New Here: About to start taking Beta Blockers, (Propranolol).

WelshLad

New member
Hi there, I'm new to the forum, and have only spent a little while browsing it. So I thought I'd give abit of backround about myself and my hyperhidrosis.

*You can skip all this if you just want to know about the Beta Blockers I will be taking*

I'm 22 now and have suffered from hyperhidrosis since I was around 14. My armpits and palms were the worst for me back then, and were all through school. It was just a case of wearing a t-shirt under my school shirt and getting on with it. I think I tried dri-clor for the first time around 16-17, with no noticable results. When I was 18-19 I had botox injections in my armpits a number of times. Initially the results were positive and I noticed a decrease in the amount I was sweating under my arms, however, it soon became apparent that I was sweating profusly from my lower back and chest area. Which is alot harder to conceal than armpit sweating! Each time I had it the results would last around 3-4 months. I've been in uni for the past two years, doing a course that only really required me to pop in for an hour here an there, so I would be going home by the time my sweat patches reached the size of dinner plates. It was relativley manageable.

I've recently started another course, in which I'm consistentley in uni from 9-4 every day. Which is proving absoloutley horrendus. After an hour or so I've got large sweat patches, which I've always had, and have to undertake the usual method of dealing with it. Restricting movement, sitting at the back of classes, not really engaging with people. Maybe leaving my jumper on. These measures alone are nightmare for me anyway as my natural behaviour is to talk and interact with everyone, and I'm always boiling hot, so wearing a jumper in class, even in Wales, is very uncomfortable for me. This course is one which has practical sessions in which I'm up and about around interacting with other people. Its impossible to hide the fact I'm a sweaty mess. Long and short of it is I've always managed to work around my Hyperhidrosis but for the first time its becoming a real barrier for me as its going to hugely affect my confidence in my chosen career path.

Sorry if that was abit long winded, but I enjoy reading other peoples stories so I thought I'd try and give abit of info about mine!

*If you skipped that, read from here*

Anyway...I went to my GP yesterday and I've been prescribed beta blockers, and more specifically propranolol. I wanted to try rubinul although I'm happy to try anything! I've been prescribed 10mg doses, of which I can take up to 3 times daily. I'm going to start taking them today, and thought I can then come back and let you all know how I'm getting on.

I've done some research on propranolol and am interested to see if it will improve things. Does anyone have any propranolol experiences they'd like to share?

Oh, and just so you know, I have generalised Hyperhidrosis in that I sweat all over my body, armpits, groin, abdomen, chest, back, hand, feet, legs, aswell as my face. My armpits and hands are what I find the most confidence knocking however, and my face is probably my least affected on a day to day basis.

Cheers, WelshLad.
 

upndwn

Well-known member
Hi, welcome to SPW WelshLad :)

I don't know much about beta blockers and hyperhidrosis, but I'm sure someone here on the forums can give you some advice.
 

Solo Dolo

Well-known member
I also have generalized Hyperhidrosis. my life is miserable because of it. I have literally tried everything.... propranolol, oxybutnin, robinul, wipes, botox, EVERYTHING.

NOTHING has worked for me. I have lost hope. I have looked back here once in a while but nothing new ever comes up. People stopped trying to fix this issue and doctors dont care. thats at least what i feel like.

sorry for the rant/vent
 

Mozart22

Well-known member
Propranolol does not stop sweating. What propranolol does is prevent your heart from beating very fast when you're nervous and giving a presentation. You take it one hour before a presentation or special event, not every day. It will help with social anxiety related to a specific event.

If you want to stop sweating, take Avert/Robinul or Ditropan, or the Secure Wipes, or Drysol, etc. You will not stop sweating because of beta blockers.
You'll benefit a bit from being less nervous but will still sweat quite a bit.
 

Mozart22

Well-known member
I also have generalized Hyperhidrosis. my life is miserable because of it. I have literally tried everything.... propranolol, oxybutnin, robinul, wipes, botox, EVERYTHING.

NOTHING has worked for me. I have lost hope. I have looked back here once in a while but nothing new ever comes up. People stopped trying to fix this issue and doctors dont care. thats at least what i feel like.

sorry for the rant/vent


The first few times I tried Avert it didn't work for me either.
But now it works for me everytime by taking 4mg on an empty stomach.
By not eating anything for 3 hours then taking 4mg and waiting another 2 hours before eating, it should work. Keeps me bone dry. The proper dosage and taking it on an empty stomach is necessary if you want it to work.
 

WetPalms

Member
Hey,
I have to echo what Mozart said,
I did quite a bit of research and have spoken to a couple of doctors about drug options for treating HH before I decided to try avert.
My understanding is that beta blockers are helpful in preventing HH where it is associated to anxiety. They are also used as an alternative to SSRI's for patients who want to relieve anxiety or depression symptoms but find SSRI's cause or exacerbate their HH.

I'm not a doctor so I would definitely take your GP's advice and give it a try especially if you do have anxiety or high blood pressure issues that may be related to the HH.
But you might want to consider getting a second opinion from an expert in HH or a dermatologist
 

hyp-hi

Well-known member
Hi WelshLad,

I tried Propranolol a while back and it didn't help me. From what I remember it made me feel a little tired and out of it, and it affected my heart rate which I didn't like. I didn't notice any changes in sweating.

