Just another day

[hyp-hi]

And the worse thing is that it makes every class afterwards awkward and maybe not towards others but it's always in the back or front of your mind. Its almost like just the site of a place, or the same grouping of people where you had a previous episode makes you uneasy. well at least for me it does. does any1 else get that?

I totally agree. HH is very situational. Once you have had a bad experience with it in a certain place or during a certain situation, whenever you go there again, it's like you body says, "Hey remember this place where you were sweating a lot last time? Guess what? Were going to do the same thing again."

 

[mattbarneswillkillu]

"Hey remember this place where you were sweating a lot last time? Guess what? Were going to do the same thing again."

LOL! I hear that voice far too often.

 

[SweatParty]

I totally agree. HH is very situational. Once you have had a bad experience with it in a certain place or during a certain situation, whenever you go there again, it's like you body says, "Hey remember this place where you were sweating a lot last time? Guess what? Were going to do the same thing again."

That is a funny way to put it, but so true.

I take glyco to help with HH, which does help a lot, but in some situations, it seems there is no match for your own mind. I wonder if some anti-anxiety drug could actually help in such situations (although I don't really want to become dependent on something like that...)

 

[Simon]

This is my first post but I have been viewing the forum for a while now and thought I would try and express myself and tell my never ending story. It is a long post but when I read other peoples stories there are always so many questions I have about the detail.

I have not told anyone about it ever and I am not sure if people know but no one has ever brought it up and I think I hide it well. My Dad I think suffers from this but I have never wanted to discuss this with him, as I wouldn’t want to talk about it, as it is embarrassing. He wears a vest and sweats on his body a little but mostly on his face but I never see any underarm sweating even in 35c.

I would say my HH is an 8 out of 10 but it is all relative as I just about cope with it but it is no real life. I try to do everything I would normally do but it has held me back in many things and does get me down. I have suffered from HH for 14 years since I was 16. I have HH of underarms(8), face(6), the back(7), and torso(7) and sometimes behind the knees(5). I sweat out of every part of my body when I exercise say more than 30 mins but this is not a problem. The problem areas are underarms, back and front and face.

I’ll give a typical week. The night before I’ll spray 2 squirts of an antiperspirant containing Aluminium Chloride under my arms, back, front and forehead. In the morning I’ll wake up not sweating and have a shave and shower dry myself off lie on my bed for 15 mins trying to relax and prepare for the day ahead and plan what meetings I have or if I need to go anywhere. I’ll then spray normal anti persperent under my arms and on my back and front. (Don’t think this does anything). I’ll bring a spare identical shirt and t-shirt and leave it in the car (I think this is for me to always have a back up t-shirt and shirt in case things get too much). I’ll get dressed in trousers and put a white short sleeve t-shirt on and then a white shirt and tie.

I work in an office in recruitment, which is not air-conditioned and can get hot in the summer and is hot in the winter when people are ‘cold’ and want the heating on. Other people often complain that it is too hot in summer but still don’t sweat (that annoys me). I try to park as close to the office so I don’t have to walk too far. I get into work and sit at my desk; if I’ve had a 7 min walk from the car then my sweating will have started. I hate the early morning questions about night/weekend before, so I’m short and sweet with my answers. I stay at my desk and try not to move anywhere as this makes it worse and get on with my day. I will be sweating slightly under my arms and back but not notice it as my t-shirt absorbs the sweat so it is not a problem. There are some occasions in the summer that facial sweating was a problem when I was on the phone. I also smoke as this gets me outside to cool down (I know that this could be a contributing factor in sweating but I am not sure it is).

If I have to interview anybody or have meetings with other people it gets worse. I don’t think I like people looking at me or giving me attention for too long (nerves). Usually it is not noticeable, as it doesn’t show through my shirt, my facial sweating is not severe (again you get used to coping techniques). At the end of the day if I keep myself busy and try not to think about too much I will be ok but my t-shirt will be wet. Sometimes I will not have sweated much at all but I still need the t-shirt for back up. I don’t think I would be able to have 2 or 3 change of shirts as if I sweat then I sweat a lot and it would show straight through and I wouldn’t have time to change shirts before someone notices. I don’t drink any hot drinks ever as this makes it worse but instead just drink water all day, no spicy food either.

