Every time I have had chronic sweating it has been due to low grade autonomic dysreflexia (AD) cause by some source of irritation or trauma below my injury line. It can be the most maddening and scary situation to know something is profoundly wrong and have absolutely no idea how to pinpoint it and correct it. The fact that most healthcare professionals know little if anything about AD, or how debilitating it can be over time, always makes me feel even more helpless and hopeless.
Consistently, my worst trigger has been kidney stones. For two years in the late 80s I was suffering both low-grade and flareup episodes of AD, and my inexperienced medical team did not pick up on some of the simplest warning signs, like chronic bladder infections and blood in the urine. This was early in my post-accident years and I was too trusting of medical experts to demand that everybody aggressively pursue every possible source of the problem. It almost cost me my life when I had post-surgery complications from removing two massive staghorn stones. Also, the stones/infections/surgeries did irreparable nerve damage leaving me with chronic urethral burning – – which is the single biggest cause of suffering, depression, and reduced quality of life I experience. Other AD triggers of mine I've had to track down include hemorrhoids, early bedsore breakdown on my heels, a spider bite, severe constipation, and fabric pressure points in my groin. Something like a dislocated shoulder or gallstones could absolutely be the cause of your sweating. You have to get those problems addressed (meaning treated!) to have any hope of tracking down the real culprit. I've come to have a love-hate relationship with AD symptoms such as sweating, flushing, chills and body ache. On the hate side, they are immediately uncomfortable and distracting. If they persist, they become all-consuming, a constant source of worry and real physical distress. However, on the love side (maybe love overstates the case; maybe appreciate is more appropriate), without its warnings I would constantly be developing far worse physical problems. I am so in tune with that now, that the various combinations of AD symptoms can help me accurately discern between say, a moving kidney stone, and a hemorrhoid. So, my advice is to please listen to your sweating. Don't stop until you eliminate, one by one, any source of irritation or trauma below your injury line. Ed Tessier ________________________________ From: Eric Olson <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, February 21, 2022 10:26 AM To: Toby Ausbun <[email protected]> Cc: Quad-list Post <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [QUAD-L] Constant sweating Any one of those things could cause sweating. For me, sweating is usually a sign of AD. My gallbladder is full of stones too. Has been for 35 years. My doctor said, "ff you're ever really sick and they don't know why, tell them you have gallstones." Gee thanks. I know at some point, it will start causing me problems. For now, if it ain't broke, don't fix it right? Your shoulder situation is a little scary. It could definitely cause sweating, but if you're not in pain... I wonder if the inaction on your shoulder is because you're a quad. I think if you were able bodied, they would try to fix it. Nobody wants to have surgery, but if it impacts your quality of life... Tough call. On Sun, Feb 20, 2022 at 9:58 PM Toby Ausbun <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: My body has been sweating constantly for a yr now some days aren’t terrible in my chair but I’ve got a lot of things wrong with me my arm is dislocated and they can’t put it back in because of arthritis,rotator cuff’s torn in half,gallbladderfull of stones what do i do I’ve been a c4 complete and cant take it much longer like this would take any suggestions??? Sent from my iPad
