sweats badly then too.
I’m sure the medicos will put me straight on this .
Yes, we women of a certain age do have such issues but we tend to know our bodies and if we ask the ? it isn’t because we haven’t thought of this.
I guess you will know once you get home whether it’s a Camino anomaly or something more persistent .

No turigrino snark at all seeing you are completely free to choose where to stay and spend your finances.

But I do not like to read you remove the plastic protectors. They are there for hygienic reasons plus I find it inconsiderate to the hotelstaff who has to make up the beds.

Secondly, the " ridiculously " high dose of Ibuprofen of 600 mg in Spain. It is up to you to inform yourself of this higher dosage than you are normally used to in your country.

 

[Jan Jones]

No turigrino snark at all seeing you are completely free to choose where to stay and spend your finances.

But I do not like to read you remove the plastic protectors. They are there for hygienic reasons plus I find it inconsiderate to the hotelstaff who has to make up the beds.

Secondly, the " ridiculously " high dose of Ibuprofen of 600 mg in Spain. It is up to you to inform yourself of this higher dosage than you are normally used to in your country.

I do not sleep on the bare mattress but replace the sheet - I shower before I go to bed and I do not have other hygiene issues. I understand that in the albergues plastic mattress covers are the best option, but mattress protectors are not always or necessarily plastic. .
Yes, I was silly not to check the dosage at the time - I did check the dosage later. I just needed something and assumed the pharmacist had given me a standard dosage, This was not a criticism of Spain or the pharmacist.
Sorry if my response annoyed you.

 

[ShellToucher]

I do not sleep on the bare mattress but replace the sheet - I shower before I go to bed and I do not have other hygiene issues. I understand that in the albergues plastic mattress covers are the best option, but mattress protectors are not always or necessarily plastic. .
Yes, I was silly not to check the dosage at the time - I did check the dosage later. I just needed something and assumed the pharmacist had given me a standard dosage, This was not a criticism of Spain or the pharmacist.
Sorry if my response annoyed you.

Also, I think those liners are more about bed bug prevention than a hygiene measure.

 

[C clearly]

Also, I think those liners are more about bed bug prevention than a hygiene measure.

That seems like an important hygiene measure in itself, but I expect that ordinary dirt, liquids, sweat, tears and more will mess up mattresses quite fast without plastic covers.

 

[ShellToucher]

That seems like an important hygiene measure in itself, but I expect that ordinary dirt, liquids, sweat, tears and more will mess up mattresses quite fast without plastic covers.

Sure but respectfully, with all the places a pilgrim stays and not all the beds treated in this way, how much is this pilgrim doing this once really gonna upset us? Especially when they are still using a sheet and presumably a sleeping bag or liner. I’m more curious if these sweat inducing covers are washed in between pilgrims…or is just offering a thin sheet enough of a hygienic shield after the fact. Know what I mean?

Regardless, this has been a very insightful post. Lots of great tips!

 

[Joynz]

Also, I think those liners are more about bed bug prevention than a hygiene measure.

I think the OP is talking about a mattress protector under the sheet, whereas the albergues (at least on the Frances last year) had a polypropylene ‘disposable’ sheet only rather than a mattress protector & a sheet. (The waste every day from those non-recyclable ‘disposable’ sheets broke my heart - thinking of them all going to landfill every day!)

 

[ShellToucher]

I think the OP is talking about a mattress protector under the sheet, whereas the albergues (at least on the Frances last year) had a polypropylene ‘disposable’ sheet only rather than a mattress protector & a sheet. (The waste everyday from those non-recyclable ‘disposable’ sheets broke my heart - thinking them all going to landfill every day!)

Yes, I believe they are too.

 

[Karl Oz]

Please see your doctor. Night sweats can have many causes, including viral infection (eg. Covid), but it could be anything. Seek an expert medical opinion for reassurance.

 

[TravellingMan22]

Please see your doctor. Night sweats can have many causes, including viral infection (eg. Covid), but it could be anything. Seek an expert medical opinion for reassurance.

Yes see your doctor. Could be anything though the fact you can align it to your Camino trip is good news.

In the UK when we go to doctors we often get sent for blood tests which is a good thing to have done regularly anyway.