When I get home from work I get out of my work clothes and if I am still sweating then lie on my bed to cool down. After about 30 mins then I usually feel better. I will put on a t-shirt and for the rest of the evening if I am not doing anything but relaxing/watching T.V/surfing the net or listening to music I will not sweat (Why is this?). Usual temp is 20c. I do play tennis or go to gym some evenings. If I go out with a friend for dinner or go to the pub I will again start to sweat. I’ll always have to put a t-shirt under either my shirt or jumper.

Friday is casual day, which I like as I can usually get away with a light jumper and is more enjoyable day, as I don’t think about it all day. I sometimes go out as well in the evening on Friday or Saturday to the pub but I will still sweat. There are times that later in the evening (maybe the more drunk I get) I will stop sweating.

I don’t know if I will ever get rid of it before it is too late. I started to read into it 7 years ago but there wasn’t half of information out there as today. At the time I could only see surgery available (so I think things have progressed). So I thought I would just have to deal with it. Now there does seem to be other potential solutions, which I will have to try. I have been to see my GP and he suggested that I try one of the antiperspirants containing Aluminium Chloride. This was 2 years ago but it didn’t work and was just irritating my underarms and I knew I would still have to wear a t-shirt anyway for the rest of my body. I am using a different brand now but it has not done much difference. I have just purchased some sage leaf tablets, which I will try as well as doing this routine. If this does not work then I will try some of the other oral medicines such as Robinul tablets and may even go for Botox underarms but it is expensive and I don’t think it will help the other parts.

I find it very frustrating and annoying that as I sit writing this post I feel fine and not sweating but realise that as soon as I were to go and do something it would all change. I walked (10 mins) into town yesterday (17c) in just a t-shirt and went to a shop to look around and I could feel myself starting to sweat after another 30 mins looking around in other shops I had a wet patched under my arms and wet mark the size of a remote control on my back. I decided to go back as I knew it would develop. I want to be more social and go out more but feel this is holding me back.

Any questions feel free to ask or any feedback welcome.

 

[Mozart22]

Hi Simon, it's true that the sweating is often provoked by physical activity. For me too, if I'm sitting down and not doing anything physical I won't sweat much. But if I have to walk around or go up several flights of stairs or do something physical, then yes I will sweat profusely. For a lot of people who suffer from hyperhydrosis, physical activity and increased breathing and heart rate will trigger their sweating.

 

[mattbarneswillkillu]

I have just purchased some sage leaf tablets, which I will try as well as doing this routine. If this does not work then I will try some of the other oral medicines such as Robinul tablets and may even go for Botox underarms but it is expensive and I don’t think it will help the other parts.

Hey Simon, I tried sage leaf tea and sage extract and they didn't work at all. I got the placebo effect by saying to myself "I'm on sage so i'm safe". But nope!.. I had a speech so I drank two cups of the tea before it and for the first minute of my long presentation I felt great. Then the fake feeling went away and I was trying to hide the easily visible streams of water spewing from my head for at least 5 more minutes in front of bunch of hot blondes (event planning class). I threw the rest of the tea away when I got home and that was that.

I hope the tablets are more effective, but if not, 4mgs of Robinul tablets has worked for me.

 

[Mozart22]

I had a speech so I drank two cups of the tea before it and for the first minute of my long presentation I felt great. Then the fake feeling went away and I was trying to hide the easily visible streams of water spewing from my head for at least 5 more minutes in front of bunch of hot blondes (event planning class). I threw the rest of the tea away when I got home and that was that.

Giving a presentation really sucks when you have facial HH. You're already nervous from presenting to a group of people and on top of that you have to
keep fighting back the sweat dripping down for all to see. And you just know that the audience is thinking less about what you're presenting and more about "why is this guy sweating so much?"

I tried 4mg of Robinul and for me personally it only helped marginally, there was no significant effect. It maybe reduced the sweating 20 percent which isn't that great. Also the Robinul seems to make me very sleepy which is a big problem because then I can't get my work done and it's always dangerous to drive when you're sleepy.

