My experience with Avert

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DC
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2008 1:17 am

My experience with Avert

Post by DC »

Hello, my name is Dennis and I thought I'd post up about my experience with Avert (glycopyrrolate). I have what I'd consider fairly severe HH and have been using Avert for a little over 3 years. First off, I can tell you that it definitely stops the sweating, but there are side-effects. Avert is an anti-secretory, which basically means it inhibits the body's ability to secrete sweat, along with any other fluid. The problem with that is that everything dries up. Your eyes, your mouth, your brain, your nasal passages. If you take too much, it can mess you up, giving you an extreme headache (which I think is caused by a drying of the fluid that surrounds your brain) and the eyes are so dry, you can't focus on anything and your mouth and throat become so dry, that drinking water only provides moisture for literally seconds after you've swallowed it, then it's dry again and almost impossible to swallow food. That being said, if you take just the right amount, it will drastically reduce or eliminate any sweating for many hours (usually about 6-7 hours for me). But finding what the right amount is kind of difficult as the effectiveness of Avert is affected by how much food is in your stomach, how long ago you last ate, and I also think that how tired you are may also play a role in it's effectiveness. Personally, I have found that a 2mg pill works on an empty stomach and maybe 3-4mg if I have eaten anything that day. It usually takes about 2 hours for the Avert to kick in. Once I found the approx. amount that worked for me without making the side-effects unbearable (technically, they're not side-effects, as the medication is doing what it's supposed to, but for HH sufferers, everything apart from the reduction of sweat can be considered a side-effect), and I found out how certain things affected the effectiveness of the medication, it made my daily life alot easier. But you have to remember, if you've taken enough for the desired effect, your also going to have the side-effects and just have to learn to cope with them. I avoid taking Avert as much as possible, as I do not know what long term effects the constant drying out of the body will have, particularly on my eyes and brain. I used to take it daily for work (I work on an assembly line), but I started wearing gloves all the time, so now I only where it when I know I'll need to, ie: social situations, interviews, etc.
I'm going to be ordering a Drionic unit, and hopefully can illiminate my dependency on Avert, although I think it'll be good to have just in case.

So for those who are desperate, this may be a sort of solution, but not one I recommend if avoidable. Even after 3 years, it's hard to regulate exactly how much I need to take to get the desired effect, and not take too little so that it doesn't work at all, or take too much and give myself a headache and have to deal with the annoyance of not being able to eat or drink anything without discomfort for most of the day. And don't get me started on intimate situations. Not being able to produce any saliva can be a problem.

I order my Avert from www.pharmacy.ca
I usually order 100 2mg capsules for $60 CAN, which works out to 30 cents/mg.

DC
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2008 1:17 am

Post by DC »

Forgot to add that I suffer from Palmar/Plantar HH, although Avert will work no matter what kind or the severity of HH you have.

Also, I haven't really noticed a reduction in it's effectiveness over the 3 years I've been taking it. At least not an obvious one.

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