Try Glycopyrrolate for general HH. Try iontophoresis for hands. I have been using ionto for my hand for about 6 months or so and it has been very helpful.
 

Mozart22

Well-known member
Hi WelshLad,

I tried Propranolol a while back and it didn't help me. From what I remember it made me feel a little tired and out of it, and it affected my heart rate which I didn't like. I didn't notice any changes in sweating.

Try Glycopyrrolate for general HH. Try iontophoresis for hands. I have been using ionto for my hand for about 6 months or so and it has been very helpful.


I agree. Glycopyrolate (Avert/Robinul) works well when taken on an empty stomach. Most of us take 4mg and it takes at least 2 or 3 hours to be effective. It won't kick in right away, it needs a bit of time.

I take propranolol, but not for the sweating. I take it because of my social anxiety. It's not meant to be an every day thing. I only take when I know I'll be giving a presentation or will be dealing with a large group of people. The propranolol does not stop anxiety because it doesn't cross the blood-brain barrier. What it does is keep your heart rate down and prevents you from getting too excited or shaky. You will still feel nervous and self conscious if you have social anxiety, but you won't shake as much or have as much of a pounding heart.
 

WelshLad

New member
Hey, thanks for the responses guys.

Sorry to hear about your situation Solo Dolo. I know how you feel, it really does suck when nothing has the desired effects you were hoping for. I can't seem to convince any of my local GP's that Robinul/Avert has been succesful for some people with Hyperhydrosis. They seem to palm the idea off...hugely frustrating.

Mozart, what you've said seems about right from using propranolol yesterday and today.

Yesterday, I took a 10mg tablet around 5pm after coming out the shower. I could feel I was sweating most of the night, but not like usual. My armpits weren't anyway, and I had no sweat patches all night, right up until getting into bed around 1am. I also went over a friends house for an hour and remained pretty dry, no patches. Usually, I would have sweat patches just from being sat on my pc, and generally being round the house, socialising etc. So my initial impression was positive.

Today, I took a 10mg tablet at around 9.30am, and I was in uni at 11am (should have been 9am but slept late!). The room was boiling, no windows open and the radiotors on full blast. Horrible for me, normally anyway. However, I was aware that I seemed to be sweating, but refrained from checking my patches, and didn't stress at all. Went to the toilet between my next class at 12pm and noticed I had large sweat patches, gutted! I knew I was sweating, but I was hoping it weren't going to be that bad. In the class at 12.15pm I took another 10mg tablet. I was pretty stress free during this class aswell, in a room of 150~ people. Albeit sat at the back. I'm harping on abit here, but I had another two classes from 2-4pm, and in the last one in particular it was warmer than the 1st lesson I was in. I knew I was sweating, I could feel it, but it didn't seem to bother me like it usually does.

My initial impressions are this. Propranolol doesn't stop me from sweating, but it seems to help with the anxiety aspect of it. Even when I was sweating today I was almost ok with it, I was still doing the usual methods of covering my patches up, but I wasn't a fidgety nervous mess like usual. I feel it may also stop me from getting to the stage of, I'm sweating, and I'm aware and anxious about it, so I sweat even more. Although my sweat patches today were large, they weren't as bad as they can be. A small improvement is still progress!

I'm going to continue taking 2 10mg tablets a day while I'm in uni, one in the morning, and one around lunch time. I'm not sure if what I have been experiencing today is the drug actually working or whether its just some sort of placebo. After trying it for a week I will be in a better position to see how its working for me.

My only concern now is that some of you have said that it should only be used occasionally. My GP explicitly said its fine to use every day, three times a day, with no side effects. I asked her twice! So i'm suprised to hear that you lot seem to think otherwise?

WelshLad :)
 

Mozart22

Well-known member
My only concern now is that some of you have said that it should only be used occasionally. My GP explicitly said its fine to use every day, three times a day, with no side effects. I asked her twice! So i'm surprised to hear that you lot seem to think otherwise?


Quite frankly a lot of doctors don't know what they are talking about. Most of them have never taken the drugs they prescribe to other people. Propranolol can be taken regularly for people who have chronic hypertension. For anxiety purposes it should only be taken before a specific stressful event.

For sweating, propranolol does very little. You'll feel less nervous about it but you will still sweat a lot. It's not meant to treat sweating. Even the Avert that I take, I try not to take it too often because a lot of drugs tend to lose effectiveness over time. If you take propranolol everyday, chances are after a few years your body will have adapted to it and it will lose effectiveness.
You'll have to increase the dosage to get the same effect until one day you can't safely increase it more to get the same effect.

I know from personal experience that a lot of doctors simply do not have correct information. 8 years ago I started taking Paxil. Two different doctors assured me that the drug was very safe, almost no side effects, and was easy to discontinue. Nothing could be further from the truth. I got many side effects from Paxil and it was extremely hard to get off of. It took me 18 months to be able to discontinue it.

The nice thing about online forums is that we talk to people who actually have these conditions and actually take the drugs prescribed. Who do you think has more accurate information: the people who actually have the conditions, or the doctors who don't have the conditions themselves and don't take the drugs they prescribe?

You are going to learn a lot more about propranolol by reading a lot about in forums rather than by listening to a doctor who never took it themselves and doesn't suffer from anxiety or hyperhydrosis themselves. The fact alone that the GP thinks that beta blockers will stop your sweating is a big mistake.
 
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