 

[Simon]

Hey,

Thanks for replying. This is all very new to me being able to talk about it.

There are many different scenarios for me as well that trigger it. Some worse than others. The temperature makes it worse in any situation. Even when i'm not doing anything physical in the winter like sitting in a restaurant with a group of friends is hard. Driving a car makes my back sweat (think thats because it has no air to breathe).

I'll give the sage 3 weeks to see if that works. It doesn't do any harm. Just the first burp in the morning I can taste the sage. Not very pleasant. I'll have to buy some chewing gum. It has not worked for me so far the last 2 days.

Matt - How long did you take the sage for before the presentation? What happens if you don't take the Robinul tablets for say 1, 2 or 3 days. Can you just take them for the day you really don't want to sweat. I dont fancy having all the side effects constantly every day.

I think most people hate doing presentations, and realise you are nervous, some times people dont even look at you and I tend to deflect to the screen and stand well back. I've done some presentations but some of them were with someone else. So I had the chance to wipe away the sweat when the other person was talking. 1 of them I had to do as part of my job interview infront of the Director (but I stil got the job).

 

[mattbarneswillkillu]

Hey,

Matt - How long did you take the sage for before the presentation? What happens if you don't take the Robinul tablets for say 1, 2 or 3 days. Can you just take them for the day you really don't want to sweat. I dont fancy having all the side effects constantly every day.
.

I took the sage for at least a few weeks before the presentation...But yea Robinul is a lot better because it actually works. Everyone's dosage/pill poppin routine is different but I take 4mg's and i'm dry for most of the day. DRY. It's kinda expensive, so I doubt you'll take them everyday anyways. I only take them when I know i'll be in heavy social situations, however most times that I don't take robinul it backfires and I vent by posts on here.

 

[Mozart22]

I think most people hate doing presentations, and realise you are nervous, some times people dont even look at you and I tend to deflect to the screen and stand well back. I've done some presentations but some of them were with someone else. So I had the chance to wipe away the sweat when the other person was talking. 1 of them I had to do as part of my job interview infront of the Director (but I stil got the job).

You don't always have the option of giving a presentation in front of a screen. Sometimes you are not allowed to use PowerPoint or the technology is not present in the room.

About wiping off the sweating, people with facial hyperhidrosis know that if you're sweating heavily and wipe off your face, it will come right back within seconds. You can keep wiping and it will just keep coming right back. The only thing that will make it stop is to sit down and cool off for at least 10 minutes.

 

[mattbarneswillkillu]

So I guess today was typical I guess. Another beautiful 79 degree day out here in sunny California. Anyways, I applied Neat Feat Face Saver earlier this morning before going to church. I felt somewhat dry, but I didn't and wasn't going to push my luck by talking or making eye prolonged eye contact with anyone. I got out of there dry, then off to brunch with the fam. I had a nice "California Burger" with fries and a guava-orange drink. BTW do they serve "California burgers in other states?" Well I felt fine at the restaurant so then it was it off to the store. Haven't been wet all day so i'm feeling real good at this point. I load up on cereal (70% of school diet), then browse around a bit more before checking out. All I want to do is checkout peacefully with a half-hearted smile and a "thanks" after my groceries are bagged and then go on about my day. Instead, the cashier wants to make conversation of which I was not expecting. She says she saw me in the store yesterday and that she wanted me to get a club savings card. I said no thanks, and in my head it was like the movies where you see the clouds roll in and the thunder sounds before the downpour. Well she proceeds to try and convince me to sign up saying "Wow you must really like this cereal, 32 dollars worth...I bought some for my husband yesterday but I haven't tried this kind yet, is it any good?" I was about to flip out, and say sumthing like...No it's gross, I just like to buy what I don't enjoy eating in large quantities...I managed to smile and say it's delicious, and then she asks me again to sign up. I have beads rolling down my head now, fortunately there isn't anyone else in line, so as she is scanning my cereal i'm trying to sneak a few quick forehead wipes in before she or anyone else notices how much i'm leaking. She is telling me the benefits as she is still scanning. Finally she looks up at my eyes, then glances at my forehead. Her eyes get large and says "Oh! Hey, no pressure". She quickly gives me my receipt without making eye contact again and I'm headed out of the store. As I'm going towards the exit, this woman is entering and does the double take. See's me from afar, looks away, then quickly looks up again noticing that I am on the verge of flooding the supermarket. I exhale leaving the store then back to my car.

