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Medication Does Work! www.askapatient.com

Posted: Sat Apr 06, 2013 7:18 pm
by KeithUK
Hi everybody.
Just a quick note on joining.
Like many of you fellow sufferers I have have spent many years researching HH, as referred to on some forums. You see that people pop in and out of forum questions over the years without much continuity and we pick up bits of info.

Great site is the International Hyperhidrosis SocIety in the USA www.sweathelp.org.
I am in the UK and we have a site www.hyperhidrosisuk.org.

I have been prescribed pro-banthine for seven years, which is very effective, but with the good old side effects. I tried Robibnul first, but probably didn't give it a fair trial. The difficulty is when we first take these drugs, the doctors don't know how much to prescribe. The secret is that everyone is different. Also, the tablets work much better on an empty stomach and taken a couple of hours before breakfast. I take 1, 15mg then a second 30 mins later.

Doctors lack of knowledge means you will have to push them to prescribe. In the UK, he can prescribe pro-banthine but will have to refer you to a dermatologist to prescribe Glycopyrrolate (Robinul) because it is not licensed in the UK.

I had found a site called www.askapatient.com which is where you can record your comments on any drug you take. It was relatively new in 2007, when I recorded how life changing the pro-banthine had been for me. Hyperhidrosis info was so spread about I hoped it would come up when people googled etc. It had a few comments recorded for Robinul.

PLEASE GO TO THE SITE WWW.ASKAPATIENT.COM NOW AND SEE 109 LIFE CHANGING STORIES. JUST TYPE IN ROBINUL OR USE THE A-Z. PRO-BANTHINE (Propanthelene), DITROPAN +OXYTROL (OXYBUTYNIN) ARE ALSO THERE.(ALL ANTICHOLINERGICS)

There have been so many, it looks like those from the site set up in 2003 to 2009 have been deleted!

Hyperhidrosis looks like a physical fault in the brain or chemical/hormone neurotransmitter imbalance and affects us to different degrees. I don't think there is a cure. But the side effects of the medication can be worth getting your life back.

I am a 57 year old male, still looking for a better balance with medication. I am about to see my Dermatologist, it may take a few months to get an appointment, to try the Robinul again and maybe Tranexene as mentioned on this site. I am sure it is a matter of time, trial and error by us sufferers, sharing information, and somehow bringing all this forum info and worldwide info together.

It takes us years to even realise what the problem is, then ages to get a doctor to listen to us, and then persuade them to consider giving us drugs not officially tested for HH. The drugs need to interrupt the signals making us sweat. Whether that is caused by reacting to physical exertion, little or small, or mental reaction to stress or social meetings.


Hope it's of some use.

Keith

Re: Medication Does Work! www.askapatient.com

Posted: Fri Jun 28, 2013 10:46 am
by Marcianna
I am not even certain how I found this forum but thank the universe that I did. I am a 60 year old female who for over 9 years have been suffering from sweating like nothing anyone has ever seen. This sweating starts at my head, normally around my hair line and then works its way up to the crown to where my head is totally covered and literally dripping down strands of hair causing my blouse to become soaked. My collars are always wet from the sweating and, aside from my head and face, my back, front, legs to my knees and back side are always wet as is the skin on my arms and tops of my hands. Where I never sweat is the palms of my hands, sole of my feet or even my arm pits.

There is not a trigger that causes the sweating. It seems to be caused by just living. In 9 years I have lost friends because I would make plans to have dinner and then could not keep dry enough to get dressed or even be able to fix my hair. Once the sweating starts, I try to calm down and all that does is increase the sweating. I try to dry off, dry my hair, but you cannot dry something that is on like a watering hose. It reached the point where I was no longer invited out by friends because I would always have to beg off. If I did go out, I would begin sweating in the car and by the time I got to my destination, I was a mess, sweating mess from head to waist. My hair would be stuck to my head and dripping down the front of me. There were days I actually felt suicidal, though I KNOW I would never commit suicide. My life was so altered by this condition.

I would begin to vacuum my living room and after about 4 strokes on the carpet, the sweating begins and it comes on strong. Within 5 minutes, it exhausts me. The sweating leaves me drained and I have to immediately sit and calm down. I have become inactive during these years and as a result I have gained quite a bit of weight, minimally 10 pounds a year and this has gone on for 9 years.

