2 weeks post ETS for Palmar HH

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JBflies
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Oct 23, 2011 5:53 pm

2 weeks post ETS for Palmar HH

Post by JBflies »

I had been a severe hand and foot sweater my whole life. I am 35 years old and finally had ETS in June 2017. I am sure there are people out there that had worse hand sweating than me, but I've never met any. I tried many of the non-surgical treatments such as Drysol, Iontophoresis (Idromed-5 and Drionic machine), herbal supplements, dietary changes (giving up caffeine), controlled breathing, and meditation. NOTHING worked. Botox was not a realistic treatment for me for many reasons, so I never tried that. I hoped I would grow out of it, but that never happened. I thought that maybe I was just too tense all the time and if I could just relax that my sweating would stop, but that never happened (even when drinking alcohol, which should be a depressant, my sweating was not necessarily slowed). Anyways, since I found Dr. Nielson's (San Antonio) hyperhidrosis/ETS website in 2003, I was pretty sure that would be the only real solution for me. Unfortunately, the timing was never right and I was really hesitant to get ETS because of all the nightmare stories that are out there on the internet.

As time went by my sweating did not improve, but the timing for an ETS surgery did. After doing many hours of research over the years, including on this helpful site, I decided that it was time for the surgery. I chose Dr. Mark Ferguson at the University of Chicago to perform my surgery because he is a leader in his field and also prefers to cut at the T-3/4 level to minimize compensatory sweating. Dr. Nielson was too far away from my home, and, according to his website he only cuts at the T-2 level for palmar HH. I interviewed one other surgeon, and though I am sure he is a fine thoracic surgeon, I was not convinced he had the experience I wanted in performing ETS procedures (~ 1-2 per year).

I am writing this at only 10 days post-op, but I am VERY satisfied with the results. My hands are almost completely dry all day long. Situations that would undoubtedly give me severe sweating before no longer do. I'm not sure of the medical reason, but my hands are still capable of small amounts of sweat. The amount of sweat is insignificant compared to before and it does not bother me. I do not believe that this will grow into a recurrence of hand sweating over time, but I know that possibility exists. Unfortunately, I do have increased foot sweating and I experience some compensatory sweating on my legs, chest, and back. I expected this would occur and decided prior to surgery that I could live with this. Honestly, the tradeoff is completely worth it to have (nearly) sweat-free hands all of the time.

My advice for people out there is to do your research. I think 95% of the people that visit this site know already whether they will be helped by any of the non-surgical treatments--I certainly did. But, I also knew that it was necessary to try them (especially for insurance purposes) to rule them out. Do not pay the ETS horror-stories too much mind. I can't comment on their situation or why their ETS's went so wrong, but I do feel that strongly that ETS is a safe option for severe hand-sweaters that have had no luck with other treatments.

To the creator of this site, thank you for creating a forum where people can talk about and learn about their sweating problems. Having now had ETS, my recommendation is to change the website from "no-ets" to "ETS might be for you!"

Cheers,
-Dan (former hand-sweater)

admin
Site Admin
Posts: 382
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 1969 5:00 pm

Re: 2 weeks post ETS for Palmar HH

Post by admin »

Congratulations JBflies and hope the results last!

On my main page (www.no-ets.com), I do point out that the domain name is a bit of a misnomer, but it serves a purpose to make sure people try alternatives first.

Like yourself, I am satisfied with my ETS too, but would be even happier if my feet sweating had reduced too (it might have actually worsened, although in recent winters it has been minimal).

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