Hey guys,
I used to frequent this forum a fair bit during desperate times a few years ago when I felt that hyperhidrosis was ruining my life. Thought I should come back here and share what’s actually worked for me.
BACKSTORY(not that important; skip if you wish)
Dealt with palmar/plantar hyperhidrosis since early childhood, and also developed axillary along the way. Tried Drysol/Certain-Dri/various topical treatments but they only made a 5-10% difference. This forum made me interested in oral antiperspirants but my mom was firmly opposed to it (didn’t want me putting weird chemicals in my body; didn’t help that we would have to order it online). That is, until the beginning of grade 11, when I broke down a little and she saw the genuine anguish this condition had been causing me. So she finally relented and let me order it.
I don’t remember TOO clearly what it was like in the beginning. I think it worked for the most part, except for times of intense anxiety/feelings of self-consciousness. It was terrific, on the whole. Wasn’t perfect (occasionally on some days the absorption didn’t work at all) but the pills were a godsend!
Gradually, maybe a year later, it seemed like the glycopyrrolate was becoming less and less reliable. The absorption seemed a bit hit-or-miss, and if I thought about it too much, I could induce some serious sweating in myself. IB exams at the end of grade 12 were a major sogfest! Haha. But on the whole, the pills were much more effective than anything else I had tried.
About a year and a half ago I noticed that taking a calcium pill with glycopyrrolate at bedtime works wonders. Something about the calcium seems to really increase the absorption (despite the fact I’ve read several people say that calcium kills the absorption of their oral antiperspirants, though I assume most of those accounts aren’t referring to calcium in the form of supplement pills). I hope I’m not burning a hole in my stomach or something but it’s a very potent combo for stopping that sweat! I’m so glad I stumbled across this method.
ABOUT ME (so you have a context for the amount of glyco I take)
Gender: female
Age: 20
Ethnicity: Chinese
Height: 5’4
Weight: 105 lbs
Condition: severe palmar/plantar/axillary hyperhidrosis (maybe~ 8/10 on the ‘severity scale’ of all people with hh)
THINGS I’VE TRIED
Drysol, Certain-Dri, Maxim, Odaban, Hydrosal gel, possibly other topical antiperspirants I don’t remember. Only reduced sweating by about 5-10% on average.
WHAT WORKED OKAY
Setting an alarm 3ish hours before getting up (so around 4AM), just to swallow 2.5-3mg of glycopyrrolate on an empty stomach, then fall back asleep. ~One year after first taking glycopyrrolate, absorption was successful, by my rough estimate, ~60% of the days I took it. Other ~40% of the days the sweating was usually lessened, but still substantial.
WHAT WORKS REALLY WELL
Taking 1.5-2mg of glycopyrrolate (yes, less mg than before) with a calcium tablet (250 mg but I don’t think it really matters) before I go to bed, and sleeping 5-8 hours. I usually haven’t eaten for ~1 hour before I go to bed out of habit, but I can remember times I’ve gone to bed with some food in my stomach and the absorption doesn’t seem to be affected. After taking this combo for 1.5 years, there is still successful absorption ~95% of the days I take the pills. (I still get a rough day here and there ~5% of the time, usually just on days I have anxiety before a final exam or something similar). I only take it ~5 days a week, when I’m in school, because I don’t want to overload my body.
SUPPLIER
I’ve only ever tried the Avert pills through pharmacy.ca I live in a city in western Canada and I usually receive my supply 4-5 working days after ordering it. They seem to be a reputable company, as I’ve never had issues and they have a physical pharmacy location in Ontario.
SIDE EFFECTS
Usually none. Maybe slight dry mouth and dry eyes (sometimes towards the end of a long day my contact lenses don’t feel like sticking, but eyedrops usually fix that)
CLOSING REMARKS
I really hope this helps some of you out there. I know that when I first started taking glycopyrrolate, I wished that I had more information from other people’s in-depth glycopyrrolate experience to go off of. If anyone has any further questions, feel free to ask. I’m just so grateful I’ve found glycopyrrolate because I feel so free not sweating all the time! I never thought I’d find something that works as well as those pills do. Quality of life has improved immensely.
It's really been a godsend but at the same time I've read of people not having much success with glyco so I don't want to proclaim it as some end-all miracle drug for hyperhidrosis. It's definitely worth a try though (and with calcium
). If anyone else decides to experiment with a similar method to what I've outlined above, I'd love to know the results.
TL;DR: Try taking both glycopyrrolate and a calcium tablet before you go to bed.
