Anyone else experiencing this? It is embarrassing having sweat pour off your face..hair gets wet.
Gabapentin - I am experiencing horrible sweating..even in cool conditions..pouring off my face?
Question posted by Imlmcooper on 11 July 2013
Last updated on 24 July 2023 by Roxx65
27 Answers Page 2
Yes !! It’s absolutely horrible!!
Yes !!! I need a shower after a shower. And I so agree ... extremely embarrassing. I can’t even put my makeup on because I am so sweaty
yes I am experiencing cold sweats since I take Gabapentin, aggravating.
I'm looking at some of the doses of gabapentin folks here have been on and I was only on 100 mg. Lol I think sometimes we get nervous about it and we sweat. Nervousness/anxiety can also cause sweating. All the best to you all.
Yes I experience the same symptoms and I've been on neurontin for 12 years. It's only been the last 6-8 months that this has been happening. I thought it was just me. But now I'm sure they have added something else to the drug.
Yes, I can say that Gabapentin makes me intolerant to heat. I only take Lexapro to control my migraines, and my neurologist started me on Horizant (Gabapentin) for my twitchy legs at night. It has, with out a doubt, made me intolerant to heat. I've only been taking it for 2 months, and I am so sweaty. I went to the fair with my family and I was a sweaty mess. I have never been one to sweat much. Since I'm not really feeling better for having taking it (it does make me less twichy, but it makes me feel like a zombie during the day), I am considering going off of it. I'm only taking one 350mg at night. Last night I cut it in half (125mg) but I still am "out of it" today... I'm sorry that you have to suffer with the sweats, but I can assure you that you are not alone.
lmlmcooper,
How has it been going, have you decreased your gabapentin at all? Any difference in facial perspiration? I truly hope so.
IF you wear makeup, buy a perfecting primer, it will mitigate some of the facial perspiration, it's working splendidly for me and I just bought the Revlon brand, nothing expensive. You actually can wear this alone, without foundation and it will help with the perspiration.
Update us if you've the time and inclination, love to know how you are doing.
Lara
Hi Lara, I am down to 3 gabapentin's a day..admit to being pretty shaky at cutting it down..so far the facial perspiration is still pretty bad..I will try the primer..does anyone else get really anxious when cutting down? It DID help my pain level..I don't want to go back there. It's notjust the sweating..it's the whole heat thing..makes me yearn for snow...
Hi ImC,
Yes, tapering off of gabapentin can indeed cause anxiety. (I, however, felt the opposite, I felt anxious while ON it, and exhausted while cutting back.) That really is common. Go as slow as you can so that you don't encounter too much anxiety. My heart goes out to you, this drug can be a pernicious assault to our bodies, so many side effects to deal with and the withdrawal can be difficult as you've found out, unfortunately. But it will be easier the slower you go on your taper. (I should add that other people have had great success with gabapentin, just not you and I.)
You may get to a point in your taper that you do feel tired, but I can tell you this, I take my dose at night, it does help me sleep, which is counterintuitive to the anxiety thing, go figure. If I forget that dose at night I'll be in bed flopping round like a fish out of water for hours until I realize what I've done. So, you too may want to take one capsule at night so you can sleep, just a heads up there.
IF you plan on tapering further, down to 2 300mg capsules rather than 3, you may note less perspiration on face and hair, I hope so!
The head perspiration made me so fitful, I'd just finish dealing with my hair, which is long, it would look nice, and voila, break out into a "glow" and my hair would frizz up like mad, leaving me looking quite like a cavewoman!! Does that happen to you, not the cavewoman bit, but the hair thing? Or are you one of the lucky women who don't have natural curl to your hair?
(As my Irish Gran used to say, "Horses sweat, men perspire and women glow." That always made me laugh, she was a character!)
I did think of you this morn as I applied my primer, it does help a bit, promise.
Even on it's own and there is no color to it, not the Revlon stuff. Some primers do have either a violet or a yellow colour as to hide a ruddy or a sallow complexion, to even it out, but not Revlon brand. But there are great primers in any budget, if you want to go crazy with a primer buy a Dior, or Urban Decay, or check out Sephora, they have everything you can imagine plus items you couldn't even believe existed, Sephora or Ulta, both are good resources. Or just go to your nearest supermarket, you'll find primers from almost ever brand. Also, if you keep some witch hazel soaked cotton balls in a baggie in your purse, you can always get rid of some perspiration by applying any astringent based liquid, like witch hazel, then reapply the primer again.
