Just another day

[mattbarneswillkillu]

I would say take the 4mg before the classes. The HH obviously has a huge effect when you don't take it so what can you do? Don't let it stop you from going to classes. Are you concerned because you are doing physical activities later? I think you should be fine as long as you stay hydrated.

Well, my main concern is that i'm under using the medication. I get two good hours out of them while going to class, then I'm on the court (playing/coaching). There is no need for me to be dry there...once you break the initial robinul sweat stopping wall with too much perspiration the medication becomes completely ineffective anyways.

 

[Mozart22]

Derrick, I would take the Robinul if I were you. I would also try to work hard on containing your social phobia because it does seem like talking to people makes you nervous. I can understand getting all sweaty from giving a presentation or from having a bunch of hot girls talking to you, but you shouldn't start to sweat just from sitting in between two strangers in class or from having your friends have a conversation with you in person. Even if you arrive late to class most people are busy looking at the professor or texting on their phone, why would you sweat just from sitting there?

If I'm not taking the glyco, I will sweat just from walking to class. But I found an easy solution to that. Wear a baseball cap to soak up and hide forehead sweat, and go to the bathroom for 10 mins to cool off if you are sweaty then return to class. You are right tho, it definitely is a good idea
to arrive early to pick a good seat and be "at rest" before the class starts.

The Avert has been a godsend for me though. Remember how I said I'm taking a class this semester where you sit in a semi circle, facing
everyone? And the desks are so close together that you can't even go to the bathroom without asking the person next to you to move?
Well 4mg of Avert has helped me tremendously in that class. It keeps me bone dry through the class, even when I get nervous. It really
has made the class MUCH more bearable. Two years ago I took a class like that, with small desks and semicircles. It was really hard on me.
I ended up sweating a lot and everyone could see it since you're all facing each other. I had no choice but to just put myself through it.
I did end up skipping a lot tho. But now that I have 4mg of Avert, I don't need to skip a lot anymore. I can go there and no matter what
I remain bone dry I also take 40 mg of propranolol before that class to calm me down for when the professor calls on me.

 

[Mozart22]

10 mins before class I decided not to go (i live 5mins away from campus) because I knew if i walked in late (if your not 10mins early to get decent seating your "late") i'd have to sit between to strangers or on the steps of theater style seating for two hours.
I cannot hold a regular conversation with someone without sweating. AHHH! had to get that off my chest. it's frustrating

Actually I had a very similar situation this past week. It was a day where I had not taken any Avert (same as Robinul) and I had a 10 minute walk to class so I was all sweaty. I was sitting in the bathroom stall cooling off and I looked at the time and the class had just begun. I was mostly cooled off but still a bit sweaty from my walk. (even mild physical activity makes my face and forehead drip)

So there I was, class had just started, and I was mostly cooled off but still a bit sweaty. I decided to just go home and not go to class because I figured I would have to sit in the front of the class since I was a bit late and I didn't want the whole class to see me with sweat everywhere. I was just about ready to go home then I decided to just be strong and go to class, kinda as a test of the situation. I told myself I would force myself to go anyway and if it went really badly well then next time I'll know better.

So yeah I made myself go to that class, and with great relief I noticed one of the seats in the back row was empty, so I gladly sat there. It took about 10 minutes for me to cool off completely, then I was dry for the rest of the class. Sitting in the back row makes it harder for others to notice except for the ones sitting right next to you.


Actually, 2 weeks ago in that same class, I had a situation where I was not so lucky as to get an empty back row seat despite being late. It was a day when I was mostly on time but for some reason half the class had arrived early and the two back rows were already filled. I had to sit in the middle of the classroom, and I was sweaty from my walk. (I had sat in the bathroom to cool off for only 5 mins but it wasnt enough)

So there I was, 2 weeks ago, sitting in the middle of the classroom, with a sweaty face and sweat dripping down. I could tell some people were staring at me. I seriously considered just getting up and leaving, but I decided to be strong and just wait it out. I had gotten 5 mins of "cooling off" in the bathroom already so I knew that I just needed 5 or 10 more mins to cool off completely. So yeah I just waited it out and then I was dry for the rest of class. Those 5 mins seem very long when you're all sweaty, but it's not like I was giving a presentation or anything, most people were looking at the professor. Plus they would have noticed me even more if I just got up and left. It's better to be the guy who was really sweaty for 10 mins than to be the guy who got up in the middle of class, left, and didn't come back. You're gonna run into them the next class anyway.

