First Post.....keyboard is wet :)

[SweatinBullets5150]

Hello,
I've been reading the HH forum for 2 days now and I have learned so much from all of you. Like most of you I have always been a sweating machine, but never new about the diagnosis of HH until my symptoms increased dramatically and I did some research online. I knew I wasn't the only one with this....it's just that I am the only one I know with it. What a curse to have this BS disease....it is flat out evil. I've read about every possible treatment and it appears that there are more misses than success stories. Frustrating for all of you...and me. After looking in the mirror and getting insight from the rest of you this much I know:

1) Having HH is not normal
2) It is embarrassing and life changing
3) I have a lot of trial and error work ahead of me to try and control my symptoms (hands, feet, armpits, forehead)
4) My symptoms have gotten worse the past 3 months
5) I suffer from HH and chronic anxiety....and they feed off of each other like sharks eating baby seals. It doesn't matter which one hits first. Once one hits, the cycle has begun and it continues until I can find a place to cool off in private.
6) I can sweat when it is 45 degrees.

I am going through a divorce right now (not HH related), but the extra anxiety doesn't help. The task of meeting new people is ahead of me, so I am hoping to find some relief before venturing out. My shrink (who I see for depression and anxiety) is wonderful, but I don't think HH is his specialty. He has me on Klonopin for anxiety, but I can only take a crumb here and there because it really knocks me on my a$$...which I hate. This week he saw how bad the HH was and prescribed a beta blocker (Bystolic/5mg). Any success stories out there with BB's??). I start taking it 2morrow....we'll see. Maybe now I can make the Olympic archery team LOL. After that I guess I will see a dermatologist to investigate other options as well as try what has worked for some of you on this site. I have good insurance, so I guess it's time to utilize my resources and this site's info to try to get a handle on this.

Sorry for the rambling, but I was wondering if anyone has found relief by quitting smoking. I know the smokes can't help. I had quit for 6 months last year with Chantix(which I recommend highly) but I fell off the wagon when the divorce hit. It seems like the HH wasn't as bad when I had quit.....but that could all be in my head. Anyway, I have more questions but I will save them for another day. Thanks for all the info !

 

[GeneralHH]

hello. I smoked pot heavily since my generalised HH started 15 years ago. In 2008 between april and september i quit smoking completely and it certainly helped me alot, mostly by way of reducing the sweating in situations where i shouldnt be sweating at all but if i was doing something strenuous it would come on just the same but in general it was much better. People with HH should, really, live as clean and healthy lifestyle as is possible as it can only help whereas drinking/drugs/smoking/convenience food is only really going to do nothing or make it worse and i know thats just common sense. Also, when i quit smoking i was swimming a mile nearly everyday {swimming, an HH victims ideal exercise, it felt so good} and spending 1-2 hours a day in the sauna and i did all that as i had booked, in january, a month long trip to the philipines over xmas and new year 08/09 as i thought i would beat it enough to be able to function in that heat and humidity then one day in september i was at work doing nothing strenuous whatsoever and i was virtually completely dry when suddenly it just started, i was alone in an unheated shell of a building and suddenly whoooosh!!! It just start running off my whole body soaking through my t-shirt and i realised then i was not going to the Philipines so i canceled my holiday. Back to the doctors. Finally forced them to send me to the dermatologist after i threatened to quit work and go on benefits, dermatologist prescribed me Robinul and it has worked bloody miracles, literally, I am planning a holiday soon to Thailand 8) . Hope that helps you my friend.