Hello there,
I am posting this due to something that has been going on for almost 10 years (started when I was 16) and a part of me fears it could be POIS, though the symptom are less harsh then most people.
Basically, after ejaculation, arousal or even general intimacy as well as nocturnal emissions, my body begins to heat up, and I sweat a lot. My hands, groin and armpits are especially affected, and the sweat is weirdly sticky, with my hands feeling really weird in a way that I can?t really describe. (pale?)
This goes on for about a week, though the first 2-3 days are pretty bad.
Since it is a continuous presence, it is very distracting and I do become irritated a lot.
The heat is really annoying since it?s coming from within my body, I feel enclosed by the heat basically. The heat and sweating also makes me pretty exhausted, but it is not as bad as where I cannot function, and I would not say that I feel ill per se. Physical activity does get much harder, even normal chores can quickly make me feel depleted, though I am not the most active person so the little exhaustion by the sweating could be enough for it to be that way. It is obviously a detriment to my life, but not as bad as I have read from others here.
The stickiness on my hands is especially bad since it basically prevents me from doing my hobbies (in this case reading and videogames): reading with sweaty hands goes about as well as you can think. As for videogames, since I can?t just wipe the sweat away (normal sweat I can, but not the sticky one), the controller gets all sticky and I simply can?t play well, sucking the fun out of everything. The stickiness also stays on everything I touch, to the point where I try to not touch anything I use often, and the things I have to use (steering wheel in my car) will need a thorough cleaning since I feel touching them reactivates the issue sometimes. Over the years I basically have lost a huge amount of time where I could not do the things I wanted, which distresses me a lot when I think about it. The fact that this problem determines what I can do is really frustrating and has a very bad affect on my mental state. (I hope this doesn?t come off as whiny but it is what it is. I am not the most mentally stable and my hobbies help me get over the stress of daily life)
Since sweating is involved, the things people with normal hyperhidrosis have to deal with also apply to me (mostly mental stress about people noticing your sweat)
Overall, even if it?s not POIS it basically has lead to me being affected similar to people that have it, as I have very much restrained from masturbation since it started (I do it once every few months, and I usually regret it). I probably don?t need to talk about the mental strain and other stuff since people here probably experience worse things
Since the effect varies depending on what I do I made a list:
Nocturnal Emission: sweating and heat are there, but not as much and it usually lasts 5 days to a week, but the strongest effect is gone after 2 days. It does feel a bit different compared to the worse one in terms of how I experience it. It is however very frustrating, since you obviously can?t control NEs where as you can refrain from masturbation. Being happy due to the effect being gone and waking up the following night due to an NE feels horrible since I know it?s going to be another week of being restricted on what I can do.
Simple cuddling/intimacy: a more recent thing since I was never in a relationship before. Cuddling means you are very close so you usually get a little aroused even if you are not doing anything sexual. If I do it long enough (which happens normally obviously) it starts, Hands and heat overall feel pretty different from compared to NEs. Lasts for at least a week, the first 2 days are really bad and it gets slightly better each day.
More intimate things (where I get more sexually aroused): pretty much the same as the one before just worse. Even if my body stays untouched, as long as enough sexual interaction is there it will start
Ejaculation (and also lesser things): the worst version of the 2 points before. (Ejaculation generates the worst response, but simply not finishing or otherwise being more sexually active without finishing still brings the same results while slightly being less bad. The first 3 days are horrible, and it takes more than a week to go. My hands and body feel like incredibly bad, it?s super sticky and weird and extremely irritating, while the body heat is at its peak and I am pretty exhausted. After day 3 it?s more annoying than detrimental but still a constant irritation
I suppose the non-ejaculation ones could be related to precum but I am not sure. There is also a rare occurrence where my hands get super cold instead of warm, but only for a short time before going back to being warm/heated.
Overall it really takes a mental toll on me, both because the heat/exhaustion thing is really bothersome and the stickiness/sweating restricting how I live out my hobbies is dreadful. Getting in a relationship has made it even worse. Abstaining from masturbation was annoying but doable but asking your partner to cuddle less because my stupid body acts out is bad (well the entire decision of having to basically choose between partner or hobbies is bad. Especially since the partner isn?t at fault here. It?s like intimacy and the stuff beyond has an opportunity cost, which is bad) Nocturnal Emission controlling how I go about my day also sucks and makes me very frustrated.
As for the steps I have taken so far: (I unfortunately only started to address in the last 2 years despite for how long it has been bothering me, during my younger years I was afraid of talking about sexual things with doctors (stupid I know) and a multiple year depression in my adult years meant there were more urgent matters before)
My GE (is this the correct word for that in English?) first sent me to an endocrinology, though blood tests didn?t reveal anything of note. I have been to a dermatologist after that, and since I was mostly focused on the sweating (thus them suspecting a secondary hyperhidrosis) they gave me a device to do iontophoresis (which I am still currently doing)
It does actually seem to work and my hands sweat less, but the weird sticky/pale effect is still there, as is the heat. Every other body part is still sweating a lot and I still feel enclosed by the heat, so the progress isn?t exactly what I had envisioned and doesn?t help me do what I want. Unfortunately most of this has been done going only by what I told them and nothing was really analyzed (except the blood test). I sometimes feel like I am not taken seriously enough (I have not told the doctors about POIS because obviously I am not sure. I have told them about how much I suffer because of the issues though)
An online acquaintance I know (who is a medical student) thinks it probably isn?t POIS, but obviously he is no expert on the matter and only read/skimmed through some studies. (obviously I am thankful he cares and looked into it) He thinks I am mostly taking a few similarities (duration, how it is caused, effect on my mental health due to symptoms) to amass a false truth (which is something people with OCD do a lot, which I have. The fear itself might partially be a result of OCD, since we always fear the worst case and do compulsions based on the fear. Due to POIS not really having a complete cure I fear having it)
The interesting thing is both he and the dermatologist think it has to do with my vegetative/autonomic nervous system (I hope this is the right term), so it?s something to keep in mind
Obviously the symptoms being far less harsh speaks against it being POIS, but I thought I would ask anyway, since the people here might know about similar things that could be mistaken as POIS due the rarity of it. I am also bad at describing things accurately and due to my OCD I can?t really trust myself to assess things objectively.
I am very sorry for this long and drawn-out post, I hope I am not disrespectful for asking this because the symptoms are less harsh. (or if it clearly isn?t POIS, but as said OCD makes me fear the worst case and wants confirmation) Again, my OCD might amplify my concerns and overvalue the symptoms, so forgive me if for overreacting or sounding stupid/desperate. This post is probably less structured than I like but I have trouble putting my thoughts into exact words. The fear of whether it could be POIS fluctuates, and the last few days were bad, which is why I made the post.
I know I am not going to get 100% certainty here or solve the problem, but a little input would be nice
I will probably talk to my GE and dermatologist again if they can analyze things further, maybe going to a urologist would be an option?
Thanks in advance for every reply, I appreciate every advice, have a good day.
