My 2nd day taking glycopyrrolate (Robinul,Avert)

[HHMOM]

Ok so after suffering with moderate to severe HH my whole life, (I am a 28 year old mom of 2).I came upon a thread on glycopyrrolate a couple weeks ago. I have never been to the doctor for this and didn't really want the embarrassment, to deal with insurance companies etc etc.. I saw I could order it from Canada (pharmacy.ca to be exact). I ordered 50 2mg pills. They came in 2 days ago, and the pharmacy was very professional and gave me tracking updates. I decided the first day I would only take half to see my tolerance. So I took half and never noticed a difference. Took the other half a few hours later and still absolutely nothing. So today I just took a whole 2mg pill at once, and while I noticed a very very slight decrease in sweating it was nothing really noticeable. I was somewhat disappointed and decided to take another about 4 hours after my first dose. And WOW! Approximately 2 hours after my second pill I was not sweating AT ALL. Just fyi, I suffer from palmar,plantar, underam, HH. Even my ankles sweat! EW! I had to run errands during this time, and even kept the AC off in my car the whole way home just to test it out. ( I Live in Louisiana) NO SWEAT at all. Only kinda major side effect I am experiencing in severe sore throat, like burning so bad it is hard to talk. I picked up some honey losenges and they help a ton. But my hands are dry as a bone! I am even typing this in bare feet, and I NEVER go without my socks. Winter, summer, you name it I have socks on. The second I take them off my feet normally go into nervous cold sweat overdrive. I wore flip flops to get my daughter from school, and I was crying happy tears in the car. I have also NEVER been able to wear sandals or flip flops out of the house. not ever. My daughter even painted my toenails for me. I am so ecstatic, and really truly hope it stays this way, and does not lose it's effectiveness over time. I really feel this is going to change my life!! I will keep updating over the next week and let ya'll know how it goes. AMAZING!

 

[Sprawling]

Excellent! It's a wonderful feeling when we experience dryness. It's something that normal sweating people will never quite understand.

 

[HHMOM]

I Know! I have been terrified to look for a job, and my whole job search was based upon the least amount of human interaction possible. For the first time in my life I can decide my career based upon what I WANT to do. It is truly an amazing feeling.. 3rd day has been equally as great, went to the zoo today and had NO sweating. When it got a little warmer my hands kind of turned a little red, but were completely dry! After taking 2nd pill on second day, effects seemed to last until morning of the 3rd day. After about 20 minutes awake I noticed my feet starting to sweat again. Took 1 2mg pill at 8 am then another 4-5 hours later. I am sitting here typing in bare feet. I have NO idea why this drug is not more widely prescribed for HH. I have read alot of online sources that list oral meds as a sort of last resort before surgery. I for one do not completely and absolutely love having to take a pill everyday sure, but I would rather do this than iontopheresis or ridiculously expensive botox treatments for sure!!

 

[jryan]

Congrats HHMOM.
I am a researcher who studies glycopyrrolate. This drug has been used to treat excessive secretions since the 1960s. Please note that although the doses your are taking are somewhat large, the actual amount of the drug getting to your blood will be very small, likely less than 10 % of the administered dose. This is why your not seeing significant effects until after the second dose. The first dose can be considered a loading dose. This is due to the drug's poor absorbtion in the gut.
As you have mentioned in your post the effects last quite a while, and this is one of the reasons why glycopyrrolate was developed (it's synthetic), to increase the duration of action over is close analogues atropine and scopolamine.
With continued use or increase dosages you may experience gastrointestinal effects, such as constipation. If you experience any neurological effects (unlikely) you should consult yopur doctor.
Best
-J

 

[HHMOM]

Thanks for the info! I will make sure to watch out any issues. I was actually diagnosed with diverticulitis at age 25, and I heard this med can help with that also. I have decided to skip 1-2 days a week of taking it, so it will not lose effectiveness, and not have to up the dose as soon. I am now on day 2 of not taking any and am noticing a very drastic decrease in sweating, not completely dry, but not as bad as usual. In the brochure from pharmacy.ca, it states that you should not take more than 8 mg a day. Hopefully I will never have to take that much, and can stay at around 4. I have noticed NO side effects though when taking it, the first day I had a super sever sore throat, but after that have had none. I wear contacts and have had no eye drying. One thing I did notice though is when doing light excercise, (yoga), my heart did not beat fast, nor did I get tired at all. My husband was sweating and breathing heavy, but I did not feel any exertion at all. I kept sipping water as not to overheat, but I noticed that in general when taking this I just do not get nervous when I would before, or feel exerted when doing things like this.

 

[Amherst]

This is a question for jryan about glycopyrrolate and a first time post for me. I came down with hyperhidrosis overnight at the age of 41; over 16 months, it has rapidly progressed into a full-blown generalized hyperhidrosis. My doctors are now looking for a secondary cause, although primary generalized hyperhidrosis does run on one side of the family. I was prescribed glyco pretty early on, but it has had little to no effect. I can take up to 6 mg at one sitting, even on an empty stomach, and notice few or no changes. I don't even get the side effects almost everyone complains about - fatigue, dry mouth, etc.. The most I have noticed are slightly dryer nasal passages. I am on the generic form, but have received three separate shipments, making it a bit less likely that I received a bad batch. My question: in your research, have you encountered others who seem to be completely unresponsive? Any idea why this might be the case?

