How To Handle Severe Compensatory Sweating After ETS

Curious as to how to best manage severe compensatory sweating after ETS surgery? 

Good day Tug,

I had undergone ETS for blushing and armpit sweating and, to be honest, I am not satisfied.

Wasn’t totally familiar with side effect – compensatory sweating.

So, I thought like ‘ok, sweat from armpits to go somewhere else, it’s fine, body is big enough to take it’ – stupid and wrong thinking and of course the doctor had to explain it to me more detailed.

Compensatory sweating on my back, belly and legs is just huge.

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I realized after that all sweat that had been going out on the part of the body above the nipples (which is big – arms, shoulders, neck, head, half of the body literally) is now going to my back, belly and legs.

It’s pretty disturbing.

Even now during the winter my back are wet and I am (I guess) at risk of getting sick, cold etc.

During the summer it’s crazy, I cannot ride a car because my ass, thighs and back are getting totally wet, working during the summer is disaster.

I am changing my clothes all the time, and I have to wear undershirt when it’s 40 Celsius.

It is hard, psychically and mentally but I have to go on, I have to continue my life, and I cannot give up.

What is ‘the solution’ for my situation?

Ok with undershirts and changing the clothes all the time.

Also, I will buy Bodibelt to try it. Maybe if I cover the part of my back and belly which sweat like crazy will be less uncomfortable then wearing the undershirt, maybe I will feel less warm then and therefore less sweat.

Also, I have bought the spray on the base of aluminum chloride.

My question here is – if I apply it on my back to reduce sweating (and if I reduced it for 30 percents I would be happy as a kid) will that cause more sweating on some other parts of my body?

Thank you for your time.

Also, if you have some advice regarding my situation, please, I will be grateful.

Jovan

How To Handle Severe Compensatory Sweating

Heya Jovan,

Good to hear from you buddy and thanks for your question!

I’m so sorry to hear about your excessive compensatory sweating situation, but hopefully I can offer up some helpful advice.

First, and generally speaking, whenever you block sweat from one area of your body, there is a chance it will come out of another area.

So, if you apply a aluminum chloride spray to your back, there is a good chance the sweat will come out elsewhere.

Glycopyrronium / Glycopyrrolate

There is a newer category or medications referred to as glycopyrronium and glycopyrrolate, that you may want to ask your doctor or dermatologist about.

While I don’t know the specific differences between those two medications, I’ve read that glycopyrronium, in simple terms, tells your sweat glands to not produce sweat.

Here are two articles that you may find helpful:

Hyperhidrosis Underarm Treatment – 24/7 Relief with Qbrexza

Note: Qbrexza is primarily for underarm use.

Robinul Reduces Excessive Head and Face Sweat

I’m not sure if glycopyrrolate does the same thing as glycopyrronium. If it does, there is a chance that using it would not result in additional compensatory sweating.

Meaning, if you apply it to one area, it may not make you sweat somewhere else.

My recommendation would be to consult with your physician to see if those types of medications would work for you.

Research Compensatory Sweating Solutions

Additionally, I’d recommend to check out the following:

Read though my Sweat Management Solutions article for some additional recommendations/ideas.

Also Hyperhidrosis Medications (sweathelp.org) 

Hope the above information helps.

Please keep me posted, and let me know what you decide to try.  Would be great to find out what works and does not work for you.

Let’s share that information with my readers (and the world).  

Best,
Tug

Undershirts With All Over Protection: Early Feedback

Sutran was one of the first brands to offer undershirts with all-over protection. Today, there are many more options available, some of which may perform better.

The information below is from someone who also suffered compensatory sweating after ETS, and decided to try Sutran after learning about them here. I’m sharing it to demonstrate how any undershirt with all over protection can help someone with compensatory sweating.

Hi Tug,

I have endured severe post-ETS hyperhidrosis on my chest and back since mid 2007 and it is the bane of my life.

Over this time I have developed my own combination-method of concealing my debilitating problem with anti-perspirant products (which only help in a small way, really only to combat odour), layering, wearing black clothes only, choosing polyester or nylon fabrics and the constant use and replacement of absorbent paper towels beneath my clothes.

