8 Medicines that May be Making you Sweat
More than 120 million people suffer from night sweats and hot flashes – that’s 3% of people worldwide, many of them caused by medicines and night sweats. Do you wake up to greasy bed head? Dehydration? Chapped lips? Do your pajamas go straight to the laundry and your sheets close behind? For many suffering from night sweats, medication may be the cause. Read below to see if your medicine is making you sweat.
- Aspirin
- Keytruda
- Bupropin
- Venaflaxine
- Cortisone
- Wellbutrin
- Effexor
- Zoloft
Night sweat inducing medicines come from many different types of medications, from those used to treat heart disease, to antibiotics used to cure bacterial and fungal infections.
Data from the National Center for Health Statistics shows that an excess of 1 in 10 adults in the U.S. are taking some form of antidepressant. Of those adults, twenty-two percent of them have reported sweating as a side effect.
Nearly all antidepressants, hormone regulators, and blood sugar stabilizers have night sweats and hot flashes as a side effect. These include tricyclic antidepressants, as well as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Venlafaxine, also known as Effexor, and Bupropion, also known as Wellbutrin and Zyban, can induce night sweats, too.
Typical antihistamine ingredients like cortisone, prednisone, and prednisolone can be the cause of night sweats, as well as aspirin and other pain medications.
Cancer treatment drugs like Ketruda, a medicine that works to treat melanoma and lung cancer, also have reported similar side effects.
If you or someone you know has been suffering the discomforts of night sweats, share this information with them and see if medication is the culprit. Be sure to ask your physician (or a medical professional) if you are concerned that the dosage or side effects of the medications that you are taking are contributing to your night sweats.
2018 UPDATED MEDICINES! Read below!
Night sweats on Prozac are increasingly common. Classified as Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI), these drugs can be used to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), bulimia nervosa, and panic disorders. Also known by the names Fluoxetine, Sarafem, and Prozac Weekly, the drug has the potential to cause night sweats and hot flashes when taken regularly as prescribed by a physician. SSRIs of this variety have the greatest chance of adverse side effects as it’s the most stimulating for the brain.
Pristiq, also known as Khedezla and the generic name Desvenlafaxine Succinate, are antidepressants that often elicit night sweats. Desvenlafaxine is used to treat depression. It may improve mood, feelings of well-being, and overall energy levels. Desvenlafaxine is known as a Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitor, an SNRI. It works by helping to restore the delicate balance of natural substances, serotonin and norepinephrine, in the brain. Night sweats and Pristiq are often linked, causing intense sweating while sleeping, leading to disrupted sleep.
Wellbutrin, known also as Aplenzin, Budeprion SR, Budeprion XL, Buproban, Forfivo XL, Wellbutrin, Wellbutrin SR, Wellbutrin XL, Zyban, and by generic Bupropion Hydrochloride, is a smoking cessation aid and antidepressant that is also used to prevent depression brought on by Seasonal Affective Disorder, SAD. This medication works to restore neurotransmitters and neurotransmission within the brain. Night sweats and hot flashes as a result of Wellbutrin and its other names is common.
We will continue to update this list periodically as the information becomes available to us, but if you or someone you know is taking a medication that is causing night sweats, send us a note at info@wickedsheets.com so that we can add it to the list.
Prozac isn’t also known as Zoloft. Two different drugs.
Hey there! Thanks for calling this out – completely our mistake. We will fix it now. 🙂 Thanks and have a wicked good day!
Should correct the list at the top. You have venlafaxine and Effexor listed as two separate medications. They are the same.
Thanks so much for letting us know – we’ll make that correction now. Much appreciated and stay cool!
I’m taking amox/clav and it makes me sweat a lot every time I take it but it’s not on this list?
Hey Christina! Thanks for letting us know – we’re always looking for feedback from our customers so that we can help others who might be taking similar meds and try to address them. We’ll be sure to do our research and add your suggestions to our next post. Thanks and stay cool!
I had my fluoxetine put up from 20mg to 40mg sonce the increase i have awful night sweats, my nightwear and sheets are drenched.
Reading this just helped me to finally find the cause of my night sweats, I’ve been checked for thyroid issues and low Testosterone (being a 51 year old man) but, no solid answers. I think I may have stumbled on the answer today and will send a message to my PCP and his nurse to inquire about my overnight sweating issue.
I take Venlafaxine and Prednisone and I have terrible sweats that prevent me from sleeping. It’s miserable.
my thermostat is shot! I have profuse head and face sweating if I exert myself or become nervous.or anxious. As long as I stay cool and relaxed I have no problems. I am diabetic, take sertaline (Zoloft) and insulin, I don’t have night sweats very often. Doctors have no clue. I suspect Zoloft is culprit. i have been on this med for umpteen years. Do diabetic meds or blood pressure meds have this side effect? thanks
Rachel, I am not a diabetic, but I suffer terribly with major
head and face sweats day and night, at times all day and
night. I’ve been to every doctor, and all they do is scratch their
heads, and say “I dunno”, which leaves me to try to figure out this
problem by myself. I’ve been on Effexor Xr caps for years, which the generic is Venlafaxine….and I just started reading about it and how it causes excessive head sweating. I am going to bring this to my doctor’s attention who prescribed this to me, as he is my PCP and I’ve been complaining of this problem to him for years. he has sent me to every other doctor for further tests, etc. when it simply may have been this drug. I hope we both can get this problem taken care of. I just wanted to let you know that I have a similar problem. I had also started taking pictures to show doctors the excessiveness, should it be the one time I may not be sweating in their office.
Very efficiently written information. It will be valuable to everyone who uses it, including myself. Thanks a lot!
I’ve taken Venlafaxine and bupropion for few years. I have sweats all over when I exert myself. I have had anxiety for many years. Do the Venlafaxine and Bupropion reduce anxiety and cause sweats?
I take Prozac. And i sweat all day even when it is not That hot. 🔥 I dont know what it is. Can it be the prozac