 

[HHMOM]

UPDATE

This is now my second week on glyco, and was laying in bed 2 nights ago when I noticed the all to familiar sweat creeping up feeling on my hands and feet!! I looked down and sure enough saw beads forming on my palms and the sides of my feet. I was devastated. I don't know what has happened with the effectiveness. I have been taking the same dosage around the same times everyday. (1 2mg pill 2X a day, morning and lunch-ish). I don't know if I need to up the dose or what is going on. Tonight I have taken a 3rd pill around dinner time, and will see if it helps any. I was hoping to not have to keep upping the dose. If this doesn't work I will be crushed. I was so excited to get a "normal" life. I have not been eating around the time of taking them as instructed and usually wait at LEAST an hour and a half to eat anything after I take it. I just don't know what to do. If anyone has any advice on the next step, it would be very much appreciated. I will also try to maybe only take them when I absolutely have to such as a social function, etc.. maybe that would make them more potent. I don't know.

 

[Mozart22]

Some people use Avert everyday but I would advise against it. I myself try to use it only when I know I'll be really sweaty and facing a lot of people. On days when I don't have a special social function or when I'm mostly staying home or in a car, I do not take it. Also, during the winter I take it less due to cooler weather.

A lot of medications lose effectiveness if you take them everyday, the body adapts to it.
But also, you have to know that this is a tricky medication. People react differently to things, but me personally, I need to take 4mg on a completely empty stomach and then eat nothing for 3 hours. So about 3 and a half hours of no food, then I take the pill, then wait another 3 hours before eating. If I don't do this, the benefit is noticeably reduced.

I'm gonna be honest with you: like most medications, this is just a bandaid, NOT a cure.
One user on here, named "MargieHope", takes Avert everyday and is fine with it. But I think most of us do not take it everyday and also we don't always have perfect results.
For me, Avert does not immediately offer a "normal life". I need to plan my eating accordingly, and it takes 3 hours to kick in anyway after taking the pill. What it CAN do is be a bandaid for when you really need it.

Most medication, whether it be Avert or antidepressants or anti anxiety meds, are bandaids, not cures. They offer temporary help, but by no means do they totally eliminate the problem. And of course, as great as Avert is for much needed situations, the careful planning of food consumption, the fact that you should not drink alcohol on days you took it, and the severe dry mouth and throat are things we have to put up with

I want to add one last thing: As bad as your palmar and plantar and underarm HH is, consider yourself lucky that you don't also have what I have:
craniofacial HH. Yes sweaty hands and feet suck, but having a sweaty face and forehead is the worst because it's very hard to conceal. For example if your hands are sweaty, only people who shake your hand while know it. If your feet are sweaty, well good socks and shoes can hide it.
But if your face and forhead are sweaty, then everyone in the room can clearly see it. You can hide feet in shoes and hide hands in your pockets but you can't hide your face

 

[margiehope]

Hi!
Mozart, I don't take Avert every day. In warm weather I take it automatically each AM, but in this cooler weather I don't. Not sure if it matters.
I have been taking the meds for some years. Have to say 2mg never did a thing for me. More likely I would take 2x2, 3x2 in hot weather.

But it is variable. Usually I have no side effects, but sometimes, and for no reason I can tell, I have dry mouth, sore throat, etc.

I couldn't (medically) go for 3 hours with no food after taking the meds, but absolutely wait at least an hour to eat. If I forget, and don't leave time before eating, I notice poor results.

So, HHMOM, I hope a slightly increased dose will help you. I've taken it for many years without loss of effectiveness.

Crazy ailment, variable med reaction--just have to try to deal.

 

[margiehope]

Hi!
Mozart, I don't take Avert every day. In warm weather I take it automatically each AM, but in this cooler weather I don't. Not sure if it matters.
I have been taking the meds for some years. Have to say 2mg never did a thing for me. More likely I would take 2x2, 3x2 in hot weather.

But it is variable. Usually I have no side effects, but sometimes, and for no reason I can tell, I have dry mouth, sore throat, etc.

I couldn't (medically) go for 3 hours with no food after taking the meds, but absolutely wait at least an hour to eat. If I forget, and don't leave time before eating, I notice poor results.

So, HHMOM, I hope a slightly increased dose will help you.

Crazy ailment, variable med reaction--just have to try to deal and go with the flow.

 

[Soy Sauce]

I used to take Avert on a daily basis, for several years, and I didn't notice much, if any, decrease in it's effectiveness. Be aware that how recently you ate and how much you ate directly effect the absorption of Avert and how long it takes before it kicks in. Therfore, there is no perfect dose that will work for you everytime. Just try and stick to a routine in terms of how long you wait after your last meal before taking Avert.

I no longer use glycopyrrolate because I couldn't stand the side effects. Just too annoying and there is no information available that I could find on the long-term effects of glycopyrrolate.

You can definitely take too much Avert so beware! I took too much once and it was a bad experience.

I DEFINITELY recommend trying Iontophoresis. I've been doing Iontophoresis treatments since 2008 and it's a miracle worker! It's definitely more trouble then popping a pill, but overall it's WAY better for you IMO. Do some research on it and consider it. I haven't had to take Avert in years! It takes some discipline and determintation, but if it works for you, it'll be well worth it. Trust me. Some people don't have success with Iontophoresis, but I think in alot of those cases, it's simply lack of persistence. Initially, it can take alot of hours of treatment before you see results. Good luck.