hello fellow sweaters

Hello. I am a 31 year old female in Wisconsin. I have never posted to a hyperhidrosis forum, even though I have suffered from it as long as I can remember. I have also never met anyone else (in person) who sweats as much as I do, so I have pretty much suffered in silence. The only people who know that I sweat because I have a legitimate medical condition are my mom and my (soon to be ex) husband. I hid my condition from him for the first 3 years of our relationship. When I finally told him, he said he didn't care; he loved me no matter what. He even WANTED to hold my hand when it was sweaty! Even though he was my first and only, I thought that was a definite sign that we were meant to be together forever. (I was young and dumb). Three months ago he told me he's not in love with me anymore, and he wants to leave. So now I am forced to consider a future without the love of my life, who accepted me and my hyperhidrosis 100%. I plan to be upfront with guys about my HH from now on, but I'm still terrified that I might get a reaction of disgust and rejection; so, while the thought of being newly single is exciting, it also feels like being an anxiety-ridden teenager all over again. Nobody wants that, but for someone with HH, it's at least 200 times harder. Do you agree?

Welcome to the group.

I've posted my story many times over the years here on the forum so I'll answer briefly. Been married divorced and have had several long term relationships. I have palmer planter HH to the point of dripping since grade school.

I don't agree that it's 200 times harder for a relationship with HH. In all my relationships hh was never a problem to the other person. While dating I did experience the occasional woman who would pull back from my wet hands. Those were the people I wouldn't date again.

The key in my opinion is to be open and honest with people you date informing them about HH. You will be surprised how accepting people can be.

Thank you sprawling. I haven't been in a chat room of any kind in at least 12 years. If there had been an HH chat room back then, I would have felt a little less alone all these years. I knew people like me existed, but had never reached out to communicate with one. It feels like "chat therapy". I never talk about my HH. The only non-blood-relative I've opened up to about it is my husband, but he wants to leave me, so my life is about to turn upside down. I was good at pretending to be normal, but HH has always held me back. What experiences has everyone had with telling someone you really like about your HH?

Hi Becca, welcome to the forum! I'm sorry to hear about your relationship. Your are right, having this condition does make it hard to put yourself out there to meet people. I have also tried to hide it from most people, but I agree with Sprawling that it is good to be up front about it and most people will be accepting. Have you tried any treatments or had any success on managing it?

Hyp-hi, When I was about 12, I finally asked my mom to help me find a cure for my HH. She got me a prescription for drysol, which I hated, because it stung and did nothing for the sweating. So I just gave up, until college, when I went to the university clinic, hoping they would know something about how to treat it. I was poked and prodded, gawked at by the doc and several interns. They must have looked up iontophoresis, cuz they hooked me up to this makeshift apparatus that I submerged my hands in for a really long time, in full view of all other patients. I went for a few treatments, but never saw improvement. I have never tried anything else. I just try to pass for normal as much as possible, while avoiding stressful situations that I know will trigger the HH. I must have a pretty mild case of it, because sometimes I can go almost a whole shift, (I'm a waitress) without breaking a sweat. Does anyone have specific triggers that make you start sweating every time? Cuz for me, there's no one thing that does it. It's pretty random for me, but once I start, it's pretty much impossible to control. It stops when it wants to. I think the HH has a mind of its own, as if the glands or the nerves are operating independently from the rest of the body. certain things like the anticipation of a handshake, moderate physical activity, or just being warm definitely cause it to start, too.

I also started with drysol which did not help as you mentioned. Next I tried oral Glycopyrrolate which helped a bit but had side effect and wore off over time. Right now I used iontophresis from home which has moderate success. It is not a cure, but it does help.

I find certain situations do trigger it. For example I always sweat the most when I am working. I do online customer sales and support which can be stressful especially when it is busy. But at other times the sweating can be random. I can be just relaxing with no stress at all and still be sweating.

I am in the exact same situation pretty much. My gf of 4 years whom I thought to be the love of my life just recently cheated on me so now I have to deal with immense pain and I feel like no one else in the world will accept me because of my HH uggg fml