[marypop]

#1018939

I had RAI about three years ago, am on replacement thyroid and my last labs in April were normal. I live in a very warm part of the country and constantly struggle with my feet sweating too much and it is usually stinky too, which is very embarassing, especially when I’m at work or church. I’ve tried all kinds of powders and creams and they either don’t help or make the problem worse. I told my doctor about it once and he didn’t think it was related to the Graves but I never had this problem before I had Graves. I try not to offend people but sometimes I can’t just get up and walk away. I take several pairs of socks to work with me and change them three or four times a day. I’m at my wits end with this and want to go live in a cave or something. Has anybody else had this problem with their feet? LJ

[mamabear]

#1067944

Funny you should say this!!! Here is a funny story… And I do hope you laugh when you read it, because honestly I do.

I have ALWAYS had stinky feet. My parents blamed it on being a jock, I played basketball from 8th-12th grade and volleyball from 11-12th grade. My sister says that my feet smelled waaaaay before then though.
Well when I was a senior I met the boy across the street. He was a dream, butterflies and everything ! One day when he was in the apartment, my sister told him, "you wont want to marry her, she has stinky feet!" He laughed and she said she was serious and she laughed as well. I knew it was true but I didn’t care.
Well to make a long story short, he and I werent’ meant to be at that time. That was a good thing because I just wasn’t mature enough yet and my dad was not…. well lets just say it wouldn’t have worked out.
Well I met someone else and he asked me to marry him(long story), so foolishly did. We had a baby and were separated shortly after that. Again living with my parents and small baby wasn’t the mature thing but had no choice.
I "re-met" the dream boy and we started dating again… my sister again laughed at me saying she has stinky feet! To wrap it up, I married him but he realized I DID and STILL DO have stinky feet. He laughs all the time because she warned him so long ago!

I have tried many things. It was because of my dh that I was able to come up with some things that might help. He is stickler for buying shoes/boots/sneakers. He has several pair. Me I only have sneakers and flipflops. I tend to wear flipflops due to ingrown toenails since I was about 10yrs old.

I soak my feet often and use tea in the water, basically "tanning" my feet.

While in the water i use a callus remover and one of those stones to get the dead skin off.

After that, i take them out and pat them dry and immediately put an emollient on them(vaseline/aquafore…anything but lotion. we are trying to keep the moisture in by using a thick barrier. Lotion is water based and doesn’t do as good a job, but if that’s all you have go for it!)

I then clean out all sides of my toes and clip them if they need it. Don’t clip past the skin, you dont’ want to create ingrown toenails.

Wear different shoes each day, that helps give the other pair time to air out.

If you wear stinky shoes, your feet will stink. So if you have a pair that really smell and you can’t wash them or nothing works to get rid of the smell..throw them out it isn’t worth keeping them.

Put odor eaters in your shoes, you might have to get a 1/2 shoe size bigger to accommodate that but bring an odor eater insert with you when you go buy any shoes/sneakers and see how they fit. Remember real leather shoes will stretch a little bit.

Talk to a podiatrist if your ins. is good. If you have a copay, check to see how much it is with copay and how much it is without it. I found out that by paying on my own was cheaper than my copay lol. DON’T be suckered in by a podiatrist though, they can make you spend so much. So just keep a good head on your shoulders and listen to what they have to say but don’t agree to antyhing just yet. You can always go back and do something or buy something later.

I think the thing that helped me the most was buying shoes that weren’t cheap and a few pairs so that I can switch them every day or every other day giving them time to air out.

I also use few different pairs of socks as well.

I stay at home so I don’t need to keep shoes/sneakers on all day. I tend to walk barefoot or flipflops in the house. I have found that airing out my feet when not in shoes/sneakers helps as well.

I’m not sure if this is Graves’ related because my 4 kids don’t have graves and all their feet smell too LOL and my two girls tend to wear sandals and their feet still stink every now and then.

It wasn’t so much a product I used on them,it was more how I treated my feet and the things I put them in (shoes/sneakers/boots).

Good luck

[woodley]

#1067945

I love your comprehensive response Mammabear! ” title=”Wink” />

I would add that I don’t think my feet are any smellier now I have Graves. I think they are a little less so as I tend to wear more trousers / cotton socks rather than skirts / nylon tights than I did a few years ago.

[marypop]

#1067946

Thanks for the replies. That is a cute story of how your met and married your husband. In the house I’m either barefoot or just have socks on since I hate wearing shoes. I’ve tried Odor Eaters and they don’t work for me. Anything like that or powder that has a scent smells strong and then ends up smelling like a mixture of that scent mixed with sweat. I soak my feet every night and they feel better and don’t smell after that but unfortuately, I work in a clinic and have to wear tennis shoes all day. I’ve gone through three pairs since March and am about ready for a new pair or two and the pair I have now was not cheap. A couple years ago when I was still in the hyper stage of Graves I paid $100 for a pair of real leather shoes and those were the worst with the sweat and odor combined. I’ve even tried diabetic socks and some help a little but not all day. My latest thing is putting strong unscented underarm deoderant on my feet, which works for about half a day but is irritating in more ways than one.