 

[kilojoule]

what kinda of cereal was it? hehe sorry I get caught up in details...I do like cereal though and I've only just discovered it now, my whole life I have been saying no thanks I don't eat cereal... I thought I hated it because I didn't like it as a kid...turns out I just don't like cornflakes and really there's a lot of choices nowadays ....sorry completely off topic here hahaha.

What I meant to say was I think you handled the situation very well, kudos to you.

 

[mattbarneswillkillu]

Thanks Jewel, and the cereal is (Honey Bunches of Oats - with real Apples and Cinnamon Bunches) - limited edition-

I've had my fair share of cereals in my day, but this is but far the best! Sweet&healthy at the same time.

 

[mattbarneswillkillu]

Same sweat different day...It's Labor Day and I'm taking my mom out for lunch at her favorite restaurant "Little Mad Fish", a swank oriental restaurant. I'm not a fan of authentic Chinese but I've never been to this place and I love trying new things (when I say things I mean foods). So my mom and I are glancing at the menu while we're waiting to be seated and the waitress comes from the back to seat us. My eyes are still fixed on the menu when she approaches and a soft voice offers to take us to our seats. I look up and this girl was a keeper. I'm not talking about the normal good looking hostess, no, honestly she was a 10. So my inside voice gets to talking..."hey! be cool, funny if possible, be yourself, but whatever you do don't sweat!" She gave us the menu and she told us the specials asked what we would have to drink. I always get water, but I was glancing at the menu to make it appear like I was still deciding so I wouldn't have to stare into space awkwardly. My mom (natural chatter box), sparks up a small friendly convo with her and they have a nice laugh. She sitting right across from me but I didn't even catch what she said because I'm too busy trying to hold myself together. The waitress then looks at me and I give a courtesy smile, not knowing what was so funny. That's when the levees broke. I quickly say "water" hoping she'd leave without engaging in further small talk and by the hurried tone of my voice she got the picture and left to retrieve our drinks. My mom is no longer looking at my eyes, she is gazing at my forehead. She's aware of my HH, but she didn't say anything, not wanting to draw anymore attention to me. I really wanted to talk and say all the things I know i'm capable of saying but the perspiration that formed on my dome just sends the wrong message to myself (and probably others), saying well maybe you should just be quick and concise until you can buy some time to dry/ wipe yourself off... ugh this happens too much. feels good 2 vent here though. anyways the rest of my time there was decent, food wasn't bad either.

p.s. does anyone use Odaban? I searched the forum and didn't find much

 

[averagejoe]

Same sweat different day...It's Labor Day and I'm taking my mom out for lunch at her favorite restaurant "Little Mad Fish", a swank oriental restaurant. I'm not a fan of authentic Chinese but I've never been to this place and I love trying new things (when I say things I mean foods). So my mom and I are glancing at the menu while we're waiting to be seated and the waitress comes from the back to seat us. My eyes are still fixed on the menu when she approaches and a soft voice offers to take us to our seats. I look up and this girl was a keeper. I'm not talking about the normal good looking hostess, no, honestly she was a 10. So my inside voice gets to talking..."hey! be cool, funny if possible, be yourself, but whatever you do don't sweat!" She gave us the menu and she told us the specials asked what we would have to drink. I always get water, but I was glancing at the menu to make it appear like I was still deciding so I wouldn't have to stare into space awkwardly. My mom (natural chatter box), sparks up a small friendly convo with her and they have a nice laugh. She sitting right across from me but I didn't even catch what she said because I'm too busy trying to hold myself together. The waitress then looks at me and I give a courtesy smile, not knowing what was so funny. That's when the levees broke. I quickly say "water" hoping she'd leave without engaging in further small talk and by the hurried tone of my voice she got the picture and left to retrieve our drinks. My mom is no longer looking at my eyes, she is gazing at my forehead. She's aware of my HH, but she didn't say anything, not wanting to draw anymore attention to me. I really wanted to talk and say all the things I know i'm capable of saying but the perspiration that formed on my dome just sends the wrong message to myself (and probably others), saying well maybe you should just be quick and concise until you can buy some time to dry/ wipe yourself off... ugh this happens too much. feels good 2 vent here though. anyways the rest of my time there was decent, food wasn't bad either.