I used to frequent this forum a fair bit during desperate times a few years ago when I felt that hyperhidrosis was ruining my life. Thought I should come back here and share what’s actually worked for me.
BACKSTORY(not that important; skip if you wish)
Dealt with palmar/plantar hyperhidrosis since early childhood, and also developed axillary along the way. Tried Drysol/Certain-Dri/various topical treatments but they only made a 5-10% difference. This forum made me interested in oral antiperspirants but my mom was firmly opposed to it (didn’t want me putting weird chemicals in my body; didn’t help that we would have to order it online). That is, until the beginning of grade 11, when I broke down a little and she saw the genuine anguish this condition had been causing me. So she finally relented and let me order it.
I don’t remember TOO clearly what it was like in the beginning. I think it worked for the most part, except for times of intense anxiety/feelings of self-consciousness. It was terrific, on the whole. Wasn’t perfect (occasionally on some days the absorption didn’t work at all) but the pills were a godsend!
Gradually, maybe a year later, it seemed like the glycopyrrolate was becoming less and less reliable. The absorption seemed a bit hit-or-miss, and if I thought about it too much, I could induce some serious sweating in myself. IB exams at the end of grade 12 were a major sogfest! Haha. But on the whole, the pills were much more effective than anything else I had tried.
About a year and a half ago I noticed that taking a calcium pill with glycopyrrolate at bedtime works wonders. Something about the calcium seems to really increase the absorption (despite the fact I’ve read several people say that calcium kills the absorption of their oral antiperspirants, though I assume most of those accounts aren’t referring to calcium in the form of supplement pills). I hope I’m not burning a hole in my stomach or something but it’s a very potent combo for stopping that sweat! I’m so glad I stumbled across this method.
ABOUT ME (so you have a context for the amount of glyco I take)
Gender: female
Age: 20
Ethnicity: Chinese
Height: 5’4
Weight: 105 lbs
Condition: severe palmar/plantar/axillary hyperhidrosis (maybe~ 8/10 on the ‘severity scale’ of all people with hh)
THINGS I’VE TRIED
Drysol, Certain-Dri, Maxim, Odaban, Hydrosal gel, possibly other topical antiperspirants I don’t remember. Only reduced sweating by about 5-10% on average.
WHAT WORKED OKAY
Setting an alarm 3ish hours before getting up (so around 4AM), just to swallow 2.5-3mg of glycopyrrolate on an empty stomach, then fall back asleep. ~One year after first taking glycopyrrolate, absorption was successful, by my rough estimate, ~60% of the days I took it. Other ~40% of the days the sweating was usually lessened, but still substantial.
WHAT WORKS REALLY WELL
Taking 1.5-2mg of glycopyrrolate (yes, less mg than before) with a calcium tablet (250 mg but I don’t think it really matters) before I go to bed, and sleeping 5-8 hours. I usually haven’t eaten for ~1 hour before I go to bed out of habit, but I can remember times I’ve gone to bed with some food in my stomach and the absorption doesn’t seem to be affected. After taking this combo for 1.5 years, there is still successful absorption ~95% of the days I take the pills. (I still get a rough day here and there ~5% of the time, usually just on days I have anxiety before a final exam or something similar). I only take it ~5 days a week, when I’m in school, because I don’t want to overload my body.
SUPPLIER
I’ve only ever tried the Avert pills through pharmacy.ca I live in a city in western Canada and I usually receive my supply 4-5 working days after ordering it. They seem to be a reputable company, as I’ve never had issues and they have a physical pharmacy location in Ontario.
SIDE EFFECTS
Usually none. Maybe slight dry mouth and dry eyes (sometimes towards the end of a long day my contact lenses don’t feel like sticking, but eyedrops usually fix that)
CLOSING REMARKS
I really hope this helps some of you out there. I know that when I first started taking glycopyrrolate, I wished that I had more information from other people’s in-depth glycopyrrolate experience to go off of. If anyone has any further questions, feel free to ask. I’m just so grateful I’ve found glycopyrrolate because I feel so free not sweating all the time! I never thought I’d find something that works as well as those pills do. Quality of life has improved immensely.
It's really been a godsend but at the same time I've read of people not having much success with glyco so I don't want to proclaim it as some end-all miracle drug for hyperhidrosis. It's definitely worth a try though (and with calcium
). If anyone else decides to experiment with a similar method to what I've outlined above, I'd love to know the results.TL;DR: Try taking both glycopyrrolate and a calcium tablet before you go to bed.
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