My Struggle with Excessive Sweating

The Lowdown on Me

I’m 36 years young, engaged to a beautiful woman who’m I love to pieces, I’ve no offspring to speak of, even though I would love to be a Dad some day, I do have a golden retriever called ronny (as in Cristiano Ronaldo – formerly of Man Utd). I’m a sports and fitness freak (as my Fiancee tells me), and I’m probably the biggest Manchester United fan you’re ever likely to meet. I’m originally from Manchester in the UK (hence the obsession with the Red Devils!) but I moved to San Francisco (Bay Area) when I was 23 to take on a job in Photography. I miss home even with the weather, and would love to move back one day.

***Update: I’ve now moved to back to Manchester for the next 18 months.***

My Life with Hyperhidrosis

I’ve suffered from excessive sweating for as long as I can remember. I didn’t realise what I was struggling with until I came across a work colleague (now my best friend) who was suffering from the same symptoms as me. For all those years I just thought it was me and that I was…well, basically a freak! It’s kind of hard to really shake something like that off, and I’m just lucky that I know someone else who suffers from the same thing that I’m able to remind myself that I’m just another guy who suffers from hyperhidrosis.

I hid my condition well throughout my life, as my parents, friends, or family didn’t have a single idea that I had this problem. Living with something like excessive sweating you just adapt to it, in my case I became a finely tuned sweat hiding machine!! Any situation that was thrown at me, I had the know how of how to conceal it. Obviously I couldn’t keep this up 24/7, in some instances I failed to hide it well enough, and suffered the embarrassment which I tried so hard to avoid.

Until recently I think the only other people I’ve told about this (apart from my best friend) are my fiancee and my golden retriever! Sad I know, and it’s not something that I’m particularly proud of either! Not letting close friends and loved ones know about this condition sooner has done my relationships with them no justice whatsoever. I didn’t want to feel the embarrassment or to be looked at differently I guess. If you’re suffering from excessive sweating then maybe you know just how I feel.

Why My Sweaty Hands & Feet was Born

The site is aimed at striking hyperhidrosis right where it hurts from a birds eye view of the condition. I’ve been coping all my life with it, and I’ve been through a tunnel of emotions, coming out the other end with a great understanding of how best to tackle it and get on with the rest of my life. This site is now my second job, hence some of the ads you shall see as well as product recommendations scattered around the site. Don’t worry I don’t recommend any topical treatment that I haven’t personally tried myself and all recommendations are based solely on helping you better cope with hyperhidrosis. Don’t for a moment think that any of these recommendations are any less sincere because of the monetary reward involved. I put a lot of time into this site and I produce well researched and factual articles as a result.

You may also see some adsense ads placed on the site, these are by no means endorsed by me in anyway whatsoever. They are dynamically produced based on what content any particular article shows and aren’t under my control.

This site as well as being my part time job has provided me with a kind of emotional box, everything I’ve felt or feeling is intertwined within this website somewhere. I just hope it truly helps you as much!

Thanks for visiting, and please do get in touch with me if you are a sufferer of hyperhidrosis. We’re all in this one together, remember that!

Best wishes,
–
James

  • http://www.coolwrapps.com Denise

    Wow! This is just great! I am thrilled to see this page, the more of us that come out about this nightmare the less of a nightmare it is! How nice to know we are not alone, that is a big and comforting step for those of us to take. Thank you for your honesty, and I am so happy to see you here! Thank you for all of your efforts!

  • http://www.mysweatyhandsandfeet.com James

    Hi Denise, big thanks for stopping by and your kind words. I completely agree with you, along with being more open I believe as the awareness of this condition grows so will the treatments that accompany it. With the help of other people like you and me, I’m sure that will happen!

  • Victoria I

    Hi my name is Victoria and I have to deal with the same thing and Im only 15. But as long as I can remeber I always had this. It sucks big time. Basically only my parents and siblings know I have this. But anyways I mostly sweat from my hands, armpits and my feet which I could care less about. I was wondering if you know if there’s anthing that really helps with the hands. I am currently using Certain Dri for my armpits and it only has 12% Aluminum Chloride and I saw your other article so Im going to try to start looking one for 20%. If you can answer my quiestion that would help me a lot thanks.

  • http://www.mysweatyhandsandfeet.com James

    Hello Victoria,

    Thank you for reaching out. I know exactly how you feel.

    How’s the Certain Dri working for you on the underarms? A higher concentration of alumunium chloride is going to cause some itching and redness without doubt, sometimes the reactions can be worse. I’ve been using a 20% solution for years now, since I was about your age and it’s never affected be badly though. Every one reacts differently. If Certain Dri isn’t working as well as you’d like then on your underarms then I’d definitely go with a higher concentration.

    As far as the hands and feet go, antiperspirants don’t cut it I’m afraid, you maybe able to get some relief from a higher concentration, something like 30% if you ask your doctor. They don’t sell these anywhere so you’ll have to get your doctors conscent. Perhaps the better option in my opinion is Iontophoresis. You can read more about that here – http://www.mysweatyhandsandfeet.com/hyperhidrosis-treatments/iontophoresis

    As I said, only change to the 20% solution if the 12% solution isn’t working for your underarms, as neither the 12% solution nor the 20% solution is going to stop the sweating in your hands and feet, if anything it tends to make them worse I find. Look into the article recommend above, give it a thorough read through then if you have anymore questions please let me know.

    Good luck Victoria!

  • Brooke

    Wow all this time I thought I was just a freak with sweaty hands and feet. I’m 17 and no one knows that I have this problem…it’s just so embarrassing. In that past I haven’t really had that big of a problem concealing my problem but now I’m noticing more and more that I’m not gonna be able to hide it as well. But now that I know that there’s other people out there that are dealing with the same thing as me I don’t feel like such a loner lol. This website has made me feel soooo much better and I’m definitely going to get some help :)   

  • Denise2

    I also suffer, and what works for me is glycopyrolate (also called Robinol).  I take 8 mg at a time and it keeps me dry all day. I have been taken it for 8 years, i started off with 4 mg, but my body now needs about 8 mg at a time for it to work.  The side effects are minimal.  Better for me to deal with dry mouth than sweaty hands any day!  I suggest you try it!  I also tried botox, which was a temporary fix for 2 months, but for me the best is the glycopyrolate.   Keep away from coffee, and caffeniated soda… these trigger hyperhydrosis..

  • http://www.mysweatyhandsandfeet.com James

    Hi Denise, I’ve tried Robinol before within the water on my Iontophoresis device and it didn’t perform as hoped. I’m glad you’re getting some relief from the daily hell that comes from having sweaty hands. To add to the liquids to stay away from, alcohol is another trigger for me, but this happens in the morning after, when I’m in bed sleeping off a hangover, so it’s not too bad. :)

  • http://www.mysweatyhandsandfeet.com James

    Hey Brooke,

    I’m glad you feel you’re not alone, because you most certainly are not, in fact you’d be surprised by just how many people suffer from HH, some of your friends or family could suffer from it and not even know it themselves. It’s always good to get it off your chest and you never know they may just be feeling the same way as you are. It’s important to remember, there are options out there to ease HH, just look at the many treatments on this site, and good luck Brooke!

  • http://www.mysweatyhandsandfeet.com James

    Hi Soccerchick,

    I know exactly what you’re going through having been there myself. Having HH, School was the hardest thing to go through for me personally, I used to stay clear of P.E. and one silly thing I remember was being embarrassed over the pages in my workbooks curling over as I write with all the moisture from my hands. :) It’s really silly thinking back.

    You don’t have to hide it from your friends, they’ll understand. I let me friends know about it after 2 years of hiding it from them for fear of micky taking or rejection, turns out they couldn’t care less, and still treated me the same as they always had. :)

    With regards Iontophoresis treatment, machine are quite expensive, if you talk to your parents about the problem and explain how it’s making you feel I’m sure they’ll help you out with it, maybe your mum or dad have the same thing or have struggled with it in the past.

    I’d recommend going seeing your GP and asking them to put you in touch with a dermatologist, they’ll be able to explain things further and answer any questions you may have. I’m also here for you too if you need me. :)

    Let us know how you get on.
    It’s all going to be fine!

  • http://www.mysweatyhandsandfeet.com James

    Hi Alli,

    Thanks for stopping by :)

    Certain Dri is great for underarms, if this stops working there are higher strength solutions available if you need them.

    For your hands and feet, anti perspirants like certain dri often make the sweating worse. The best thing for the hands and feet I find is Iontophoresis machines. They’re quite expensive raning from $400-$2500, but it’s done the job for me. Here’s an explanation of what Iontophoresis involves – http://www.mysweatyhandsandfeet.com/hyperhidrosis-treatments/iontophoresis
    James

  • http://www.mysweatyhandsandfeet.com James

    Hi Marivic,

    Thank you for sharing your story. I also hated wearing open footwear ie. flipflops and I always had to wear socks all the time to prevent my feet from sweating! I’m sorry to hear that your son may have inherited it, but he has a mum that will give him help him through it and give him advice, that is the main thing!

  • Zeena

    I am grateful for you website about Hyperhidrosis, and how you have articles abouy truncal in particular. I am a 18 year old female who has suffered with truncal hyperhidrosis since puberty (a terrible mix for self esteem), but thanks to websites like yours, and good people I have somehow came out from it all with plenty of it. I can’t wait to try the products that you have listed, and wish you well in your recent engagement and future marriage.