I think when you suffer from social phobia or hyperhydrosis, or both, you have to resist the urge to walk out. There are times when you have a very good reason to walk out, yes. Sometimes it's just so bad and it's getting worse and worse. Or sometimes you know in advance that's it gonna be really bad so you just don't go. But in most situations, the best is to just go and be strong and wait it out. After about 10 mins most of the sweat would have been gone and you're going to cause more of a scene by walking out or skipping than by just staying calm and carrying on. There have been times when I'm giving a 10 minute presentation and by the 5th minute I just wanna walk out and say to hell with this. But I realize that if I'm in the 5th minute, I already completed half my presentation. Might as well just finish it off as best I can because walking out will just make more of a scene. Or even worse, the professor might make you redo it later on.

 

[SaintChains]

So there I was, 2 weeks ago, sitting in the middle of the classroom, with a sweaty face and sweat dripping down. I could tell some people were staring at me. I seriously considered just getting up and leaving, but I decided to be strong and just wait it out. I had gotten 5 mins of "cooling off" in the bathroom already so I knew that I just needed 5 or 10 more mins to cool off completely. So yeah I just waited it out and then I was dry for the rest of class. Those 5 mins seem very long when you're all sweaty, but it's not like I was giving a presentation or anything, most people were looking at the professor. Plus they would have noticed me even more if I just got up and left. It's better to be the guy who was really sweaty for 10 mins than to be the guy who got up in the middle of class, left, and didn't come back. You're gonna run into them the next class anyway.

I think when you suffer from social phobia or hyperhydrosis, or both, you have to resist the urge to walk out. There are times when you have a very good reason to walk out, yes. Sometimes it's just so bad and it's getting worse and worse. Or sometimes you know in advance that's it gonna be really bad so you just don't go. But in most situations, the best is to just go and be strong and wait it out. After about 10 mins most of the sweat would have been gone and you're going to cause more of a scene by walking out or skipping than by just staying calm and carrying on. There have been times when I'm giving a 10 minute presentation and by the 5th minute I just wanna walk out and say to hell with this. But I realize that if I'm in the 5th minute, I already completed half my presentation. Might as well just finish it off as best I can because walking out will just make more of a scene. Or even worse, the professor might make you redo it later on.

I love everything about this. Excellent work. We need to stop apologizing for our condition - hell, it needs to stop being a condition. You toughed it out and proved that you could do it. I have often wondered what it would be like to just openly talk about it with a group of strangers who clearly notice it. Would you be embarrassed? I don't think it would be any more embarrassing to talk openly about it than it would to sit there and suffer in silence. Plus, if the positions were switched, and you were one of the other, non-sweating people looking at a sweaty guy, wouldn't you just think, Hey, that guy's pretty sweaty..., and then go back to what you were thinking about before? I know I would, and do.

 

[Sprawling]

I actually find it quite liberating when I tell tell others of my WATERY existence.

 

[mattbarneswillkillu]

It' actually find it quite liberating when I tell tell others of my WATERY existence.

Yep, to those I have a firm relationship with (family, closest friends) it really does take the load off of my shoulders. Now freely telling everyone that encounters this habit of mine would be a large step for me. I guess it couldn't hurt, but then again I'm not seeking sympathy but rather just understanding. & when I tell strangers/acquaintances personal problems they want to step in and play hero, while family & friends tend more to just absorb and let you vent (more than a stranger would).

 

[mattbarneswillkillu]

-So last Friday I set up a booth in the middle of campus to promote our new basketball club and to register members. It was positioned in the busiest intersection on campus to attract people to sign up. I thought about taking Robinul before but I decided against it, just to sort of challenge myself after "strength of spirit". I sat out for 6 hours, and for the most part I was dry. The few times I began to leak, I didn't really acknowledge it (mentally) and It wasn't a big deal.

Actually, I haven't really used Avert/Robinul for the past two weeks. As good as the drug has been, I hate relying on it.
... I've been trying to change my perception of the whole HH thing, and on a whole I feel good knowing I can manage with or without the medication. I think the fact that knowing that I could and probably will sweat a little has been key in limiting any major episodes.
-I'm not going to use any medication for the rest of October.

 

[Sprawling]

Derrick, You have a great attitude! It doesn't matter if you fail or succeed. The key is to acknowledge that your central nervous system is not who you are. Sweat will happen and it's not totally in your control. What you do have control over is how you react. It sounds to me you are on good path. You're funny, smart and and you have wit.

It really does get a little easier when you can tell others about the sweating. I wish I was able to talk about it at your age. The cool thing is, I talk about it now. If you have to use Avert, use it. Sometimes it feels good to go on a "NO Sweat" holiday, even if it is for a day, a few hours or for ever how long you need it.

 

[hyp-hi]

That's great if you can control the mental part of it and get by without the medication. I have been doing pretty well lately except last week when I got put into an unexpected situation where I was kind of the center of attention for a group of people, not to mention, the room was hot. I was dripping big time, but luckily my clothes concealed it. Still it was so uncomfortable and made it almost impossible to concentrate on anything else. I might have to go back to taking glyco.