I had a meeting that was very important and by the time I arrived, I was dripping wet and the front of my peach colored shirt was soaked through as well. I was so humiliated I pretended that I was actually sick and on medication that was causing a very bad reaction. I went through a box of tissues wiping myself during this meeting. I never stopped dripping. It was embarrassing and humiliating.

I often mentioned this to my family doctor who just would look at me and shake his head. After about 9 years, I went to an Endocrinologist and she thought perhaps it had something to do with my being Insulin Resistant and I was put on Metformin, but still, no change.

Somehow I found this forum. Why it took me so long, I do not know but it mentioned this condition being called Hyperhidrosis and in order to have it checked, I would have to go to a Dermatologist. I never thought of a Dermatologist for this condition but I was willing to try anything. This forum also mentioned Robinul.

I made an appointment with a Dermatologist and was there for over 2 full hours. I was told they had not seen a situation quite like mine but after all the questions and looking up symptoms, I was prescribed Robinul, 1 mg twice a day. OMG!!!! I took the first pill the moment I got home from the appointment, 4:00 PM. I then took the second pill when I went to bed around midnight. The next morning and then that evening I took the next 2 pills, and I can actually say by evening I noticed a drastic improvement...drastic!

My appointment was Tuesday and by Thursday I was head sweat free...totally. I went out for a stage play and dinner and did not have one episode of sweating. I cannot believe in only two days I am no longer sweating.

Now, the only side effect I suffer is dry mouth and all I do is drink water and suck lozenges.

2 mg is all it takes for me to have my life back. I would have never even found out how to deal with this were it not for this site. I was always looking on the internet for excessive sweating but those sites only dealt with "normal" sweating and never pertained to Hyperhidrosis.

It is possible Robinul is not for everyone, but there are other similar drugs. Do not put up with this terrible condition one minute longer. I am so thrilled to have my life back. I will be exercising, cleaning and getting back to how I was 9 years ago when this began.

Thank you, thank you a million times over for the information contained in your forum. You truly did save me. I am so very appreciative.

Re: Medication Does Work! www.askapatient.com

Posted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 9:19 am
by chain38
Hello everyone,

I just wanted to post and say thanks for sharing your stories and helpful information. I'm a 43 year old male and have suffered from Hyperhidrosis since I was around 16, maybe 17 years of age. It hit me a year or two after puberty and began strictly in the arm pits. After a few years of dealing with the embarrassment of having constantly wet arm pits, even during the cold of winter, I opted to mention this condition to a nurse practitioner at the health clinic office on the campus of the college I was attending at the time. I was there for some other reason but finally had the courage to ask a health care professional if they were aware what could be causing this condition or if there was any type of treatment for it. She prescribed me Drysol and it worked. After just one application, my wet armpits were gone.

Sadly, after a year or two, I started to experience what I consider compensatory sweating. Now, after just a little physical exercise or stress, I sweat profusely on my face, chest, back, etc. Even in the winter months. I've dealt with this very debilitating disease (yes, I consider it a disease) for over 20 years now by avoiding social situations in some cases (particularly in the hot summer months) or excusing myself from conversations or professional interactions whenever I begin to sweat for no reason other than the paranoia of possibly sweating in front of co-workers, friends, even loved ones.

Finally, after a particularly embarrassing situation recently on a very hot, humid day, I decided to contact a Nurse Practitioner that also provides Dermatology services to inquire about a prescription of Robinul or another oral treatment. I have an appointment August 12th and I'm looking forward to discussing my situation with this person at length. What was most encouraging was when I called to make an appointment, the secretary stated she and her boss (the actual Nurse Practitioner) were very familiar with Hyperhidrosis and that they have treated several patients with the disorder. We shall she how this all shakes out and whether or not there may be an effective treatment for me.

I share this story as a motivator to those who are afraid or embarrassed to pursue treatments. I've put off what I should have done years ago out of fear of having a simple conversation simply because it might be a little embarrassing. If I can make an inquiry, so can you. What's to lose after all? It's only been recently that I explained to my long time girlfriend what it is that I've suffered from all the years as she's noticed my sweating issues but just assumed I'm a heavy sweater. When I mentioned that nearly three million Americans alone suffer from this disease, she realized I wasn't making this stuff up.

Anyway, thanks again to those who've shared their pain, success, information, etc. in this forum. It's much appreciated.