Excessive head and face sweating

I’m sorry to hear that your doctor keeps on saying it’s menopause. They say that to my mum all of the time. They also kept on saying mine was puberty or this antidepressant that I was on. Since then I’m now almost 21 and came off that medication 7 months ago so they can’t say anything. I to sweat on face and on head. Has your GP ruled out everything that could cause it as there a lot of conditions that could potentially cause it. If so you should ask to be referred to the dermatologist if you haven’t already as they could prescribe medication. In my case mine is related to a another condition. I hope this helps and don’t let your doctor fob you off. If you are on Facebook there are groups that could could help. They are called Hyperhidrosis

I am relieved in a strange way that I am not on my own in this. I have really bad head and face sweating. A few years ago when abroad It can happen but that's understandable in the heat. I wondered why it looked like only me with a soggy hairstyle. I can be ironing and the sweat would drip onto the clothes, in my eyes, my hair gets wet through. I can be in a cool relaxed situation and it's no different. Shopping I can feel my hair getting wetter and wetter until it looks like I have been swimming!! Even outside. So dibilatating and embarrassing I don't want to go out. Now I have read the forum I am going to make a GP appt. Will follow everyone with interest. PS I am 74 so like you way way past the menopause!!!

Hi Kathleen, after an early hysterectomy I was put on estradiol pellets which worked fantastically.  I was going along swimmingly - no, delete that word!, when all of a sudden at a lunch meeting in winter, my face starting spouting sweat.  My head was the same.

Dr's kept blaming it on my hrt, being in menopause (?? when I had already told me my history), other medication, depression, etc. etc.  After 6 years of having stinking sweaty hair during the day and night, and my makeup just dripping off me, and ready to jump off a cliff (or try botox), I opted to try botox.

When I saw the botox dr she said she would like to find out what was wrong with me - yeah, me too - and referred me to an endocrinologist.  After my pituitary gland hormones were tested, I was found to have excess prolactin caused by a micro tumour on my pituitary gland.

The excess prolactin was not giving me the usual symptoms that one reads about, but it was making my oestrogen totally inefficient and therefore I WAS in severe menopause.  Treatment was cabergoline, and the sweating miraculously stopped.  It reduced my pit gland tumour and decreased the prolactin.  I never had the botox.

But I cannot reduce my cabergoline or the sweating returns.  My endocrinologist says there is no problem taking this medication forever.  But now and then I have had problems with my oestrogen hrt, e.g. they stopped making the pellets, the patches were not as good (my body needs lots of oestrogen apparently), my dr interferes with my hormones by insisting I take progesterone when I don't need it.  Progesterone is an oestrogen antagonist and reduces its effectiveness, so the sweating returns.

I found a compound chemist who makes the estradiol pellets and went on them, but they now run out quick, and the sweating returns.  Recently I asked my gp to put me on Oxybutinin patches.  Blessed relief again.  At the same time, she told me to halve the carbergoline, and stupidly I agreed because it was only a little bit.  3 weeks later on my holiday to France my hair sweat is dripping onto my chest, shoulders and back.  

I had three weeks of that and I was wondering what to do.  I did not have enough patches to double up and I thought what else has changed.  The halving of the cabergoline - that's what!  So I took the other half, and a week later, the sweating stopped.  So I see my gp tomorrow and I am going to tell her I am not reducing the Cabergoline ever, like I told her I have not using progesterrone again ever.  And it is going to take a lot of confirmed research by me to make any other changes in my hrt.

In the meantime, I saw my endocrinologist again (he keeps monitoring me), and he once again confirmed that continuing to take Cabergoline is NOT going to cause me any harm.  I should have got him to write a letter to my dr telling her that.

Also, I had  two x 100mg estradiol pellets inserted to make sure they lasted longer.  The strength/size of the pellets have nothing to do with 'strength" but how long they last.  The body only takes what it needs and when it needs it from the pellets.

Anyway, I hope I have given you some ideas of what to have checked out for yourself.  Let us know how you go.

Hi Kathleen96139, I suffer from head and neck sweating too and have done ever since i was sterilised at 27 years old and im 60 now, Im sure it has something to do with that operation as i didnt have this until then and it started the night after my op, i have asked my Doctor about it but he said in order to find anything out i would have to have explorative surgery to see if everything inside me was as it should be, and he also said the likelyhood of anything inside being wrong was very small, in other words i believe he was covering for another Doctors mistake, if thats what its been thats caused this with me, its called Hyperhidrosis, incase you are wondering if theres a name for it, ni understand totally how horrible it can be and i too dont do my hair unless im going out, and have my hair cut as short as possable to not make the sweating look so bad, my hair gets soaked, i was using Probantheline for a while but they make my mouth so dry and im not comfortable taking them all the time because there must be an after effect of taking them, because our bodies need to sweat regardless of how bad it is, and if it doesnt there must be a bad side to preventing it from sweating, and this worries me so i only take one tab when i really need to and ive found since ive cut down on taking them that my sweating isnt quite as bad some of the time, i carry a flannel with me and just wipe my face and neck when i have to, it is still embarrassing but not as embarrassing as having sweat dripping off my neck. i hope you find something that works for you and if you want to try them maybe ask your doc for Probantheline and try one when you are going out but take chewing gum with you or you wont be able to talk your mouth will be so dry, good-lick.xAnne1959.

Hi-

I also had suffered for YEARS with extensive head sweating. It greatly hindered my life much the same as others have stated here, so I don't have to go into all that. You get it.

I tried the vitamin D solution - did nothing. I went to my dermatologist, and told her that I had cranial hyperhydrosis, and asked her for "Oxybutynin chloride" which I had read about in a thread here years ago. (It is a medication originally designed for over-active bladder.) She prescribed 5 mg tablets, and suggested I start with 1/2 a tab, see how that works and if necessary increase to one full tab. IT HAS CHANGED MY LIFE. I don't take it every day- I take it if I am going to be in a situation that I know triggers my sweating . I can even take it when I feel it starting, and within a short amount of time it nips it in the bud. I have never had to take more than one tablet for a full day or night's relief. In a NORMAL situation, where any normal person would sweat, I still do. But it stops when the cause goes away (rather than continue forever).

The only side-effects I have experienced are off-the-chart dry mouth (expected) - but I drink water and chew gum, and dealing with that is a piece o' cake compared to the nightmare of a soaking wet head. I also seem to sweat a bit more on other parts of my body, but I can deal with that. It doesn't leave me looking like I just took a shower.

I am female, and i don't know if this med can be prescribed to men as well, but it is worth checking. My quality of life has improved immeasurably.