I store my witch hazel in the frig which feels lovely on a hot day, especially if I've been working in my garden or just walking, but I must admit to becoming a shut-in from the heat, it makes me cranky as heck!! I live in Michigan and it gets quite hot and humid here, far from the glacial type clime that some southern people think it is.
I do beg pardon for writing a novella here, sorry all!
Lara
Lara, I like that witch hazel idea..I keep that..thank you. I actually get carried away with answers too. I have a flower garden which I have been unable to work in after hot weather sets in. I am an outdoor person who is trapped inside..I fix my hair and even if I'm inside in air conditioning ( my husband and I have the battle of the air conditioning temperature..) I start sweating or (glowing, I like that) and my hair is just one big frizz..just enough curl in my hair to mess me up. I will try the gabapentin at night, especially after I cut down more..I have bouts of extreme pain but it doesn't seem to be that much worse after cutting down..thank you for your words of wisdom..I needed that..do you know of a good antidepressant..I had to get off mine because of rapid heartbeat..after I got off I found that my acid reflux improved greatly which surprised and pleased me.
Hi lmlm,
It depends upon the type of depression you are having. Some types of depression include horrible anxiety, which makes you lose your appetite and pace and then some types make you want to stay in your bed all day. Which one do you fall into?
SNRI's can do that, let us know what type of antidepressant you were taking that made your heart beat so rapidly, I'll just bet it was an snri, not an ssri.
SNRI's affect not only serotonin, but norepinephrine as well, having a calming effect for most, but they really can jack up your heart rate, which sounds so very counterintuitive!
You might just ask your doc for an ssri, but I cannot give you a specific one, as we are all so varied and different, what works for some may not work for another, and so on.
Your friend,
Lara
I forgot to add that some antidepressants can cause severe perspiring (Glowing!!) for some people, too, so that may also be a contributing factor.
Ask your doc if there is an antidepressant that doesn't have glowing as a side effect : )
Good luck and I so hope you start feeling better!
Lara
Lara, I experience high anxiety, no appetite and having to constantly be doing something, also have severe restless legs. I took trazodone for about 10 years..it helped me to sleep and calmed me..no restless leg. No weight gain, I liked it..I did experience terrible heartburn, acid reflux..had to take prevacid..then suddenly, episodes of rapid heart, increasing in frequency and lasting longer. Pulse ran away. So the dr said, long term use of trazodone was seeing rapid heart rate..took me off. The withdrawal was horrible..that is one powerful drug... put me on prozac which made me feel like I could jump out of my skin..I didn't sleep at all. So I stopped the prozac. Still feel anxious..not much sleep..and of course, glowing... lol... I love that..and my acid reflux is so much better. Thank you..enjoy talking to you.
I was tapered off because I have trouble with low sodium otherwise gabapentin seemed to be helping.
Your welcome lmlm. Any time. P.S. The next time your going to be the one who answers my question Take care and may peace be with you, Anna
Anna, you really are a ray of sunshine! I'm down to one or two gabapentin a day and the perspiring has let up considerably, quite a difference from the max dose I was taking, 3600mgs! Plus, no pain relief, it's done NOTHING.
You nut, spraying people with your water-fan. I have one of those as well, hubby bought it for me. Mine is bright magenta, I dropped it on our hardwood floor and the fan blade came off, put it back together and now it blows in reverse, I have to turn it round to make that thing work.
I also have a small fan that I plug in, right by my makeup mirror, so that I don't perspire while applying makeup and using any hair care appliances, it makes a big difference.
Love,
Lara
Hi Lara. You are a wal-nut. You have good prices on nuts.
L, Anna
You have out the batteries in backwards!! Try reversing the polarities and see how it woks! Let us know!!
Hi im.
It IS embarrassing to sweat. I didn't think about Gab playing a part in this. Now that you mention it,, I just dropped from 2400 mg of Gab to 1200. I don't sweat as much. The other day I asked myself why I do sweat. Now, I think I get it. This has been a problem for many years, so I thought it was just normal. I carry a fan wherever I go. If you have the opportunity, put ice between your groin(I know I misspelled that word. Dadgummit.II) It works EVERY time for me. I just can't take the heat. This is my cure.
