My Horror Story

Introduce yourself and share your personal hyperhidrosis related experiences.
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Smitty2012
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Feb 06, 2013 12:27 pm

My Horror Story

Post by Smitty2012 »

I just turned 40 and I have been suffering with Hyperhidrosis of the head and face since High School. I have tried EVERYTHING from medication all the way to the ETS Surgery which was the BIGGEST Mistake of my life!!! It didnt work and I had some other problems that stemmed from this. Amazing as it may sound, I have been a Police officer since I was 27. I have survived over 13 years in Law Enforcemtent barely managing this issue. However, on several occasions, it has affected how I do my job. Standing in someones living room talking to them about something non-emergency related, on a nice cool fall day in Ohio, I begin to sweat and as soon as the person notices it, I sweat even more, to the point I have to continually wipe my head. So I ended up making up an excuse to get the hell out of there, sometimes making the person believe that maybe I wasnt interested in whatever they were talking about. Regardless of whether I am sitting at the Police Station having a conversation with other officers ive known 10+ years, I sweat and I cant stop it. When I do try and talk to someone about it, I get the usual "oh its just a little sweat, whats the big deal", well as those of you who share this affliction, you know what i am talking about. My last ditch effort will be to try BoTox, I am in NO way looking forward to this, but if it works, i dont know that there is anything I wouldnt do. It has cost me training and promotions, because in order to get promoted you have to go through an assessment center, which is a day long interview process and the chances of me not sweating under that much stress when i can sweat when I am perfectly relaxed, are non existent. now I just have to try and see if my insuirance company will pay for this, I am a cop I dont make much and i cant afford the injections without help from insurance. The MOST frustrating thing, is that insurance companies, some doctors and most people, dont view this as a medical condition, when I am here to witness to you, I have considered ending things because of this. I hate going outside the house unless im going to work. I hate social interaction of any kind, which affects my wife and kids and family. I believe this is as much a medical condition as Bi-Polar Disorder....but I am among the minority in this thinking. Anyway, that is my story and I will continue to pray for those of us who literally have to suffer from this, because no one takes it serious....

Sonya
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed Aug 08, 2012 4:13 pm

Re: My Horror Story

Post by Sonya »

I agree with you wholeheartedly, Smitty. It is a medical condition that can cause tremendous stress for those of us who suffer.

We don't tell our doctors because we are ashamed. I think this is one of the reasons that doctors don't consider it a condition that needs treatment. "Roll this liquid on your feet and palms, wrap them in plastic bags, and sleep tight". I hope you aren't dating anyone and never intend to in the future, wearing this to bed will surely ruin your love life. It peeled the skin off and I still sweated, only now it burned when I sweated!

When I almost had a car accident with my child in the car, due to the July heat and no A/C in the car, I decided that was it, and I told my doctor. He understood and helped me find a solution.

I truly understand how it affects your job. I shake hands with people who have HH now and feel the sweat, and know how others thought of me when my hands were sweaty and gross. It has nothing to do with you as a person, but no one can tell me that they want to shake hands with a heavy sweater. No one should have to put up with HH. There are remedies out there and we have to demand them. Especially when HH affects our livelihoods. I seriously considered quitting my office job just to avoid shaking hands until I saw my doctor.

There are pills for everything from balding to bad breath. Why not for HH?

Tranxene
Posts: 20
Joined: Sat Mar 02, 2013 12:02 pm

Re: My Horror Story

Post by Tranxene »

Sonya please give us more info about the drug you've been taking. You say it has given you absoloutely 0 side affects and you have not build a tolerance to it for 15 years? And to this day your palms are bone dry??

admin
Site Admin
Posts: 382
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 5:00 pm

Re: My Horror Story

Post by admin »

There are pills for everything from balding to bad breath. Why not for HH?

Sonya,

-- There are pills for hyperhidrosis in the form of Robinul (plus others that I have never tried).

-- For hair loss, the pills do not work well. I have been losing some hair for years, and tried generic Propecia and saw very little success (plus some mild side effects). For those who have success, the pills just delay the hair loss for a few years, and your hair never grows much longer. i.e., most people see reduced hair loss or maintenance of small hair for a few years. But I hear that hair cloning/hair multiplication is just around the corner!

-- No idea about bad breath pills and never heard about that before! I think daily tongue scraping and cleaner diet would help a lot of people who have bad breath.

Sonya
Posts: 23
Joined: Wed Aug 08, 2012 4:13 pm

Re: My Horror Story

Post by Sonya »

Tranxene wrote:Sonya please give us more info about the drug you've been taking. You say it has given you absolutely 0 side affects and you have not build a tolerance to it for 15 years? And to this day your palms are bone dry??
Honestly, I didn't research side effects or anything else about this medication. I was just so happy to have found something that cured my HH. It has been almost 16 years now, and I still take the same dose as I did day one. It not only keeps my hands and feet bone dry, it helps tremendously with hot flashes. I only know this because of the few times I forgot to take my second dose and woke up wringing with sweat. I took my medication as soon as the hot flashes started, and they stopped within minutes.

It is in the same class as Xanax. I didn't even know about Xanax 16 years ago. I take a very low dose and cannot name one side effect that I have experienced. I don't want to encourage anyone to take something that might be addictive. It is up to each person to weigh the pros and cons. The effect HH had on my dating life, work, socializing, etc., was keeping me from living my life. I was willing to try anything except surgery. I have no idea if most people would get the same benefit, but I am so relieved that it has helped me so much and I wanted to share with others who know the misery of HH.

I am still emailing and calling study groups, hoping that one will agree to an HH study involving Tranxene. I haven't received any responses yet. I will keep trying.

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