Sweaty
 

Not sure about others but when I was drinking I was either recovering-- or drinking. That's how the days played out. Because I wanted to feel better I took Excedrin. It has acetaminophen and caffeine. So the combination of coffee, aspirin, and alcohol I was constantly sweaty. I sweat easily anyway but it was embarrassingly bad. The only time I didn't sweat excessively is when I was drunk.

Now that I have quit it seems my body's thermostat has regulated itself properly and I don't feel hot or cold all the time. And if I sweat its because I should be sweating.

Anyone else notice this?

I have gotten super cold since I quit. I was always like a little furnace drinking now I am like a little old lady with an afghan and tea.

I used to sweat constantly when I was drinking. I hated the summer months as I was always uncomfortable. Now I love the summer and don't sweat nearly as much.

I haven't been on lately glad to see some familiar faces.

Hey sva, good to see you! Hope you are well.

I was a disgusting mess when I was drinking. I not only sweat a lot, but that sweat smelled VERY poorly. Especially when I was in detox. I took maybe 4 or 5 showers a day.

I agree with Della, I always used to run hot, but now I find myself bundling up when other people are dressed 'comfortably'.

Absolutely.

I have had HORRIFIC experiences with sweating. Sweaty hands. Sweaty armpits. Sweaty forehead..... hugely embarassing moments in front of entire rooms of people and sweating through shirts.

Turns out, caffeine and alcohol both impact the nervous system in lots of ways. Caffeine in particular is a sympathomimetic agent that triggers your fight or flight response. I believe it also has a cumulative effect.

Between coffee and excedrin and energy drinks to manage the downsides to my drinking, and of course the inclusion for several years of cocaine and other stimulants and drugs that messed up my serotonin and dopamine - well, I was a sweaty awful mess.

Nowadays, caffeine still has that effect - but it's much less pronounced. I think I did permanent damage or altered my nervous system all together with the years of abuse of caffeine and drugs and alcohol.

Social settings still give me anxiety. Presenting in front of a group makes me sweat excessively.... but it's still a thousand times better than it was before I got sober.

Anyway - totally normal and it does ease over time and with good sobriety depth.

:grouphug:

I noticed that my sheets don't turn yellow anymore. Yes i know that's disgusting.

Also, my palms used to be constantly wet or clammy. That's gone too.

Yeah, I used to sweat every waking moment; usually woke up with the sheets soaked too. I would also shower multiple times a day to attempt to keep the smell at bay, and didn't wear white because the pits would permanently stain almost immediately. The sweating was a total nightmare when I lived in Phoenix, as you can imagine...

Thanks for reminding me how horrible and embarrassing that was. Glad I sweat when I'm supposed to nowadays.

I didn't sweat so much but the odor never left me. Yes, either hung over or drunk was the norm. My biggest symptom was the shakes. I couldn't hold a cup of coffee without splashing it all over unless I had a couple shots in me.
My hands are steady as a surgeons now.

Sweating was a big issue for me. My last relapse lasted about a week, after the first couple days the sweating came back heavy. Midwest-U.S. October, it couldn't have been but the mid-50's outside, but sweat would be literally dripping and running down my face. That itself was only an annoyance, but I knew it was a symptom of much worse.

Normally, sweating wasn't really an issue. I'm just coming off of a relapse after 7 months sober, and day 2 I am sweating so much, it's pretty nasty lol. I noticed fluctuations too though after coming off. Hot and sweaty one second, then freezing the next,

Yeah, the sweating was relentless. I would break a sweat taking the dog outside and back inside in December (granted, there are stairs). Add to that sweating from the anxiety I always seemed to have when I was drinking, social fears ... social situations in hot weather involving alcohol :) etc.

Yes I sweat horribly when I was drinking too. Usually only when I was jonesing for that next drink. I'd get the horrible sweats and hot flashes until I had a couple hard and fast drinks then my temperature would regulate and I'd get normal. Aka drunk.

Now, I am constantly cold. I have some health issues though that need checking out. But even in hot summer days, I need sweaters and covered in blankets. My body does not regulate temperature very well.
But then, I have been abusing my body for years and was often a sickly child. If I'm upright and breathing and thinking I'm ok. I am happy to layer :)

I am glad to read all these responses! I would sweat so much when I was drinking. It could be freezing cold, and I would still be on the couch sweating, and just explain it away as "I'm a sweating kind of guy"...no, you're a drunk.

My job requires me to do public speaking in front of hundreds of people, and I used to have to plan out what shirt (aka, black) I was going to wear to work, because I would always have huge sweat stains under my armpits.

It's certainly gone way down since I stopped. Not gone entirely, but I suppose there is still just natural body chemistry in play.

Me too, Thomas.

I sweated all the time. I would subconsciously wipe my hand on my pants before shaking someone's hand. Was horrible. Now it's gone, thank goodness. The itchy scalp too.
I gave my mattress away to charity. Was a bit embarrassing because it was literally yellow.

So glad we won't have to go through that again, right?
B.

Yep

Yes, and especially on Monday after a weekend of drinking. I was at work, trying to look and act "normal" and was always afraid that someone would look at me and know I'd spent the weekend drinking. So glad that is over.

Huh, I was hesitant to make a silly post about sweating, but I'm glad I did. It sounds like many of us battled the issue of excessive sweating. Its also reassuring to me that I was not alone in this dilemma. I always knew I was in for a tough day when I got out of the shower and after drying off I was soaking wet again in about 2 minutes. I am so glad that stuff is behind me.

I'm glad you made the "silly post about sweating".

Not silly at all.

Just part of the stuff that we went through when we were insane.

B.

Just another thing.

When I gave the mattress away, I turned it over to hide the stains.

It didn't help, because the sweat had worked its way right through. Both sides were stained horribly.

Like a giant tea strainer.

Funnily enough, I'm proud of my new mattress, when I change the sheets.
B.