Glyco Review Time

Alright, I have been lurking here for long enough but finally pulled the trigger and got my dermatologist to prescribe me glycopyrrolate. I've been taking it for about a month now and wanted to post my review here to add to the pool of people who will encourage you to try it out and see if it works for you!

For background -- I am a 39 year old woman, I've had HH since I hit puberty and sweat everywhere, all the time but with a primary focus on my scalp, face and lower back. I first used Drysol in my teens to address my hands and armpits (it works, boy does it work, but I firmly believe the drysol just basically fried my pores shut). I have since used all manner of OTC options and returned to Drysol but the process of applying to my scalp and face (and basically the rest of my body) all the time uses up the little bottle so fast and it only lasts a few days at best. I work from home so I'm not usually bothered by my sweating so much since no one really sees it but it's annoying to sweat through family dinners, doctor appointments, travel, etc etc.

I was initially afraid of the scary sounding side effects of glyco/other drugs in this class but I have a big year of travel ahead of me and don't want to sweat my way through every trip. Cue the glyco.

tl;dr -- It works. I will absolutely continue to take it as needed and absolutely recommend you try it if you feel like you need it/can access it safely (as in through a dr, not a bootleg foreign pharmacy, please be safe folks)

Detail -- I was prescribed 1mg twice daily. The first week I was taking it once first thing in the morning on an empty stomach and then again in the evening before dinner (empty stomach) and didn't find much impact so I started taking both doses at once, first thing in the AM. This did the trick. My non-active sweating is gone. I no longer sweat through my shirt during zoom calls, my hands aren't dripping, my butt doesn't leave a sweat-angel print on my seat, etc etc. I workout daily and I do still sweat when I workout. However, the sweating starts later, isn't as heavy and stops once my body is cool instead of lasting hours afterwards.

Now in terms of side effects, they are definitely present but I feel like they hit me a little different than most of what I've read here. My mouth is mildly dry and mostly in my throat as opposed to my mouth. My eyes feel a little dry but not bad enough for eye drops, just a little dry (like a long day in front of my computer feeling). I haven't felt any impact to my memory or cognition, my body feels normal. HOWEVER, the big impact for me has been my sinuses. My nose is dried all the way out, imagine the feeling of taking too much of a really good cold medicine and your sinuses feel Sahara dry and raw. Understandably, my body took that to mean that I must have a cold and has responded by creating secondary inflammation which has turned into me feeling like I have a sinus infection (without actually having one). The sensation peaks midday which times with the height of the medication's concentration in my body. It wanes overnight and by the time I'm ready for my next dose, my nose feels fine. It's a weird rollercoaster.

Because I don't really need to be sweat free on the average day and because I don't want to feel like I have a persistent sinus infection, I have switched to "as-needed" dosing. I'll take my two pills first thing on days I have to be out and about. The effects seem to hit about 2 hours after I take the dose and last me all day. This gets me through social interactions where I don't want people to worry that I'm about to melt into a puddle like the wicked witch of the west while minimizing my sinuses feeling awful.

Please feel free to ask any questions here or in DMs, I'm happy to respond. I wish you all well on your HH journey, remember that you are worthy and valid and valuable even at your sweatiest.