I feel very selfish. I used this forum as a source of information but never posted my experiences. This is going to be a long post. I want to present as much information as possible because I have successfully controlled my HH and I hope that someone can use my information to help themselves.
I am a 30 year old male, 6' 2" tall weighing about 225 lbs. I always sweated more than normal, but luckily it did not get REALLY bad until I was about 23. My dad has been a sweaty dude as long as I can remember. My older brother has problems with it too. I sweat profusely over most of my body, but the most annoying part was my face, hands, and back. Exerting myself even slightly, or getting into stressful situations would cause water to just pour off my face. My hands are constantly clammy at best, visually wet at worst. My chest/stomach, back, and underarms can sweat through as many layers as I cared to put on. If you are reading this you probably know what I am talking about. No need for further description or discussion of the social implications. I have very bad general HH.
I don't remember what made me google information about excessive sweating, probably an especially embarrassing day, but it brought me to this forum about 2 years ago. I read hundreds of threads and spent hours and hours reading stories of people that were just like me.
I found that my options were pretty limited. Antiperspirants, electrolysis, and surgery are no help for HH all over the body. Avert/Robinul were my only hope. I made an appointment with my primary care doctor. I explained my situation to my doctor and told him that I would like to get a prescription for Robinul. He told me that he did not think it would work, saying that he had never heard of anybody having success. He was willing to give me the prescription, though...and gave me a blood test to make sure everything was ok (I think they check kindney function? Cant remember for sure).
He prescribed me 1mg Robinul twice daily (he actually asked me what I had read about dosage). After I started taking it I was really disappointed. It kinda worked sometimes, other times it seemed to have no effect. I upped my dosage to 2mg in the morning and 2 mg in the afternoon. This seemed to work a little bit better, but it just didnt seem reliable. Some days it worked really well, others not so much.
When I ran out of pills I called my doctors office and requested a refill of Robinul Forte (the 2 mg pills). I took those, and started to figure out how to get the best results. Good days and bad days were all dependent on how long I waited before I ate. I also found that my afternoon dosage was basically wasted. It was doing nothing. By the time I ran out of Robinul Forte it was early Winter (happy time for HH folks!) and I lazily did not get a refill of my prescription.
The next spring it started getting warmer and the really bad days started again. I did not feel like going back to my doctor so I decided to order 2mg Avert from pharmacy.ca. I also ordered some of the strongest Secure wipes they offered (I think they were 5%). I was hoping the Secure wipes would take care of my facial sweating. The pills were taking care of my hands and body pretty well, but the face was still a problem.
The secure wipes were just too strong. I would wipe my face and neck in the morning, and also take 2mg orally. Within a few hours my sinuses were so dry that I felt like I couldn't breathe. Also, the fingers where I had handled the pads would be dry and cracking by the end of the day, even though I washed my hands really well.
What I have found works for me is 4mg in the morning (2 2mg pills) during the summer and 2mg during the winter. The most important thing is NOT EATING ANYTHING for at least 4 hours. I also don't drink anything but water or soft drinks. Milk completely kills the absorption as well. I do not drink juice very often, but it would not surprise me if things like orange juice might kill the absorption as well.
I had to stop wearing contacts. My eyes are just too dry and I would have to put in eye drops constantly all day.
One of the side effects has been really beneficial to me. I have always had problems with irritable bowel syndrome (this is a self diagnosis), but the Avert really takes care of that too. The only problem is, during the summer when I am taking 4mg...constipation can be a problem. I usually don't take it on the weekends, which gives my system time to rebalance.
Another added benefit has been the reduction of saliva. I have always had WAY too much saliva. I have never once been to the dentist and not had them mention how much more than normal they were having to use the suction tube thingy. Very embarrassing. Very bad when trying to kiss a girl too!
If I need to make sure I am dry in the evening, I will generally eat a big breakfast, then take the pills about 4 or 5 hours later, and make sure I don't eat until another 4 hours after I take the pills.
The side effects are what I was expecting. Dry throat. Dry nose and sinuses, sometimes causing nosebleeds. I basically feel like I need to pick my nose and hock up a loogey all day. Chewing gum helps with the throat. Sometimes I go to the restroom and actually put warm water up my nose. Yes, it can be pretty bad.
Warning....do not take a dosage before you go to bed!! I did this once and woke up to the worst sore throat I have ever had. It was worse than strep throat and lasted for days.
My hands are where Advert works the best. Sometimes my hands get so dry that I need to use moisturizer! That is an incredible thing for me.
The sweating on my face is still a problem at times, but it is 10% of what it used to be. My underarms is where it seems to have the least effect. It is probably 50% better than it used to be, which is OK with me! Lots of normal people sweat under their arms when it is hot...so I am probably pretty close to normal now.
I still wear undershirts almost all the time, and still can't wear just a T-shirt. My chest and back still sweat some, but it is definitely bearable now. I can wear the polyester sweat-wicking golf shirts (like Nike dry-fit and Adidas clima-cool) without anything underneath, which is nice.
Basically, my biggest advise would be:
If you don't think Avert is working for you...take one day and do the following: Take the pills the moment you wake up and drink ONLY water and eat nothing for the next 6 hours. That should do the trick!
