What Causes Severe Hot Flashes And Night Sweats?

Posted on Sun, 26 Mar 2017

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 26 Mar 2017 Answered on

Sat, 22 Apr 2017 Last reviewed on

Question : Why am I suddenly having severe hot flashes and night sweats?
I had a full hysterectomy 16 years ago but in the past 2 weeks I am having hot flashes about every 1 to 2 hours and they are really bad ones.

Answered by Dr. Mirjeta Guni (9 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Overactive thyroid suspected;

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
I have gone carefully through your concern.
The first pathology to be excluded in these cases is an over active thyroid or hyperthyroidism.
The thyroid gland makes the hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) that play an important role in the way your whole body functions. If your thyroid gland makes too much T4 and T3, this is defined as hyperthyroidism.
The symptoms of hyperthyroidism include the following:

fatigue or muscle weakness
hand tremors
hot flushes
mood swings
nervousness or anxiety
rapid heartbeat
heart palpitations or irregular heartbeat
skin dryness
trouble sleeping ect.
Except of a detailed clinical examination you need also to check : TSH, Ft4 and Ft3.

Hope the information will be helpful.
Kind regards,
Dr.Mirjeta

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad