Piglet Boy

Hi,

I am new here. I hope people can bare with me and chime in.

I suffer from social anxiety/shyness. I guess you could say I have a combination of both. The worst thing is my physical reaction, which is hyperhidrosis on my face, particularly when I am in anxious/embarrassed situations.

Often times I could be very concentrated in playing cards, games, or working on my car/computer and I would immense my face w/ sweat.

I am wondering if seeing a dermatologist would help?

I have given ROBINUL a try, and was wondering how long it takes to kick in? I suffered a panic sweat attack one day, but that was within 1 hour of taking ROBINUL (1MG). Later in the day, I do feel the dry mouth.

My other question is, what dosage can I go up to?

2ndly, can I take this w/ ATIVAN ?

The odd thing was, I took 1MG a while back, and was in an intense on the spot situation that would have killed me with sweats. I even had to walk a few blocks. But I didnt' manage to sweat at all, and felt as if my sweat was suppressed.

Thanks

Piglet Boy

any body? =(

margiehope

You need to talk to a doctor or pharmacist about whether you can combine the two meds.

Likewise, about dosage, you should ask the experts.

BUT, since you're looking for some peer help, I can tell you that when I first took Avert (Canadian version of Robinul), I was told "up to 8 mg a day in divided doses".

You should take it an hour before you eat. I take from 2 to 6 mg first thing in the morning and that does me for the day.

There shouldn't be any great length of time before it "kicks in". Yeah, dry mouth happens, but for those of us helped by the med, it's a fair trade.

Good luck!

Porter

I don't know anything about the medications, but you could try finding ways to reduce your anxiety as a way of controlling the hyperhidrosis. It'll take longer than the medication, but should also help in other ways. You could see a therapist about the anxiety/shyness, or try a book like Living fully with shyness and social anxiety, by Erika Hilliard. There is a chapter devoted to dealing with blushing, but the same techniques should work for hyperhidrosis. I won't go into detail now, but I can if you are interested.

P

Piglet Boy

PLease share. I have tried a lot. Its a chemical imbalance imho.

I do fight my nature and gather courage to speak out, be social, etc. But the natural reaction of my body just prevents me so..

Porter

Ok, here's some info, just in case it's not entirely a chemical imbalance. If you start to sweat in response to anxiety in a social situation, it's your sympathetic nervous system causing trouble. That's your fight or flight response kicking in. Sweating in particular prevents the body from overheating. The author of the book I mentioned conjectures that it is also a protective value, in that it makes you slippery and hard to grab.

Once the sympathetic nervous system has kicked in the adrenaline the parasympathetic nervous system comes along, presumably after danger has passed, and slows things down. In extreme stress, where there is no possibility of either fighting or getting away, it can actually cause you to freeze.

So basically, the idea is to try to gain some control over your body and particularly the sympathetic nervous system. Several ideas:
* Grounding: move your attention inward and focus on how your body is touching the ground. Focus on the feet, if you are sitting your butt, if you are laying down, wherever the ground touches you. Notice fabric textures, hot, cold, dampness, etc. Focus on your breathing. I believe the idea is to move your focus away from a stressful situation, imagined (my problem usually), or real.
* Self-regulation therapy
* Paradoxical approach: try to take control of your sweating. When you are calm, try to practice sweating. You should find that you can't force yourself to sweat on command.
* Taking ownership: when you start to sweat, tell your self you are in control and that you are forcing yourself to sweat. The contrast is saying to yourself, "oh no! I'm sweating again! Make it stop!" which you might find stress you out more and makes it worse. This method is the authors own observation about blushing, and isn't backed up in research.
* Reframing
* Visualization

If you google any of those things, or look at the book (there are references to more detailed works on the different techniques), you should be able to find more detailed information. Hopefully this helps as a starting point though.

P

creative title

I also suffer from hyperhidrosis and shyness (made worse by hyperhidrosis) but I live a fairly normal life. I think the trick is to press on despite the sweat and try to forget the embarassing moments everyday. But don't avoid the embarassing moments- easier said than done.

gg1101

ativan is xanax right? i've taken both together. i was fine

Piglet Boy

How about propanolol and robinul?

Piglet Boy

Bump.. PLease suggest.