[bradybunch6x1]

#1067947

I am a member of a group for parents that have little people children, and have found that this is a commen problem among people, and remembered hearing that using a deoderant on there childs feet, works well, but they were also told to avoid deoderants that contained aluminium products, the doctors said that they recommended Tom’s natural deoderant as it doesn’t contain these products. There were 3 people that stated that this did the trick. This problem actually has a name, don’t ask me to spell it, but I have run across it several times in reading things about stinky, sweaty feet. This may actually require a doctor to help with this condition. I actually have been thinking about taking my son in for this same reason, as his room smells just like his feet. Oh what a smell…..mind u he has Graves. I don’t know if it is related to the disease, but it does seem to be a common problem for the average joe off the street.
Valarie

[LRstudentRN]

#1067948

Hello,

Are you thinking of this maybe? Hyperhidrosis – excessive or profuse sweating (Stedman’s Medical Dictionary, 2008.)

I think this affects people in different areas; underarms, hands and feet. Good luck.

Melanie

[marypop]

#1067949

Thanks for the replies everyone. Valerie, I can especially relate to your son. Imagine my work area smelling like your son’s room and me feeling embarassed and making it unpleasant for everyone else around me. Last Wednesday the air conditioning in the building went out, it felt like about 110 degrees and it was not a very pleasant day with the mixture of smelly feet and perfume that others sprayed to try to cover up that smell. They finally opened the doors but by that time it was too late. I did see my doctor about something else and mentioned my sweaty feet. She gave me a prescription for a deodorant that is usually for the underarms and I am to dab it on at night and then wrap my feet with plastic wrap twice a week. It does contain aluminum and she did mention that she wasn’t real big on using that but said there is no definite proof that it causes Alzheimer’s. On a normal day it does work but I had used it the night before the AC went out and it quit working about half way through the day. My doctor said it is not something a podiatrist would treat. I have no problems with ingrown toenails and very minor calluses. I was thinking of trying Tom’s Natural Deodorant but didn’t want to waste more money on my already large collection of deodorants that didn’t work. I forgot who mentioned that it worked for them but thanks. I will try it. I don’t know if this is Graves related or not but as I mentioned before I never had problems with this until after I was diagnosed with Graves. When I was younger I used to sweat a lot under my arms, now that I’m in my 50’s it seems to have moved down to my feet. Sigh.

[Madame_X]

#1067950

Shoes with natural materials are a must if you have stinky feet or feet that sweat a lot.

Synthetic uppers retain moisture.

Wear leather shoes/boots or shoes made of canvas (good for the summer months). And white cotton socks help, too — again, it’s a natural fiber: they breathe.

They also sell those sox that have wicking in them to keep moisture away from your feet. A sporting goods store, a ski shop or a hunting/camping store usually carry them, also.

[bradybunch6x1]

#1067951

Just wanted to say that we have given my son the Toms deoderant, and it seems to work, but he is also using an althelets foot spray, so between the two it is starting to help. Plus we are starting to take his shoes and set them outside overnight. The smell on his feet isn’t as bad now when he is taking his shoes off. I make him put the Toms all the way across the bottom of his feet, not just dap it on. Like you would if it was an armpitt.
Valarie

[marypop]

#1067952

I’ve tried all those socks that are supposed to wick away moisture and/or have odor control to no avail. Also, leather shoes were the worst.

I think it was Valerie that mentioned your son’s room. Does he have athlete’s feet? Do his feet itch? Mine don’t. Is the Tom’s Deodorant an unscented or a scented type?

LJ

[bradybunch6x1]

#1067953

You know he does get athlete’s feet off and on, but mainly it is the awful smell. I think the deoderant seems to be doing the trick. He has been using it for a little longer than a week and I can now stand to go into his room. Also his feet are not to the point when he removes his socks that you want to get sick. The deoderant is unsented, and works really well. I found it at our local Safeway, it cost about $3.50(which for that store is pretty reasonable), and I think it was the best purchase we have made for his stinky wet feet in along time. He doesn’t like to put it on, but does like the fact that it makes the smell go away. Wonderful product.

[pizzicatto]

#1067954

I have hyperhidrosis since i was a child. It is psychological. Some time during the day, my hands and feet do not sweat at all. it feels great! Then, I’d remember that- wow, it is because my hands and feet are not sweating. Then, they’d start to sweat again. But once relaxed, the sweating stops. Check this out: http://www.hyperhidrosis-usa.com

Good luck!

[marypop]

#1067955

Pizziocatto, Thanks for sharing the link. I’ve heard of Raynaud’s Disease but don’t think I have that since my hands and feet don’t change colors and it is only my feet that sweat all the time, whether I am relaxed or not. I know some foods make it worse like caffeine and thankfully I don’t like coffee.

Bradybunch, Rite Aid here did have Tom’s solid deodorant on sale for about $3.50 so I got some unscented and am going to try it., probably with my flip flops first and then tennis shoes that I’ve washed.

[marypop]

#1067956

I’ve started putting ketoconazole on during the day and it does help control the sweating and odor. The weather here has also finally cooled down, which helps a lot. I tried the Tom’s Deoderant on my feet and it didn’t work for me. I guess everyone is different.

Thanks everybody for the replies and best wishes for good health.

LJ

[Author]

Posts