9 replies to this topic

[kanga2433]

Rick, I and not a quad so unable to help you really. I hope others will come with more advice. However, I must suggest that you seek medical help here. If you have been fit for so long, and only changed in the last few weeks, it is important to have the doctor check things to make sure there is nothing serious causing the problem.

Robert

[ben_h_79]

hello Rick, I've been a quadriplegic for 11 years and I know exactly what you are talking about,it might be simply that your body is uncomfortable in its position,or you are developing a sore,I used to sweat so bad I had to put paper towels in my shirt to keep my clothes from getting soaked,it could even be kidney stone problems,quadriplegics are prone to stones.I would also have to agree with kanga,you should see a doctor right away especially if this is just coming on,you may be able to take care of the problem before it gets bad.good luck and let us know how it turns out.take care

[gcampbell]

Rick,

I have been a quad for 20 years and suffer from the sweating. This is often caused by something called autonomic dysreflexia. There is plenty of information about this condition on this web site and especially the Internet. This condition can be dangerous and sometimes life-threatening so it would be good to find what is causing you to sweat.

Glenn

[Ironside]

Been a Tetraplegic since 1986 and never sweated. I started sweating, two weeks later we discovered a pressure sore that had been lurking underneath the skin. Don't want to worry, just be very careful.

[hillarymcarter]

It could be a bedsore, your bladder could be full, you may need to have a movement, or it could be just as simple as a wrinkle in the sheet that is under you. A lot of times when I get up at night to take care of my husband (he is still on a hospital bed) he is sweating badly and it will be from a wrinkle in his blue pad. Get somebody to do a really good skin exam on you to make sure you aren't getting a sore.

[carolline]

Ironside

You need to be very careful to your skin.Eventhough it started for a small blister,you should watch out for it.As you mention your tetraplegic,you need to turn side by side atleast every two hours.Avoid pressure to all bony areas as well,need to lubricant your skin,to avoid get it dry.Check also the folds ang wrinkles of your bed sheet it's a one factor also,contributing a sore.

Take good care of your skin.

[NickH]

Hello Rick

I had problems sweating right from about 3-4 weeks after my accident. I am C5/6 incomplete so they tell me and had a diving accident in 1993, I used to put a t-shirt on and I'm not joking it used to be soaking wet within a few minutes. The thing was that I always felt cold and people used to say to me that you are obviously hot I'll open the doors and windows but I would be shivering.

The consultants tried me on all sorts of medication but all that did was dry my mouth up and that was a nightmare eating especially in the early days when I was still on my back and not being able to use my hands and fingers to retrieve the food when I started choking. When I used to sweat it was as if you drew a line right the way down the middle of my body. One side of the line would be soaking wet as if someone had tipped a bucket of water over me and the other side would be completely dry. The first time my consultants seen it they were amazed. As soon as you wiped the sweat away it would be there again before you move the towel, you would have to see it to believe it.

I suffered for many years with this sweating and eventually realized that it was all to do with my body position and comfort. My first wheelchair for the first 2 - 3 years was a carters and the seat position is completely level/flat if that makes sense. When I was just sat in it I would be sweating for no reason, one way to stop this was to get someone to tilt the chair back and the sweating would stop.

Anyway when I got my second wheelchair it was a bit more sporty and the seat position was on a slope backwards like a bucket seat and I could sit in this all day long without sweating at all, it transformed my life at the time and saved my parents loads of washing. I still get the odd sweat from time to time especially if I'm in bed. I know how to stop the sweating in bed, its all to do with the position of my legs. There was a time when I couldn't have a pillow because it would be soaking wet in a few short minates even though I still felt cold most of the time. When you say that you have problems sweating people don't understand what the sweating is like, its really horrible and makes you feel clammy and like crap all day until you can have another shower. I guess its a way that the body expesses pain when you can't feel it.

I did have some kidney stones removed in the mid to late 90s but I didn't find the sweating any different because of the stones only the spacems were more fierce which I can get quite bad if something is wrong.

It does seem strange that your sweating is new to you and as others have suggested it would probably be a good idea to get a doctor to check you out properly as piece of mind. Have you changed your wheelchair recently? I can also get sweats if I don't have enough fruit and fibre in my diet if you know what I mean to losen things up. I hope you sort this out my friend because it can drain your energy and make you feel not so good.

Regards,
Nick