Good evening all!... can you help?

J

Jay000

Member
Hi all,

Just to introduce me, I'm called Jason and I'm 30 years old.

I've always been shy but the problem has got progressively worse over the last 15-ish years, at around 13 I started to have a blushing/anxiety problem which I still have today. I've had help in the past from counselling, breathing therapy and hypnotherapy. In the past 5 or so years the problem has become more than 'just' blushing, I now sweat whenever in a social situation and sometimes when I'm not. The Summer is here again and I'm worried, I want to be sociable and I live in a foreign country (Germany) where I need to have confidence to integrate and this sweating problem really affects my life and relationship with my girlfriend. At the moment I'm seeing a psychologist which is helpful but also a very slow process and who knows how long it will take or whether it will be a success.

I've just tried to give you an overview here of the problem, is there something that can REALLY help, I don't want to lock myself away for the Summer.

Just to let you know I've read a few things on the forum and will continue to do so, just wanted to introduce myself and hopefully pick up some good advice.

Thanks all

Jay
 
Danfalc

Danfalc

Banned
Hey Jay

Big welcome to the forum,it's really good your actively looking for ways to treat your problem,and I am sorry the things you have tried so far have not worked for you.I don;t have a problem with sweating myself but a lot of people on this forum do have more experience so hopefully you might get more help off someone else.

For the little it's worth I think we often place to much weight on what other people think,say I met a girl who I liked..I would not get put off her just because she sweated a lot :)

I remember dating a girl who had severe eczema on her hands.She would hide her hands in her pockets all the time and she was so ashamed of them,to her I'm sure it was a big deal but in reality no one judged her for it,yeah you notice it but it didn't stop me holding her hand ect

Just like I'm sure someone would not reject/judge you just because you sweat a bit sometimes :)
 
J

Jay000

Member
Hi, thanks for the welcome!.. you respond quick here!

I know exactly what you mean Danfalc and I agree, but there are things so deep inside you that logic has little affect. The problem is that blushing and sweating have become 'normal' for me, I am either waiting for it to happen or it's happening, the psychologist is working on the core of the problem but I need a quick fix or face a miserable summer.
 
Danfalc

Danfalc

Banned
Hey again Jay

And yeah I understand,me telling you to just not let if bother you,would be like you telling me not to let my anxiety bother me,they are irrational fears :) Still it's worth trying to remind yourself of sometimes.

I'm sure if you root about in the Hyperhidrosis forum you might find what other people have found helpful,and I wish you luck.
 
Luthien

Luthien

Well-known member
Welcome :) I hope you find this forum as useful as I have!

My advice to you would be to find a doctor who practices constitutional homeopathy. It shouldn't be hard in Germany. Homeopathy confronts your body and mind as a whole, where as western medicine tends to view them as separate. You will be able to change your thoughts and your physical manifestations of those thoughts, but I highly doubt it will happen so quickly! It's almost impossible. Remember that the things in your head that have caused your problems were learned over your whole life! You can't undo 15 years of anxiety in a couple months. Changing your thought patterns and healing what ever pain you have could take many MANY years (depending on the route you take and how proactive you are in your own healing process) but if you can have the patience to use homeopathic medicine, you will be ten thousand times stronger and healthier.

I just talked to my naturopath today and she told me that she was a bit nervous when she started treating me because most people with my sorts of problems don't last taking homeopathic medicine. Mostly because it takes so long and it can be so hard of a process. But, for me, I wouldn't have it any other way. Yeah, having panic attacks and anxiety and all that is TERRIBLE and scary and just miserable, but I don't want to numb it. I think that you should see your blushing and sweating and anxiety as warning, an alarm, because that is what it is. Your body is telling you that something is seriously wrong and because you're not listening and changing it, it's making it VERY apparent to get your attention. You might be able to find some pill to take to make it go away, but that would only be a band-aid that would hide your wound while it continues to fester. My advice is to go to therapy, get homeopathic treatment, and try to really look deep inside yourself and take apart your deep-seeded problems one by one so that you can pull them up by the roots and someday be free of them. Otherwise you'll be taking meds for the rest of your life and not really ever feeling 100%
 
S

SweatParty

Well-known member
Hi Jay

If you're focusing mainly on your sweat problem, just start by reading the sticky thread at the top of this forum. It explains almost all of the main treatment options for hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating). The effectiveness of each treatment varies for each person.