This has helped, but, for the most part, the only time I am ever at total ease is when I am in my home.

Needless to say, summer is a nightmare.

Today, for the first time, I have worn a light blue cotton shirt to work (and received several compliments because everyone only ever sees me in plain black), with no layering, no papertowels and ZERO SWEAT STAINS!

And almost 8 hours later, here I am, dry as a bone and quite at ease at my computer, as I type this.

This is absolutely revolutionary!

The reason is because I have a Sutran T-shirt on underneath. It feels cool and soft against my skin and I do not feel any wetness at all!

I purchased it after reading about it on your website and it arrived yesterday.

I just bought the one, to try it out, and was hoping for a miracle, but was quite skeptical, due to the severity of my sweating.

Let me tell you, this is some kind of wonderful and I had to share it with you, and other readers/sufferers.

I know it’s early days and I am not yet sure of how the product will hold up against constant use and washing (considering its hefty price tag), but for the first time in years, I am going to dress exactly as I would like when I go out clubbing with my friends tonight.

But first I need to go home and place an order for another 5 Sutran t-shirts!

Sutran Undershirts: Pros & Cons

The above reader wrote back with an update, sharing some feedback about his experience wearing Sutran undershirts.

Hi Tug,

Now that some time has passed I thought that a follow-up letter was in order.

After that first day’s success with my initial Sutran T-shirt, I was still concerned that the wonderful results would be short-lived.

So when I got home, I stopped myself from hopping online to purchase more T-shirts, until I had put the current one through its paces. Instead, I followed the washing instructions which said to not add fabric softener but that tumble-drying was actually preferable and washed the T-shirt for re-use.

Later that evening, I wore it again, with a black T-shirt over it (old habits!) and spent several sweaty hours on a hot, crammed nightclub dance floor.

The entire time, although I did sweat profusely, none of the moisture made it to my outer T-shirt, and I looked for all the world to be sweat-free.

I know this because I inspected myself closely in the mirror upon arriving at home.

Over the next few weeks, my Sutran T-shirt became the most valuable and sought-after commodity in my cupboard and I found myself gravitating towards it each time I got dressed and taking special care to ensure that it was clean and available for use when needed.

The Issues With Sutran

There are some minor issues, of course, so I’ll list them for the sake of not sounding like I’m a Sutran salesman :-)

1 – I live in Australia and with the international shipping fee, these T-shirts are quite expensive, so hopefully there will a price reduction in the future or maybe some special offers.

But considering that my first T-shirt purchase is still as effective, after MANY MANY wears and washes, I reckon the initial outlay is an investment worth making.

2 – Everyone is different, so while these T-shirts work for me, there is no guarantee that they will prove as effective for someone else. I will say though that I do sweat VERY heavily.

Even in my apartment under zero stress, a normal T-shirt will be soaked in under 15 minutes of putting it on, even if I’m just lying on the couch! I get up 3-4 times at night to change my T-shirt.

But with the Sutran on, my hyperhidrosis presents very little problem.

3 – The T-shirt does effectively prevent the sweat from reaching my outer garment, but does not stop me from sweating.

So, while it does feel really nice against my skin, I have on occasion felt wetness beneath it. But this is not irritating or uncomfortable. Also, if sitting for long periods and in conditions that trigger sweating, sweat may collect at the bottom of the T-shirt and stain the top part of your pants.

But that’s only happened to me twice: once on a particularly stressful day at work when the aircon was on the blink and once when sitting on a friend’s couch for a few hours after returning from a night out.

4 – I only use the T-shirts as undershirts as I’m not particularly keen on the styles and designs – hopefully they will expand the range to include more contemporary offers.

5 – The MaxDry version is my preferred T-shirt as it has armpit protection. I have found the versions without it to have resulted in armpit sweat stains after a few hours. This version only comes in white and in one style.

6 – The website is not terribly user-friendly (especially to an English-speaker) and I have had difficulties with paying by credit card, having to opt for PayPal instead.

But I got them in the end and the delivery time was quite quick. Other than these minor concerns though, I am a very happy and satisfied consumer.