I think it is good to keep in mind that most people do sweat, even in situations where they are not working out. Even famous people who make their living going up on stages in front of millions of people sweat and they don't let it bother them. If they can do it we can do it too right?

 

[SaintChains]

-So last Friday I set up a booth in the middle of campus to promote our new basketball club and to register members. It was positioned in the busiest intersection on campus to attract people to sign up. I thought about taking Robinul before but I decided against it, just to sort of challenge myself after "strength of spirit". I sat out for 6 hours, and for the most part I was dry. The few times I began to leak, I didn't really acknowledge it (mentally) and It wasn't a big deal.

Actually, I haven't really used Avert/Robinul for the past two weeks. As good as the drug has been, I hate relying on it.
... I've been trying to change my perception of the whole HH thing, and on a whole I feel good knowing I can manage with or without the medication. I think the fact that knowing that I could and probably will sweat a little has been key in limiting any major episodes.
-I'm not going to use any medication for the rest of October.

It's this attitude that makes you such an important voice on this forum, and I applaud you. Strength of spirit can make a huge difference, but like strength of muscle, and strength of mind, it must be conditioned and trained and built up over time. The mind is associative. We are so used to fearing and hating sweat that we are miserable when it comes. Adopt that nonchalant attitude and I am confident it will work wonders. Act as if it is true, William James once said (I paraphrase), and it will come to be so.

 

[mattbarneswillkillu]

So for the past few weeks i've been Avert/Robinul free in hopes of dealing with HH internally. I've been relatively dry, but today I finally had that semi-major episode that i'd been thinking about. And I think it appeared because I had been "thinking" about it.

So this morning I ran into a girl who played basketball for the school's team. I didn't really know her, but I remember having to guard her in a pick-up game some time ago. I had no intentions of stopping to chat, but she initiated dialogue by asking me if I was starting a club basketball team. Anyways, we get to talking and I can hear a voice (things that i've said to myself before) in my head spouting out things while i'm trying to talk to her... After typical episodes I usually say stuff like "I'm not a people person" or "I'm not social" or even "I can't talk". Those phrases were clouding my thoughts while I was trying to hold an everyday conversation. I believe this is why I have episodes or why the almost unnoticeable sweat gets to an episode. My speech was a bit choppy because I was hearing negative things while trying to talk, but I managed to come away from that convo virtually dry. When we walked our separate ways I started to sweat a bit more because I told myself aloud that I wasn't a people person. This is where I caught myself.

I actually didn't sweat much at all while talking to this girl so I knew it wasn't a gender difference triggering the sweat. It's what goes on inside my head and how I deal with things mentally. The next time you guys/gals are in a scenario where you have perspired before, try to manage or at least notice what you are saying to yourselves. If your thoughts/voices turn negative or defensive it is only fitting that you'll sweat. I'm probably saying the same thing in so many different words than in previous posts but it's becoming clearer and a lot more evident to me that I need to work really hard on building myself up in what I feel are leaky situations. I really think that this is why we sweat.

my episode came later in the day, I feel that this post is too long already so in-short, I started sweating uncontrollably because my mind/thoughts got away from me while I was going from dorm to dorm promoting club basketball. Luckily I was with a friend who really didn't care or draw attention to it. I did my best to be confident/upbeat and he didn't question me or have any remarks.

 

[Mozart22]

In response to the post above, for me being nervous does trigger my sweating but so does any sort of physical activity or warm temperatures. I could be totally relaxed and alone, but if it's warm or if I've been moving around, I'm gonna leak sweat.

 

[Sprawling]

I wish I had the power to control my sweating thoughts. I've tried for decades, yet failed. I don't have facial sweat, full body sweat in the warm months, and very drippy hands and feet. The equivalent, for gyco for me is ionto. When ionto does it's job, my hands are under control, I'm still me, my thoughts are still my thoughts. The only difference is that my sweat is under control.

It's also kind of like Hypertension. One doesn't expect to regulate ones blood pressure by thoughts alone unless you are highly skilled and can tap into that part of your nervous system. I take blood pressure meds, for sweating ionto. In your case you might need glyco. The point being sometimes people need help. Severely depressed people might need medication, people with diabetes might need insulin, severe sweating might need....

As I posted before, power to you if you have the ability to control facial sweating, blushing or whatever problem might be hindering our lives. For the rest us there's Mastercard.

 

[mattbarneswillkillu]

As I posted before, power to you if you have the ability to control facial sweating, blushing or whatever problem might be hindering our lives. For the rest us there's Mastercard.

Haha, I wish I could. I think it's a work in progress though. Some days (like today) I focused on being positive. Not overly positive, just by saying to myself "I Can..." do this or that, and I at least felt better. Help is surely needed at times, but for me, I started to rely on help (avert/robinul) a little too much. When I wasn't on it I felt that I needed to be in order to function. I didn't take any today and I felt pretty good socially.