What areas do you sweat? I control my underarm sweat with Odaban spray from the UK. There are also many other similar sprays (aluminum chloride 20%). For my hand sweating, I've been taking glycopyrrolate pills every day for the last 3 weeks. They have worked really well overall. Not 100%, but many days I have gone without sweating at all, which is amazing.

I'm also trying to get an iontophoresis machine (the Idromed 5 machine, made in Germany). Many people have success with this type of treatment.

Good luck and let us know more
 
J

Jay000

Member
Luthien, homeopathic treatment sounds interesting, though I will continue with my psychology sessions for now. We have spoken about many of the things you mention and I am very aware that it will also take a long time. The approach my psychologist has taken is very much like you describe, trying to heal experiences I had in my childhood and using behavioural therapy. I will keep going but in the mean time I really would like to find a quick fix, I need to enjoy life and integrate and it's near-impossible at the moment, I'm not someone who likes to take tablets at the best of times but it is something I will be looking into.

SweatParty, I pretty much sweat all over, forehead/back/legs/under arm/groin, the worst instances are meeting people/strangers etc but the same thing happens just going to the shops or sitting on a train, it feels like my body has lost control of its thermometer!.. clothes are a problem when I'm out socially, the most embarassing area I sweat is the groin and I can't wear any light coloured or light fabric shorts/trousers or the sweat shows, if I sit on a plastic seat and get up a sweat patch is left. I end up wearing jeans in Summer and a shirt over a t-shirt to cover up the sweat marks, heating me up even more!
I'll look into this iontophoresis machine, but something tells me it's not cheap!
 
Luthien

Luthien

Well-known member
Jay000 said:
Luthien, homeopathic treatment sounds interesting, though I will continue with my psychology sessions for now. We have spoken about many of the things you mention and I am very aware that it will also take a long time. The approach my psychologist has taken is very much like you describe, trying to heal experiences I had in my childhood and using behavioural therapy. I will keep going but in the mean time I really would like to find a quick fix, I need to enjoy life and integrate and it's near-impossible at the moment, I'm not someone who likes to take tablets at the best of times but it is something I will be looking into.

SweatParty, I pretty much sweat all over, forehead/back/legs/under arm/groin, the worst instances are meeting people/strangers etc but the same thing happens just going to the shops or sitting on a train, it feels like my body has lost control of its thermometer!.. clothes are a problem when I'm out socially, the most embarassing area I sweat is the groin and I can't wear any light coloured or light fabric shorts/trousers or the sweat shows, if I sit on a plastic seat and get up a sweat patch is left. I end up wearing jeans in Summer and a shirt over a t-shirt to cover up the sweat marks, heating me up even more!
I'll look into this iontophoresis machine, but something tells me it's not cheap!
Click to expand...

I work with a counselor, too, in addition to my naturopath. The thing with the homeopathic remedy, is that it balances me. It brings me to a place where I am more comfortable and not so paincky, that way I can dig deeper and push myself farther. It works really well, too. Every month, I can feel it wearing off... (I totally didn't think it would work when I started it) then I take it and I feel normal again. It's really great. But "normal" is different all the time. My "normal" is soooo much happier and more comfortable now than it was six months ago.

As for quick fixes, have you tried just changing your own reaction to the sweating? I would try just telling people. Say, when you meet someone "don't mind my sweaty hands! I'm like a leaky faucet in the summer!" You know? Make it a joke! It's like, if you're going to spend all this time having anxiety over what people are thinking about you (which you can't possibly know) why not just plant what YOU want in their heads? This might sound ridiculous to you, or it might sound impossible, but (in my opinion) changing your thoughts is the secret to all things SA.
 