Thanks for asking. That was a good question.
pickles503
Hi Sweet Pickles,
May I ask why you went down from 2400 to 1200? Did you have a reaction, my friend?
I just bought a fan, too and am going to take it everywhere! It is small and runs on batteries, it works great for facial or head perspiration. You may want to buy one yourself (to the questioner).
Lara
Thank you so much for your comments. It does make me feel better to know others are going thru the same thing... I will get that fan..great idea!
Hi Lara.
I dropped Gab because I really want to see if it's the culprit behind my memory loss. I dropped from 24 then 18 and now 12. I'm going to get off it asap. I'm also going to get off or lower my other meds. Truly, my memory sucks. If it isn't meds, it's dementia. I need to know so I can get my affairs in order.
I have a fan just like you describe. I bought it a couple years ago. It's great! Thanks for reminding me. I have another one that squirts like a kids toy, but it has a fan on it. I like it, too. Plus it's fun to squirt others with. Too bad my ex isn't around. I'd put a 427 engine in it.
I'm glad you took the time to respond. Your such a cootie.
Lub ya,
Anna
I wanted you to know that I'm positive the Gabapentin is causing my memory loss. Too many other people who are taking it are saying the same thing.. Good luck on getting off..I'm working down my dosage..I have some nerve ending pain and burning in my feet, so I hope it doesn't hurt me too bad..back to the dr..
Hi I'm. I also am being tapered off of gabapentin but have just taken 1 Aleve for excruciating back pain. Also am on many medications so am not sure what is causing night sweat. It is not severe just annoying.
Me too, me too! It's horribly embarrassing indeed. I'm down to 3-4 gabapentin a daily from 12 daily, and it has let up a bit.
You must weight the benefits against the perspiration and decide if Gabapentin is working for you.
I wish you the best. Hope the perspiring goes away very soon.
(If you've just started gab, you may notice that the perspiration clears up after you've been on it for four to six weeks.
Lara
I've been on it for 2 years now..the sweating is getting worse.. Thank you for your responses.
Hi Imlmcooper,
Pickles has brought up a great solution, a small portable fan, she is one smart pickle!
Lara
Thank you all so much concerning sweating while taking Gabapentin, I thought I was the only one. The doctor increased my dose my one three times a day to 3 - 3 times a day, but I think I will have to cut back again, the sweating can make me feel quite ill. Any other advice very welcome
Dear lmlmcooper - I have been experiencing the same thing!! I have been on Neurontin (same thing) and pain doc has never agreed or disagreed this is problem. It is useless to put on makeup at it gets wiped off just patting my face dry. The hair, OMG, useless so just put in a bun. My shirts especially around neck, soaked. I get mixed messages, GI doc says it could be the prednisone, Cardio says could be heart related. Nero says it is a combo of all my meds (12 different ones at varying amounts and 3 as needed) I so understand what you are going thru Mine dropped so much yesterday it feel on my plate of food. So annoying!! Will keep you in mind if.when I find.hear a solution. Take care, be well as can be!!!
Thank you..I have fibromyalgia..I have been on many medications, but I am now only on Neurontin and tramadol. I take 3 or 4 Neurontins and 2 Tramadols daily I took myself off antidepressants thinking that was the cause..on this low dosage, Restless Leg is killing me, pain is not controlled and the sweating is horrible. To sit in an air conditioned church service with sweat dripping into your lap and your hair soaking wet is terrible.
Since I posted this I found out that the medication causing the terrible sweating was not gabapentin, although Gabapentin has affected my memory terribly. Tramadol was causing the sweating. After I got off tramadol, the sweating stopped. Now if I could just replace gabapentin with something else.
Yes, I do too. A number of medications do this. Not much to be done except keep the body as cool as you can. Carry tissues or a handkerchief. You may be able to get a dose adjustment, but if what you take is good, I figure the side effects are less a problem than the illness.
If you check recent topics you will find others are dealing with this as well.
Related topics
Further information
- Gabapentin uses and safety info
- Gabapentin prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Gabapentin (detailed)
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