Excessive sweating

Hi Im 25 years old and had a pacemaker placed about 1 year ago from complications of SVT and Ablations. I have felt so much better and have not had any incidents or symptoms until last week when I started sweating really bad, and having weakness. The rate is at a normal rate and normal rythm. Does anyone know if this is something that can be caused by the pacemaker, or should I be concerned that its something else? Thanks for your help.

1 Comments

Excessive Sweating

by BOB 1 - 2008-09-22 05:09:14

Excessive sweating is no likely to be directly related to your pacemaker. The following article may shed a little more light on the subject.

Excessive or profuse sweating is a medical condition with many possible causes. Because it is not a disease, it can be a symptom of another medical condition such as a disorder of the nerves.

Please note that it is extremely important to obtain an accurate diagnosis before trying to find a cure. Many diseases and conditions share common symptoms: if you treat yourself for the wrong illness or a specific symptom of a complex disease, you may delay legitimate treatment of a serious underlying problem. In other words, the greatest danger in self-treatment may be self-diagnosis. If you do not know what you really have, you can not treat it!

For some people, there may be no detectable cause for their excessive sweating, and they may be considered to have a medical condition known as essential (idiopathic or primary) hyperhidrosis. This may be due to over activity of the nerves that send signals to the sweat glands in the skin, the sympathetic nervous system. Sometimes this idiopathic form of hyperhidrosis can be genetically transmitted, and it often runs in families; this form may first show up in early childhood.

Other people may have sweating as a symptom of known medical conditions, such as: an overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism)

gout
rheumatoid arthritis
tuberculosis
lymphoma
hypoglycemia
parasites
metabolic dysfunction
nerve damage due to diabetes (autonomic dysfunction) or spinal cord injuries
liver disease
vitiligo
psychiatric disorders such as stress, panic attacks or anxiety disorders
hot flashes associated with menopause

Many people who have hyperhidrosis may also have reddening of the skin, which is most noticeable in the face as blushing, due to the same nerve over-activity. Some medications may by themselves cause excessive sweating, such as the medications often used for prostate cancer, AIDS, or pyridostigmine (Mestinon™) used for the condition myasthenia gravis. Obesity and exercise are other obvious causes.

You know you're wired when...

Your pacemaker interferes with your electronic scale.

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I wasn't really self-conscious about it. I didn't even know I had one until around six or seven years old. I just thought I had a rock in my side.