J

Jay000

Member
thankyou for your advice again Luthien, I agree that changing your thoughts is key but I think it went around joking about the fact that I'm feeling hot or sweating I would only feel more under the spotlight. I like what you say about homeopathic treatment and I'll be looking into it.

I have decided for now not to order the Avert, I don't like to use drugs and some of the side effects sounds weird. Instead I have started on a diet to see if it's linked to my diet in anyway. I read a post here about Candida Overgrowth, something I already knew of but didn't think it could have an effect on anxiety. Anyway, I'm in the 5th day of the 1st phase which is no sugar/refined foods/bread/milk/coffee... basically anything tasty!... the idea being to starve the candida parasite. I'm also doing the diet to just get fitter and feel better about myself, so either way it'll be a good thing. If anyone has any advice or experiences with Candida please share.
 
S

Stuckwithme

Well-known member
If your problem is really as bad as you say, then why reject Avert or Robinul? I don't get it. Medicines are here to help us. A change in diet will not do much different. If that was the case, then the problem would have been solved.
 
J

Jay000

Member
I haven't rejected it, just said I want don't like to take drugs, sure medicines are here to help but they also cause a lot of harm too. I also don't feel as desperate today as I felt last weekend, I may resort to drugs in the future, I haven't dismissed doing so
 
L

Lionheart

Banned
Jay000 said:
I haven't rejected it, just said I want don't like to take drugs, sure medicines are here to help but they also cause a lot of harm too. I also don't feel as desperate today as I felt last weekend, I may resort to drugs in the future, I haven't dismissed doing so
Click to expand...

You should try to read a book everyday its going to help you and do something for youre body.:)drugs maybe help you but you cant use them for youre live...
 
S

Stuckwithme

Well-known member
I see a lot people come on here and tell everyone how desperate they are, how sweating ruins their life, yet they reject medicines which I don't understand. Maybe the problem isn't that bad then. I mean, it's not like Robinul is a dangerous medicine. People are so afraid of medicines. If I tell someone I take Inderal they look at me like I am some sort of junkie. Terrible.
 
S

Sprawling

Well-known member
Stuckwithme -- The same attitude of rejecting medicines also applies to iontopheresis.

Ionto is an option that requires no ingestion of medicine, just your time. One can make a homemade device easily and cheaply for a fraction of the cost of ordering Avert from Canada. For $150-(they pop up on ebay) or less, one can modify a "Drionic" and actually make 2 iontopheresis devices and sell the spare to someone on our group.

We at least have options now. 30 -40 years ago I had no options for hands and feet sweating. Groups like this gave me the confidence to try the options available. I remember buying everything and anything that claimed to help stop the sweating. I reported my experiences in an older defunct group. Ionto works the best for me. I purchased the Avert as a backup, ended up using them in the ionto water tray.

I applaud everyone who tries something. Those of you who have not taken the step of trying meds or machines or whatever... I applaud you for at least reading the suggestions written on the forum. When you are ready, sick and tired of the sweating, you will try something. you are not alone as long as theses forums exist.
 
J

Jay000

Member
Stuckwithme said:
I see a lot people come on here and tell everyone how desperate they are, how sweating ruins their life, yet they reject medicines which I don't understand. Maybe the problem isn't that bad then. I mean, it's not like Robinul is a dangerous medicine. People are so afraid of medicines. If I tell someone I take Inderal they look at me like I am some sort of junkie. Terrible.
Click to expand...

Everything is relative, my problem may not be bad compared to some but it's awful compared to others and you are not one to judge me, you have no idea who I am.

At the risk of repeating myself, I don't like to take drugs of any sort but if I feel I have to, I will. When I'm feeling desperate I think of the quick fix, when I'm more logical I think more like Luthien and try to address the real problem inside me.
 
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