My body suddenly stopped sweating and feels like it’s overheating!

Symptoms
#1

Yesterday (8 days since my crash), I noticed my hands and face felt strange when I touched it, but I wasn’t sure why.

Now, after waking up from about an hour of sleep (as usual), it’s become abruptly obvious as the feeling has intensified as they’re now completely dry. My whole body has stopped sweating. It seems the sweat function started slowing and shutting down yesterday, and now it feels like it’s fully shut down whilst I’ve been resting in bed and getting a couple of short sleep cycles. I also have dry eyes, nostrils and mouth (I also feel constipated, this has been the case for the last couple days however).

This feels very disconcerting and quite scary. I feel like I’m overheating, even though I’m drinking plenty of water.

All my life, I’ve had hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating) all over my body, all the time. My hands, face, feet, and armpits would especially sweat profusely. It was very obvious too: beads of sweat running down my face, large underarm sweat marks that would spread across my chest, and hands so clammy I’d avoid handshakes.

I never liked the excessive sweating, but I was used to it, more importantly my body was use to it. Now, suddenly, it’s gone, and my body isn’t used to this. It feels like it’s overheating. I’ve drunk a fair bit of water to try and quench my first and cool me down but it’s not working.

I don’t think I’m literally going to overheat to the point of it being a medical emergency but this feels bad. I feel really warm / hot with my duvet cover on me, but if I take it off my body starts shivering and I think it feels cold. I’m not quite sure what’s going on. The room is 18.0°C (64.4°F). Edit: I’ve been up for a bit and feel cooled down now, I just checked my temperature and it’s 36.0°C (96.8°F), so basically normal. I still feel uncomfortable and dry. I think I was getting overly hot under my duvet before waking up and getting up due to no sweat.

Has anyone else lost their ability to sweat? Did it return, and if so, after how long?

3 doses of finasteride - 0.25mg, 0.05mg and 0.04mg
#2

I managed to get a bit more sleep early this morning, but woke around 7am again feeling overheated and dehydrated, with everything completely dry — skin, eyes, nose, and mouth.

Since it’s Saturday and my GP surgery was closed, I called the UK’s urgent but non-life-threatening service, 111. Even though I was almost certain this was related to PFS and that there was probably nothing they could do, I felt I should contact a medical service anyway to see what they advise. I explained my symptoms: a lack of sweating, dryness all over my body, severe constipation and gut discomfort, and the inability to sleep more than about 30 minutes to an hour at a time, roughly two hours total per night for the last nine nights. I also mentioned that this all started after taking and then stopping finasteride, though they weren’t interested about that part, which I expect they wouldn’t be as their job is to direct people to care if they have concerning symptoms regardless of the cause. The clinician advised me to go to the hospital’s Urgent Care Treatment Centre right away.

At the hospital, they ran some quick checks, blood pressure, temperature, heart rate, and listened to my chest and all seemed fine. Then I spoke with a doctor and went over everything again, including the sexual side effects that I hadn’t previously mentioned. I was so tired I forgot to mention a few other things though, like chest tenderness. He noted the finasteride, saying some of my symptoms, especially the sexual ones, could be related to it, but didn’t seem to think it would be the cause for much else.

I asked him to clearly document the timeline, that my symptoms began with finasteride use and worsened after stopping it, and he said he would include that in the report to my GP. I stressed this because when I’d spoken to my GP on the phone a few days ago, I made the same point about finasteride, but later checked my online medical notes and saw he hadn’t written down my use of finasteride at all. During that call, I also asked if he was familiar with Post Finasteride Syndrome (PFS). He dodged the question several times before finally saying he’s aware of it but has never had a patient with it. It felt like he didn’t want to acknowledge the condition’s existence or possibility.

The 111 doctor said I should get some blood tests done and prescribed laxatives for the constipation. I don’t expect the blood work will show anything, many people with PFS seem to have normal results, but at least this visit ensures it’s noted that everything started around the same time as finasteride. Even if there’s nothing they can do to help, I want this recorded, because people need to see how damaging this drug can be. It should be banned, and I hope that by reporting my case it might contribute, in some small way, to more awareness, research, and recognition of PFS even if no treatment arrives in my lifetime.

The doctor prescribed Laxido, and I’m scared to take it. The constipation is bad, but I’ve read that people with PFS can react poorly to all sorts of substances, and I don’t want to risk worsening my symptoms.

The Laxido ingredients are:

  • Macrogol 3350
  • Sodium Chloride
  • Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate
  • Potassium Chloride
  • Acesulfame potassium (E950)
  • Orange flavour (contains maltodextrin and propylene glycol (E1520))

When reconstituted, each sachet provides:

  • Sodium 65 mmol/L
  • Chloride 53 mmol/L
  • Bicarbonate 17 mmol/L
  • Potassium 5.4 mmol/L

Has anyone here taken Laxido or anything similar? How did you get on with it?

Edit: I’ve taken the max amount, 8 sachets across 6 hours for fecal impaction instead of the 1 to 3 sachets dose for constipation.
I drank the last sachets and hour a go. No signs of letting up yet, but I guess it takes a while. Also no signs of worsening PFS symptoms.

1 Like