Posted in Roaccutane Diary by mikeburgh


 

mikeburgh: Excessive sweating

August 10th, 2009

Hello,

I have just discovered this website and hopefully can find some like minded people who may have shared my exeperiences/similar.  I took roaccutane at the end of 2000 into early 2001.  I thought it was a miracle cure at first as it dried up all my greasy spotty skin, my spots disappeared and I thought – wow my life starts here.

For me things were good for a couple of years, then I started to develop various side-affects which I attribute to having taken roaccutane and which have troubled me ever since to the extent that I really question whether roaccutane was ever the right decision for me to take (especially as I would not describe my acne to be severe by any stretch of the imagination, persistent cysts yes, severe no) though at the time it seemed to be a no-brainer.

Side affects I have experienced include (in no particular order) bad facial flushing, increased sensitivity to sunlight, red patches on my cheeks that weren’t present pre-roaccutane and stayed on my face for years (now subsided), excessive sweating, hair-thining, joint problems and finally and by far the worst very bad anxiety resulting in minor breakdown.

I have taken anti-depressants for years post roaccutane but fortunately have not taken anything for nearly 2 years now.

As I say I put these side affects down to roaccutane.  (You?), doctors, dermatologists would say that roaccutane would only stay in my system for say 6 months?  Can’t be the cause?

Anyway, you move on get on with life’s ups and downs, take each day as it comes and try to remain positive…  Try to tell yourself not to worry about these things as life could be a lot worse (look at countless cases of horrific accidents that happen to people, acknowledge anti-depressants are always there as a crutch if things get too much, even if you don’t wish to take anymore drugs).

So this is where I find myself, coping with life but hoping someone can help provide me with information about these side affects or at least offer some reassurance or advice.  Currently I am struggling as I have been for some years with excessive sweating especially in humid weather.  This may not sound unusual or related to roaccutane at all, but I believe it is.  I find myself sweating so much these days and it doesn’t even have to be that hot (live in the UK for heavens sake ) that I sweat excessively especially on my face which causes me great anxiety as I keep thinking other people are very aware of it too.  I have heard that roaccutane permantly alters the structure of the skin pores so they dont secrete so much oil but cant prevent excess sweating???  I honestly dont know if this is true but if someone could let me know I’d be very grateful.  Also if this excessive sweating is another side-affect that will eventually subside and someone else has experienced that then this would also give me a lot of hope.

Thanks for reading this.  Sorry if it seems depressing.  I feel like there are not a lot of options/people to turn to as haven’t found doctors to be very helpful.

Any advice would be sincerely appreciated.

Thanks,

Michael.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 10th, 2009 at 7:10 pm and is filed under Roaccutane Diary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

10 responses to “Excessive sweating”

  1. sparklypickle

    10th Aug, 09

    Hi Michael,

    although roaccutane and its metabolites should only be in your system for approx 6 weeks, researchers still do not know exactly what it DOES inside us. For example, they say that it ‘alters gene transcription’ but I personally do not know how this mechanistically works…if the effects of roaccutane on your sebum production can be permanent then it stands to reason that other drug-related effects could also be perpetuated after discontinuation of the drug. It seems that most people do see reversal of most side effects, but in rare cases they can be permanent. I do not really know what to suggest because although you can have injections to reduce excessive sweating I dont think your face would be a suitable area….sorry thats not much help, erm, hopefully someone else can actually make a helpful comment, sorry you are suffering from this.

    Sparks x

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  2. mrsfunknut

    10th Aug, 09

    hi ive just joined this site too! ive read almost all the post’s for august and knowone has mentioned anything about sweating as a side effect!
    How ever i do know that anti-depressants can caurse sweating even after years of taking them as my brother inlaw has suffered with the same problem after not taking them for 4 years! hope this helps!

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  3. sparklypickle

    10th Aug, 09

    being in the unenviable position of taking both roaccutane and anti-depressants I can honestly say I hav never been so sweaty before. Since I took the anti-D dose down ithas got a lot better but roacc definately makes me sweat more on my upper lip and chin which I have never done before….don’t even get me started in the night sweats…..

