Hi, my name is Kaila. I'm a 26 year old female who has been suffering from HH since I was a pre-teen. Back then I just thought it was something normal.
My case seems to be a little more extreme than some on here, as I don't just have HH in my hands/feet/armpits. I literally have it evreywhere - feet/hands/armpits/groin/buttocks. I have to be very careful of what I wear as I soak through all my clothes. You could put me in a freezer and I would still sweat through my clothes. HH has taken over my life. It's so bad that I worry about it everyday. Not only do I soak my clothes, I have to worry about what chairs I sit in for fear that when I get up there is a wet mark on the seat - which is the most embarassing thing I have ever experienced. I'm always wearing a black sweater - not because Im cold, but because I dont want people to see that Im sweating. If i wear anything other than black you can see the marks. I sweat right through my undershirt and completely through the sweater.
I went to a dermatologist last year who confirmed that I suffer from HH - which wasn't a shocker as I had been reading about it online for a long time. She prescribed me an oral medication called Glycopyrolate. The side effects of this pill would be dry mouth, eyes, nose, etc. At that time I didn't care what the side effects were, I just need to be able to live my life without worrying about sweating. I took one pill twice daily for many months, but it never stopped the sweating. I upped the dose and was taking 2 pills twice daily. Still nothing worked. I also purchased some wipes that I used on my armpits - but still..... I was sweating.
I have since stopped taking the pills and have been referred back to the same doctor but my appt isn't until March/2012.
I would love to have some support for this, as most people dont get what it is I have. I'm writing this to you in tears because this is such a HUGE part of my life, and really don't have support whatsoever. I have read many peoples posts and am curious about botox and surgery. I've heard both success stories, and unsuccessful stories.
So again, just looking for support, and maybe to chat with people who actually know where I'm coming from.
Thanks,
Kaila
Looking for support...
Re: Looking for support...
Hi Kaila, welcome to the forums. I am really sorry to hear about your problems.
I would recommend focusing on the areas that bother you the most. For most people, this is the hands and feet. Once those two problems are solved, you can focus on other areas.
Can you afford the higher priced iontophoresis machines? Hidrex and Idromed (which treat hand and feet sweating) can also treat armpit sweating with the special electrodes their manufacturers sell. You can treat both the feet and hands at the same time with those machines, although I have not tried that since my problem is just the feet.
If you are not financially well off, I can make an exception and get you a small discount if you want to purchase either Hidrex or idromed -- I don't normally do this, but since you suffer from so many areas, I want to help in any way I can and I know the seller.
If you have health insurance, you should try Botox for the armpits.
There are also newer surgical procedures such as LSA and miraDry to get rid of armpit sweating and you can read about them on my main site in the armpit sweating area. Perhaps some of those will also work in the groin area.
I must warn you that iontophoresis will take time to work initially, and you will have to do maintenance treatments thereafter and might have the machine stop working sometimes. Botox will wear off after 6 months or so.
Post here if you have any other questions and good luck and keep your spirit up!
I would recommend focusing on the areas that bother you the most. For most people, this is the hands and feet. Once those two problems are solved, you can focus on other areas.
Can you afford the higher priced iontophoresis machines? Hidrex and Idromed (which treat hand and feet sweating) can also treat armpit sweating with the special electrodes their manufacturers sell. You can treat both the feet and hands at the same time with those machines, although I have not tried that since my problem is just the feet.
If you are not financially well off, I can make an exception and get you a small discount if you want to purchase either Hidrex or idromed -- I don't normally do this, but since you suffer from so many areas, I want to help in any way I can and I know the seller.
If you have health insurance, you should try Botox for the armpits.
There are also newer surgical procedures such as LSA and miraDry to get rid of armpit sweating and you can read about them on my main site in the armpit sweating area. Perhaps some of those will also work in the groin area.
I must warn you that iontophoresis will take time to work initially, and you will have to do maintenance treatments thereafter and might have the machine stop working sometimes. Botox will wear off after 6 months or so.
Post here if you have any other questions and good luck and keep your spirit up!
Re: Looking for support...
Hi Kaila,
I appreciate you taking the time to write about your condition, as I know first hand that it can be very hard to do. I've suffered from and still endure a condition very similar to yours. I know in my case, I spend so much time trying to hide it from others, it's hard to break out of that mindset and write honestly about it.
You mentioned constantly thinking about your hyperhidrosis, and I can relate to that. If I don't watch it, I get to thinking about it way too much and it almost drives me to despair. I've had high anxiety frequently and panic attacks in the past. My encouragement to you, and what I've been trying to work on, is to not fall into that trap of scrutinizing ourselves with a microscope and despairing over our situation. I can get so worried about what people think about me and my excessive sweating, but the overwhelming truth of the matter is that most people don't look so closely at me or pick me apart like I do to myself.
So I thank you for your posting, and you have my support in these things you are going through. By the grace of God, I am just coming out of a dark time where I have been very troubled about my condition, as I was sensing that it might be getting worse. I am doing myself nothing but harm by worrying about it. I'm reminding myself of all the good things in my life, like my wife of over 8 years who isn't "grossed out" a bit when I sweat a lot. And my new baby daughter who deserves the very best dad that I can possibly be.
So be hopeful, and do what you can to relieve your physical discomfort, and take care of your mind as well. Take whatever helps here and feel free to leave what doesn't; I don't have all the answers, but I wanted to reach out to you in encouragement.
E_David
I appreciate you taking the time to write about your condition, as I know first hand that it can be very hard to do. I've suffered from and still endure a condition very similar to yours. I know in my case, I spend so much time trying to hide it from others, it's hard to break out of that mindset and write honestly about it.
You mentioned constantly thinking about your hyperhidrosis, and I can relate to that. If I don't watch it, I get to thinking about it way too much and it almost drives me to despair. I've had high anxiety frequently and panic attacks in the past. My encouragement to you, and what I've been trying to work on, is to not fall into that trap of scrutinizing ourselves with a microscope and despairing over our situation. I can get so worried about what people think about me and my excessive sweating, but the overwhelming truth of the matter is that most people don't look so closely at me or pick me apart like I do to myself.
So I thank you for your posting, and you have my support in these things you are going through. By the grace of God, I am just coming out of a dark time where I have been very troubled about my condition, as I was sensing that it might be getting worse. I am doing myself nothing but harm by worrying about it. I'm reminding myself of all the good things in my life, like my wife of over 8 years who isn't "grossed out" a bit when I sweat a lot. And my new baby daughter who deserves the very best dad that I can possibly be.
So be hopeful, and do what you can to relieve your physical discomfort, and take care of your mind as well. Take whatever helps here and feel free to leave what doesn't; I don't have all the answers, but I wanted to reach out to you in encouragement.
E_David