Good luck everybody.
I am a 30 year old male, 6' 2" tall weighing about 225 lbs. I always sweated more than normal, but luckily it did not get REALLY bad until I was about 23. My dad has been a sweaty dude as long as I can remember. My older brother has problems with it too. I sweat profusely over most of my body, but the most annoying part was my face, hands, and back. Exerting myself even slightly, or getting into stressful situations would cause water to just pour off my face. My hands are constantly clammy at best, visually wet at worst. My chest/stomach, back, and underarms can sweat through as many layers as I cared to put on. If you are reading this you probably know what I am talking about. No need for further description or discussion of the social implications. I have very bad general HH.
I don't remember what made me google information about excessive sweating, probably an especially embarrassing day, but it brought me to this forum about 2 years ago. I read hundreds of threads and spent hours and hours reading stories of people that were just like me.
I found that my options were pretty limited. Antiperspirants, electrolysis, and surgery are no help for HH all over the body. Avert/Robinul were my only hope. I made an appointment with my primary care doctor. I explained my situation to my doctor and told him that I would like to get a prescription for Robinul. He told me that he did not think it would work, saying that he had never heard of anybody having success. He was willing to give me the prescription, though...and gave me a blood test to make sure everything was ok (I think they check kindney function? Cant remember for sure).
He prescribed me 1mg Robinul twice daily (he actually asked me what I had read about dosage). After I started taking it I was really disappointed. It kinda worked sometimes, other times it seemed to have no effect. I upped my dosage to 2mg in the morning and 2 mg in the afternoon. This seemed to work a little bit better, but it just didnt seem reliable. Some days it worked really well, others not so much.
When I ran out of pills I called my doctors office and requested a refill of Robinul Forte (the 2 mg pills). I took those, and started to figure out how to get the best results. Good days and bad days were all dependent on how long I waited before I ate. I also found that my afternoon dosage was basically wasted. It was doing nothing. By the time I ran out of Robinul Forte it was early Winter (happy time for HH folks!) and I lazily did not get a refill of my prescription.
The next spring it started getting warmer and the really bad days started again. I did not feel like going back to my doctor so I decided to order 2mg Avert from pharmacy.ca. I also ordered some of the strongest Secure wipes they offered (I think they were 5%). I was hoping the Secure wipes would take care of my facial sweating. The pills were taking care of my hands and body pretty well, but the face was still a problem.
The secure wipes were just too strong. I would wipe my face and neck in the morning, and also take 2mg orally. Within a few hours my sinuses were so dry that I felt like I couldn't breathe. Also, the fingers where I had handled the pads would be dry and cracking by the end of the day, even though I washed my hands really well.
What I have found works for me is 4mg in the morning (2 2mg pills) during the summer and 2mg during the winter. The most important thing is NOT EATING ANYTHING for at least 4 hours. I also don't drink anything but water or soft drinks. Milk completely kills the absorption as well. I do not drink juice very often, but it would not surprise me if things like orange juice might kill the absorption as well.
I had to stop wearing contacts. My eyes are just too dry and I would have to put in eye drops constantly all day.
One of the side effects has been really beneficial to me. I have always had problems with irritable bowel syndrome (this is a self diagnosis), but the Avert really takes care of that too. The only problem is, during the summer when I am taking 4mg...constipation can be a problem. I usually don't take it on the weekends, which gives my system time to rebalance.
Another added benefit has been the reduction of saliva. I have always had WAY too much saliva. I have never once been to the dentist and not had them mention how much more than normal they were having to use the suction tube thingy. Very embarrassing. Very bad when trying to kiss a girl too!
If I need to make sure I am dry in the evening, I will generally eat a big breakfast, then take the pills about 4 or 5 hours later, and make sure I don't eat until another 4 hours after I take the pills.
The side effects are what I was expecting. Dry throat. Dry nose and sinuses, sometimes causing nosebleeds. I basically feel like I need to pick my nose and hock up a loogey all day. Chewing gum helps with the throat. Sometimes I go to the restroom and actually put warm water up my nose. Yes, it can be pretty bad.
Warning....do not take a dosage before you go to bed!! I did this once and woke up to the worst sore throat I have ever had. It was worse than strep throat and lasted for days.
My hands are where Advert works the best. Sometimes my hands get so dry that I need to use moisturizer! That is an incredible thing for me.
The sweating on my face is still a problem at times, but it is 10% of what it used to be. My underarms is where it seems to have the least effect. It is probably 50% better than it used to be, which is OK with me! Lots of normal people sweat under their arms when it is hot...so I am probably pretty close to normal now.
I still wear undershirts almost all the time, and still can't wear just a T-shirt. My chest and back still sweat some, but it is definitely bearable now. I can wear the polyester sweat-wicking golf shirts (like Nike dry-fit and Adidas clima-cool) without anything underneath, which is nice.
Basically, my biggest advise would be:
If you don't think Avert is working for you...take one day and do the following: Take the pills the moment you wake up and drink ONLY water and eat nothing for the next 6 hours. That should do the trick!
Good luck everybody.
