Sweat Or No Sweat.. That Is The Question

[ljoeb]

I don't sweat... I had a sweat test but it came back "normal," but I can work in my yard for 2 or more hours, or walk briskly for 30 - 40 minutes and I might get a few beads of sweat above my eyebrows and in the crease of my groin area and maybe on my neck. I have done aerobic classes/spin cycling classes in my past life, and while everyone else was soaking their shirts, I again may have had a few beads on my forehead. My doc said that that was a part of my disorder, but I read mostly where folks have just the opposite problem and sweat too much... any thoughts? Thanks! Joe

[zach]

I have the same problem with the no sweating. I used to go to the gym, and everyone would be pouring sweat but me, and my buddy said that I wasnt working hard enough. Like **** I wasnt I just dont hardly sweat!

[dsdmom]

I used to sweat fine - but now I don't. I recently found out I have autonomic neuropathy (of vasomotor and sudomotor fibers) and my doctor said this is why I'm not sweating. I am guessing that it is contributing to my heat intolerance as well.

[Megan]

My sweat test was slightly abnormal...they kept turning the machine up. I thought I was going to die! Anyway, I typically sweat a LOT. There are just some spots that don't sweat at all. I think with our kind of disorders the tendency is to go to either extreme, not at some average level.

Meg

[ellen]

NO SWEAT! Literally. I don't sweat unless I'm faint (clammy cold sweat) or interestingly, during my tilt table test. So I CAN sweat, but it's unusual.

[flop]

I sweat in an odd pattern. When I get hot my face will go a red/purple colour and pour with sweat, my scalp and neck also sweat (wet hair - yuck!). Other places that sweat a bit are a narrow strip down the front of my chest and abdomen and my groins. Prof Mathias was going to do a sweat test (the one in the heated box) but after I described my sweat pattern he said he didn't need the test as I had just told him the results!

For ages I'd had no sweating at all from my legs and feet, the last few times I've exercised I've noticed a tiny damp mark on my socks on the top of my feet - not the soles of my feet where you would expect to sweat! Strange, I never can work out what is going on with my body!

Flop

[flop]

Ooops - I also meant to say that the technician during my most recent tilt tests was suprised to notice that as my HR went up I broke out in a sweat on my face, it wasn't a warm room either.

Flop

[ajw4790]

Hi!

Yes, many of us sweat a lot (too much), but normally it is in certain spots (normally more proximal rather than distal) due to the lack of sweating elsewhere. The body tries to make up for being unable to sweat normally in some areas by sweating more profusely in others. The body still has to try and cool itself. This tends to run with the amount of small fiber neuropathy you have and where is affected. Some people I do believe as posted here can have the absolute absence of sweating due to something farther up the chain not working properly. I myself tend to sweat more than most my age (esp. for female) and with less exertion. I also do not seem to sweat as much on my hands/arms and feet/legs as reflected with the QSART test.

I don't know if that was any kind of helpful?

[yogini]

You're right that dysautonomia affects sweating for lots of people. I think some people stop sweating because of autonomic neuropathy. I'm not sure what causes the excess sweating, but I think it's somehow controlled by the ANS. I've never sweated much. I think that's just normal for me and wasn't affected either way by my POTS.

[deucykub]

I'm not sure if I have an odd pattern of sweat, but I do sweat terribly now when I am upright either sitting or standing for too long, typically along my mid to lower back. This is usually combined with my feeling pretty overheated.

Ahhh... dysautonomia, what new symptom will you give me tomorrow?