The key difference between my day and the photo above is that I did not perform a rock concert today.  Maybe in my head I was a rockstar, but rest assured, I was not dancing around a stage under hot lights trying to get the crowd going.  Although by looking at my armpits, you would have thought I just wrapped up a concert, ran a marathon, or zumba’d for hours.

This is just another joy of having Gastroparesis.  I’m not officially positive if excessive armpit sweat is linked to Gastroparesis.  My hypothesis is that the two are linked because I never had this problem prior to Gastroparesis flair ups.  I’ve asked around in GP communities and some others have the same problem.  Although I will say that I haven’t had enough people to make a statistically sound conclusion to either reject or accept my hypothesis.  (Yes, I am a stats nerd.)

The excessive armpit sweat is a problem for a number of reasons.  Nothing screams professionalism quite like a couple of big rings on your sweater.  This has led me to purchase a number of sweaters and shirts that do not change much in color when they are soaked with sweat.  You may ask why I don’t just wear an undershirt to help with this issue.  Well….I do!

I’ve tried almost every antiperspirant out there.  Some works better than others, but some days my body just decides that it wants to sweat buckets.  Some friends have suggested that I go to a dermatologist.  With all of the doctors visits already in regular rotation, the last thing I want to do is add another one to the mix.  There is also the thought of having to educate yet another medical professional on Gastroparesis.  (It gets exhausting!)  There is also the thought that the dermatologist will just blame it on Gastroparesis and not do anything (which is probably the appropriate answer).  Do I really want to waste the time and money to deal with it?

Sadly the answer is no.  I would rather have one less doctor to deal with, one less bill to pay, and one less pill to swallow or medical procedure to go through.  I already feel like a living pin cushion and have racked up plenty of frequent flyer miles to doctors’ offices, so I think I will sit this one out.

I will sit this one out by hiding in a bathroom stall while I take off my sweater, soak up the sweat with a paper towel, and apply more antiperspirant.  The only thing I know for sure is that those pesky GP elves better be ready to hand wash all these sweaters!

~Millie

PS…Thanks for sticking with me during my short hiatus.  I took some “me” time to see an old friend of 30 years & to visit with a GP sister that is in the hospital.  I was all out of spoons by the end of these visits and took a short break from writing about my Gastroparesis Adventures.