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  4. gemmz

    10th Aug, 09

    heya i am on my 3rd month of roaccutane and about 6 7 years ago my mum was on it and she now also suffers with sweating really bad but she has also been on anti Ds for a number of years maybe that could be it her skin gets red patches and flushing aswell it could be the anti Ds after all

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  5. Dannie

    12th Aug, 09

    Hiya all, its awful this sweating init? Im on roaccutaine, almost finished the course now, just another month to go…. 9 month in total, i sweat so bad, it makes me feel so embarassed, i walked out of a shop the other day coz it was running off me! Horrid! I havnt and am not taking anti d’s. I purely think its the roaccutaine, im happy with my result, i feel beautiful but that seems counteracted by the sweating. Hope my opinion helps

    Dannie x

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  6. Sally

    26th Aug, 09

    Hi All,

    I was on a 4 month course of roaccutaine, finished in June. Since finishing I break out in the most unbelieveable sweats you could imagine. My face, head, stomach and back pour so much with sweat I have droplets running down me. I have never taken Anti-D’s and I’m not on any other medication, for me the only thing that could be causing it, is the roaccutaine. I find the sweating so embarrassing, I went to a meeting the other day and for no reason the sweat began to pour out from me, I had droplets running from the back of my head, down my neck and either down my back or down my chest. People were just staring at me, so embarrassing!

    For me, Roaccutaine cleared up my spots whilst I was taking the medication, but now I seem to be getting quite a lot of smaller pimples (no where near as bad as b4 Roaccutaine) and they do clear up almost overnight, whereas before my spots would last a good couple of weeks. I think the pimples I am getting are more to do with sweating then anything else.

    I’m in a sort of catch 22 situation, my skin is very dry still (including dry sore lips) so I’m having to apply Neutrogena Norwegian Formula moisturising cream, which is fine until I sweat and then it helps make my face even more wet as it collects the sweat beads on my face. If I don’t apply cream, then my face is excessively sore, especially after a sweat.

    For me, I think Roaccutaine has been quite a positive thing, but I do find these sweats soooooo embarrassing and it would have been nice to have been pre-warned. When I asked my Dermatologist about sweating as a side-effect, she said noone else had reported it – so basically it was just me!! After doing research and coming across sites like this, I do nott believe that it is ‘just me’.

    Any help greatly appreciated

    Sally

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  7. traciec

    26th Aug, 09

    Hi everyone

    I just want to put my 2 pennies worth in!!!!!! My course ended in July and like you all, im sweating like a pig. It pours out of 1 side of my face and scalp, im having sweats in bed (yucky).
    I have to say that when i told my Derm about it, she said that she had’nt heard of it before!!!!!! I can only hope that this is a short time side effect, and that the longer im off Roacc, the more the side effects lessen.
    Mind you…….If i had to choose between sweats or spots…………I will keep the sweats!!!!!
    Take care
    tracie xxx

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  8. mikeburgh

    3rd Sep, 09

    Well thanks for all your feedback. I think the biggest issue I have to deal with is really anxiety.
    Perhaps the more you think about the sweating the more you sweat? I am grateful that roaccutane cleared up my spots and hopefully this sweating is another side affect that will subside, I just find it hard that I’m still dealing with side affects almost 10 years on…

    Anyway my philosophy tends to be to dive in at the deep end so I’m going travelling to hot destinations. I tend to have a sink or swim approach to life so lets hope I dont sink and come back home with my tail between my legs.

    Thanks again,

    Michael.

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  9. traciec

    7th Oct, 09

    Hi everyone
    Just wanted to bring the sweating issue back in to our discussion again. Im 3 months post Roacc now, the sweating is as bad as ever. It seems that any kind of exercise brings on the worst sweats from my head making my hair feel like ive just got out of a shower. The sweats seem to be just my upper body and head but its really uncomfortable. I do take anti depressants for panic attacks,which sadly have gotten worse since and during the roacc.
    Its comforting to know that im not the only one getting this, even though i dont want anyone else to suffer.
    10 years on…………OMG thats a lasting side effect Michael, but if my spots stay away, Then its a nasty price i will have to pay.
    Take care
    Tracie x

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  10. Max Writh

    16th Jul, 10

    The average person perspires up to one litre of sweat daily. However, more than average or excessive sweating can be both inconvenient and embarrassing.

    For people experiencing excessive sweating, the fear and embarrassment of being discovered can often be very stressful. Uncertainty around “do I smell?” or “does it show?” is often a key theme.

    30% of the broad population sweat to an extent that is of discomfort on a weekly basis. Among these people, corrective behaviours are common, e.g. carrying an anti perspirant throughout the day, avoidance of lifting of the arms, and the wearing of certain types of fabrics.

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