Diagnosis & overheating

I've been affected by excessive sweating for a few years now, but I don't know exactly when it started. It's my armpits that sweat really badly, although when I'm hot my face also gets quite sweaty. Even when relaxing in a cool environment I get sweat patches under my arms and I choose all my clothes based on how well sweat patches will show up on them. I wear jackets in boiling hot weather to cover up the patches which I'm sure only adds to the sweating problem, but means I'm not constantly worried about it.

I only realised today that this might actually be a medical condition. I found the term hyperhidrosis when I did a quick internet search on how to stop myself going red and sweaty when I'm hot. The reason is I just started a summer job waitressing. Not only do I have to wear a black shirt which is terrible for sweat patches, but the rushing around & dealing with hot food and hot kitchens means I'm constantly hot.

This is my other problem - when I get hot, I go very very red. Especially my face - not just my cheeks but my forehead too - and my arms. I know there's a forum here for blushing but I'm thinking - could this redness AND the sweating problem mean that I have a problem with my 'cooling system' overall rather than hyperhidrosis? Or do you suffer from this redness too? I know a lot of people go red when they're hot but this isn't normal, it's excessive. I also don't blush when I'm embarassed, it's only from heat.

The other thing I was wondering is about diagnosis. Did it take you long to get diagnosed? Is this condition something doctors are very familiar with or is it not something they consider often? I've had a seperate problem with headaches for around a year now. I get a headache every day a few hours after I wake up and it gets progressively worse until I sleep. I have been to two seperate doctors about this and both of them have told me they don't know what the problem is and there's nothing anyone can do. I don't want to make an appointment just to be told sweating is the body's way of cooling me down and it's nothing to worry about.

Sorry this post is a bit all over the place. I've never spoken to anyone about it before, because I'm too embarassed, and it's so good to find a whole community of people who can relate.

My face does get pink. Used to not be as bad when I was more tan but I'm more of a home body now that it's worse and weather in Virginia is really humid which triggers my sweating when I go out. I'm pretty pale so the pink on my face shows more easily.

My hands get really red or a blue-ish purplish depending on if it's hot or cold out when my hands sweat.

It's actually gotten worse for me over the years compared to how it was back in high school, that or I've gotten a lot more self-conscious about it.

As far as diagnosis, I just know myself that I have it. Had it since I was a little kid. People think I'm just nervous or scared or something but they really have no idea.

You can get blood work done and find out if it might be your thyroid gland causing the extra sweating but that wasn't the case for me.

Dear Gaia,

So glad you've "found us"--though it sounds to me that you need to find better doctors.

I'd try to get some answer to your headaches--"nothing anyone can do" is just not acceptable.

Anyway, you should tend to that first, and also see if there is an underlying medical reason (thyroid? hormonal?) for your sweating.

However, many of us have been through that--my thyroid, for instance, is on the low side.

There are many possible ways to help HH--seems different for each person, but read up on this and other forums for some of the possibilities.

Yes, my face gets red when I sweat. If you do have HH, one way to think of it is that it's similar to an allergy--an overreaction to heat, tension, etc.

Welcome aboard!

I get a redness in the face when I get particulary hot, my sweating is mostly in the hands and feet but also sometimes the armpits, I too work in a restaurant and I find dark colours are better for hiding sweat patches (grey is the worst!) yeah the kitchen gets hot and especially on hot days it can get really uncomfortable but on those days everyone at work is sweating so it goes unnoticed, the good thing is you can be constantly moving so no one can look at you long enough to see any sweating going on..and clearing plates im the quickest I think!! (so customers dont see my hands) the good thing is I dont have to shake hands with anyone which is probably the main reason I do this job...however at the moment im getting my HH under controll using Iontophoresis, you should ask your doctor/dermatologist about it.

I found out I had HH through the internet also! I typed in 'sewaty hands' as I was progressively getting worse and worse to the point where I thought 'this isnt normal!!' and then found the definition for the condition, reading through the symptoms was like looking in a mirror...I had no Idea that other people suffered from this too! Im glad I did look into it as now my life is finally starting to get better..I wish you loads of luck in your new job (youve prob started already due to date of post) and most of all getting your HH under controll!

i feel you man. i have been suffering from overheating and sweating for 4 years now. it all started when i was in high school. about half way through my junior year i started to sweat a lot. this first only started occurring in my groin region and my *** when i was exercising. soon after i noticed that my *** started to sweat even when i wasn't doing anything. i began to apply powders and antiperspirants in that area but nothing helped. soon after, the sweating began to get worse and more generalized all over my body. just sitting down on a chair, i would noticeably sweat through my pants. you van imagine how that would make someone feel in any social situation. about 3 months after the sweating started my palms began to sweat for no reason at all. i wasn't even hot and they would start to sweat. around the same time that my sweating started i became severely constipated. people around me began to say that i smelt like shit. over the years my symptoms have only gone from bad to worse. i have lost subtle nerve control on the left side of my body (something you wouldn't really notice unless you lift weights). i have now built up enough muscle on the right side of my body to noticeably dwarf the left side and make me look lop-sided. furthermore, i have lost almost all control over my outer **** muscle resulting in a foul stench that permeates around me. my heat intolerance has gotten much worse as well. just standing up in a 60 degree room results in my body to feel very hot. i stick my hand under my shirt and i can feel a hot heat radiating off my body. i instantly sweat from every part of my body and feel terrible. i cant shake peoples hands anymore without anxiety cause i know i am going to sweat all over there hand. i can't really be around people because of anxiety of smelling bad. i have lost all social connection and can barely hold a job. this ****ing sucks and i just wanted to share that with you all since i feel so alone in life
thanks

I feel bad for you. What kind of tests have you had done to rule out possible causes? Any suggestions from your physician? What you describe might not be primary HH.