Cured at last!

[Sonya]

My hands have sweated profusely since first grade. My sweaty palms would smear my work at school. I dared not hold a boy's hand as a teenager.

I have worked in an office since the age of 25. I ruined keyboards with my hand sweating. I dreaded meeting clients because they always wanted to be polite and shake hands. Anyone who shook my hand would quickly wipe away my sweat on their clothing. So embarrassing!

I tried EVERYTHING for hand sweating - home remedies, machines, Drysol, and many others. I had many tricks to keep from shaking hands. I would hold a cold drink and blame it on the wet cup. I kept a dry washcloth in my purse or pocket. If I had a meeting, I would show up with binders and notebooks and a cup of coffee - anything to keep both hands full so I would have an excuse to avoid shaking hands.

In my mid-30's. I worked up the courage to tell my doctor how bad it was affecting my life. I held out my hand so he could see the sweat drip off.

He said it was the worst case he had ever seen. He tried several medications before he hit on the miracle cure for me. It is a medication called Tranxene. I take two, 3.75 mg (a very low dose) tablets daily. My hands have been dry for the past 15 years!!! It is a tranquilizer which at a very low dose, has stopped my hand sweating completely, but doesn't make me sleepy.

If you suffer from hand sweating, please, please, see your doctor and ask about Tranxene. I have had no side effects from it in 15 years. I had hoped that I would find another answer besides taking 2 pills everyday, but nothing else worked. I was ashamed to go to the doctor for so long. I didn't want to show him my gross hand sweating, but I am so glad I did. I will be forever grateful to him for his determination in curing this debilitating affliction. Tranxene has been around a long time and is available in generic, so it is very reasonably priced.

[admin]

Sonya, thanks so much for this very interesting post. I rarely learn something new in this field since I have had so many years of experience with hyperhidrosis and related research.

Might give Tranxene a try for my feet sweating at some point since you say there are no side effects after 15 years. Did you also have feet sweating?

If this works, it might be an even better option than iontophoresis.

[Sonya]

Yes, especially if I wore nylon hose! I can now wear nylons, sandals, anything I want. My feet didn't sweat as much as my hands, but I was careful to wear cotton socks whenever possible. You can imagine the limited shoe collection I owned! I can now wear any shoes (without socks) and my feet don't sweat.

My Doctor tried many different drugs, including anti-depressants, even though I wasn't depressed. I don't know what made him think of Tranxene, but he did and it has changed my life. I had never heard of it.

I would most definitely ask anyone who is considering a more expensive or invasive option to try Tranxene first. I have had absolutely no bad side effects. I am a little more calm now (probably because I'm no longer anxious about shaking hands, etc.), and the sweating is gone for good!

Please don't wait any longer. I know of no one whose sweating was as bad as mine.

Sonya

[Sonya]

I talked to my ob/gyn today about how Tranxene has cured my sweating.

She was very intrigued and wondered if it could possibly help menopausal women with sweating. She had never heard of it.

She said that she didn't know of many people who had hand and feet sweating and I told her that we were really good about hiding it and that not many people will mention it, even to their doctor, because it is embarrassing.

[superyou]

Sonya:
How did you figure out what dose to take? Trial-and-error? What happens if you take just one of those pills a day?

[Sonya]

Hi Superyou,

I didn't figure it out. My physician prescribed 3.75mg twice daily, which is about 1/10 the strength that is prescribed for seizures.

I take one in the morning and one before bed. If I forget to take one in the morning, my hands will start sweating as soon as I get to work. If I forget the one before bed, I wake up with night sweats. I keep an extra one on my nightstand just in case I do forget. The night sweats remind me very quickly that I forgot my second dose.

Maybe it is just a fluke that it works for me. I certainly don't want to convince anyone to take a prescription for the rest of their life.

I just know how absolutely frustrated I was with the constant sweating, and hoped that I could help others by sharing my experience. I think it should only be prescribed for extreme cases of hyperhidrosis. I tried several other non-medical "remedies", but none of them worked.

Sonya

[superyou]

Thanks for your answer. I was curious as to how the medication works and your explanations are very clear. I wonder if a higher dose would last longer?
I'm very happy that you found a solution. HH is no fun and people don't always understand this.
-Robert

[Sonya]

Your question made me wonder if a higher dosage would be in order at some point in my life. My doctor asks me at each visit (I have to go every six months), if it is still working for me, and so far it is. Maybe as I get older, the hyperhidrosis will be harder to manage at such a low dose. I hope that is not the case, but I will do whatever I have to do to keep from sweating. I was hoping to "grow out of it", but that still hasn't happened!

FYI, today I contacted a local clinical study facility regarding a possible clinical trial for hyperhidrosis. Hopefully they will respond. I will let you know.

[superyou]

I'd imagine it a little annoying and anxiety-inducing knowing that if you miss your pill you'll start sweating. But I'm sure it's a regular habit for you by now.

With iontophoresis I have to do it regularly (2-3 times a week) but I can go on vacation for a couple of weeks and as long as I get back onto my treatment schedule upon return I won't suffer with sweating.

[Sonya]

It is somewhat annoying to always make sure I have at least one or two pills with me at all times,but not nearly as annoying as the constant sweating.

I'm glad to know that iontophoresis is helping you. I've never tried it, but I've read a lot about it. There are some really good posts on this site about it. I'm too afraid that I might accidentally zap myself!

[AVANTIKAA]

Sonya,
hello this is Avantika from India. I am 18 yrs old and i suffer from HH too. i totally understand how it feels coz i m also suffering from the worst form of HH. I would like to ask u if Tranxene has had any side effects on anybody till date? I consulted two Dermatologists and they both recommended Drysol. I have recently started with it. But its not giving satisfactory results that i expected. Did your Doc tell you anything about its side effects if any? whether age of the patient is considered or something like that?.
I am dying to get rid of this. I am worried about my future and how i'l deal with this on an everyday basis . please do reply. thanks !

[Sonya]

Hi Avantikaa,

I'm sorry to hear that you suffer from HH too. It has been 16 years since I first started taking Tranxene, and I have had no side effects. It makes me more calm, which I think is a benefit, but it could just be that I am more calm because I don't have to worry about sweating anymore.

My Dr. gave me Drysol at first. It peeled the skin off my hands and did not help with the sweating at all. There is lots of information on the web about Tranxene. I can only speak from my own experience. I have had no negative side effects whatsoever. I don't even have to think about HH as long as I remember to take 2 tablets everyday.

My Dr. didn't mention anything about the side effects, except to say that one shouldn't drink alcohol when taking Tranxene. I don't drink, so this was not a problem for me.

I hope you find what works for you. Like I said, I know of no one else who is taking this medication for HH (or anything else), but it has been a lifesaver for me.

Sonya

[Tranxene]

Someone please try this, if it works for her it could work for some of us. It's definitely worth trying. I will also try to get a prescription for this. It sounds like a god send.