p.s. does anyone use Odaban? I searched the forum and didn't find much

It must be tough to be in your shoes. I too have missed many opportunities because of hyperhidrosis. Chances to make friends, and chances to be in relationships. All of it crushed and blown into the wind because of hyperhidrosis. What doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger right? Apparently, the person who made this quote hasn't been in our shoes because I feel weaker and weaker every time I have an episode. If it weren't for my parents and my brother, I would've given up on life a long time ago. Well I guess the only viable solution is to just keep on living and hope for the best. Here's to a hopeful future!

 

[Mozart22]

So I guess today was typical I guess. Another beautiful 79 degree day out here in sunny California. Anyways, I applied Neat Feat Face Saver earlier this morning before going to church. I felt somewhat dry, but I didn't and wasn't going to push my luck by talking or making eye prolonged eye contact with anyone. I got out of there dry, then off to brunch with the fam. I had a nice "California Burger" with fries and a guava-orange drink. BTW do they serve "California burgers in other states?" Well I felt fine at the restaurant so then it was it off to the store. Haven't been wet all day so i'm feeling real good at this point. I load up on cereal (70% of school diet), then browse around a bit more before checking out. All I want to do is checkout peacefully with a half-hearted smile and a "thanks" after my groceries are bagged and then go on about my day. Instead, the cashier wants to make conversation of which I was not expecting. She says she saw me in the store yesterday and that she wanted me to get a club savings card. I said no thanks, and in my head it was like the movies where you see the clouds roll in and the thunder sounds before the downpour. Well she proceeds to try and convince me to sign up saying "Wow you must really like this cereal, 32 dollars worth...I bought some for my husband yesterday but I haven't tried this kind yet, is it any good?" I was about to flip out, and say sumthing like...No it's gross, I just like to buy what I don't enjoy eating in large quantities...I managed to smile and say it's delicious, and then she asks me again to sign up. I have beads rolling down my head now, fortunately there isn't anyone else in line, so as she is scanning my cereal i'm trying to sneak a few quick forehead wipes in before she or anyone else notices how much i'm leaking. She is telling me the benefits as she is still scanning. Finally she looks up at my eyes, then glances at my forehead. Her eyes get large and says "Oh! Hey, no pressure". She quickly gives me my receipt without making eye contact again and I'm headed out of the store. As I'm going towards the exit, this woman is entering and does the double take. See's me from afar, looks away, then quickly looks up again noticing that I am on the verge of flooding the supermarket. I exhale leaving the store then back to my car.

Hey man I can totally relate. My most recent post on here is about me shopping in a supermarket too. There have been times when I considered
signing up for one of those programs where you order your groceries online, drive to the supermarket, and they just hand them to you pre-bagged. Some places will even offer home delivery of groceries for a fee.

If things got really bad I would sign up for one of those programs but I prefer not to because I want to at least live a normal life as best as I can despite the sweating. I don't want to have to rely on home delivery or pickup when I get my groceries. But it is an option nonetheless.

Why don't you take Robinul more often? I don't take it often either because I feel that if I take it too much it will lose its effect. It's also pricey, but the main reason is not wanting it to lose its effect from taking it too often.

By the way Derrick, did you ever take antidepressants? I wrote in my recent post that my HH started right around the time I started taking Paxil. Since then I no longer take any antidepressants but alas the sweating persists. Excessive sweating is a side effect of some prescription meds. Of course there are many people who take no meds but still suffer from HH.

 

[mattbarneswillkillu]

Why don't you take Robinul more often? I don't take it often either because I feel that if I take it too much it will lose its effect. It's also pricey, but the main reason is not wanting it to lose its effect from taking it too often.

By the way Derrick, did you ever take antidepressants? I wrote in my recent post that my HH started right around the time I started taking Paxil. Since then I no longer take any antidepressants but alas the sweating persists. Excessive sweating is a side effect of some prescription meds. Of course there are many people who take no meds but still suffer from HH.

Yea If i could, I'd take Robinul everyday, I just can't afford to YET. I'm also afraid of it losing it's effect, but that's probly me rationalizing not taking it everyday for financial reasons.

And I saw my school doctor (not the brightest) last year for a cheaper alternative to Robinul. She gave me a generic Drysol roll on application and it did nothing. I was pissed that it didn't work and on my follow up she thought that Zoloft, an antidepressant, might work. I was against it because although sweating sucks I didn't feel depressed, but I took it because she said she successfully treated a former sweating patient with it. I took the first dose in her office. I got home did some research and found that some people have completely flipped out on that stuff so I discontinued use immediately and never went back to that lady. It's scary because about a month later I saw THE COMMERCIAL...

"If you or a loved one have had suicidal thoughts, have died, or have suffered abnormally strange behaviors while on Zoloft you may be entitled to large financial compensation"
I patted myself on the back for using my better judgement and I was thinking about making up a story of suicidal thoughts/attempts to get paid, but I didn't care to take it there.

And the delivery thing, I see old ladies using that service haha. I'm not ready to lump myself in that helpless category just yet.

 

[Mozart22]

Yea If i could, I'd take Robinul everyday, I just can't afford to YET. I'm also afraid of it losing it's effect, but that's probly me rationalizing not taking it everyday for financial reasons.

And I saw my school doctor (not the brightest) last year for a cheaper alternative to Robinul. She gave me a generic Drysol roll on application and it did nothing. I was pissed that it didn't work and on my follow up she thought that Zoloft, an antidepressant, might work. I was against it because although sweating sucks I didn't feel depressed, but I took it because she said she successfully treated a former sweating patient with it. I took the first dose in her office. I got home did some research and found that some people have completely flipped out on that stuff so I discontinued use immediately and never went back to that lady. suicidal thoughts/attempts to get paid, but I didn't care to take it there.

And the delivery thing, I see old ladies using that service haha. I'm not ready to lump myself in that helpless category just yet.

Getting Robinul from pharmacy.ca is actually cheaper than buying it in the US, unless you have good health insurance in the US. Plus with pharmacy.ca I don't need to get a prescription.

Yeah stay away from antidepressants. They come with a lot of side effects and once you take them it's very, very hard to get off them without being in a lot of pain.

About the delivery thing, I agree. That's my reason too. It would save me from being all sweaty at the checkout counter but I don't want to get to the point where I feel helpless. I feel it does me some good to force myself to go shopping the regular way, even if all the walking and pushing a heavy cart makes me very sweaty by the time I checkout. I guess I kinda feel the same way about school too. Nowadays you can take a lot of online classes and I think that's great, but I also think it's important to force yourself to attend at least some regular classes, even if you're gonna sweat like crazy. If we hate sweating so much that we hide from the world it will just make us feel even more helpless. You can actually get a lot of confidence by saying to yourself "yeah man that's right, I know you're staring at me cause I'm filled with sweat, but I come here anyway and I'm going to keep doing it. It won't stop me"

 

[mattbarneswillkillu]

"yeah man that's right, I know you're staring at me cause I'm filled with sweat, but I come here anyway and I'm going to keep doing it. It won't stop me"

Quote of the week.

But yea, I can get 45 tablets for about 25$ on my dads insurance. I guess that's a little better than pharmacy.ca but i'm as frugal as they come...I'm really saving them for school though, because with new roomates (4 girls) i'm thinking i'll need to pop tablets everyday.

 

[Mozart22]

Quote of the week.

But yea, I can get 45 tablets for about 25$ on my dads insurance. I guess that's a little better than pharmacy.ca but i'm as frugal as they come...I'm really saving them for school though, because with new roomates (4 girls) i'm thinking i'll need to pop tablets everyday.

You're sharing a house with 4 girls? One dude and 4 girls? How did that come about?