Back in 2013 when I operated my first hand for the severe palmer hyperhidrosis, I only knew I was making my life better. And it did become so when I had only unilateral surgery for my right hand, body didn’t show any signs of compensatory sweating. I am assuming the left half of the body bore the damage very well and provided a good channel for heat dissipation for the severed right portion (head, palms and arms on the right side). If you want to understand compensatory sweating better, you can see my topic in “Correct understanding of compensatory sweating” in ETS Surgery and post ETS Concerns heading on this website itself.
I am assuming you do understand body’s heat displacement and how ETS is responsible for isolating a lot a essential heat dissipating surface while treating for the hyperhidrosis.
Having said that I did not know any of it in 2015 when I operated for my second hand and that’s when it all came crashing down. My body like any other couldn’t take the heat from the severed portion of complete head, face, both the arms and palms. The torso and chest bore the brunt of it. At first, I didn’t notice anything. Anything at all. My piano playing got affected. If you ever played a piano or any musical instrument earnestly you would know the importance of silence while practicing. It's like connecting to a transcending channel which is divine and sacred and emotions flow like a roller coaster when you play. One more thing I learnt about body sweating is you sweat not of the physical excursion but the thought of heavy lifting and some greater expedition that invites danger causes the body to release heat. While I was playing, I was just doing that. I realized it when I started playing piano. It was as exhausting and demanding as doing an exercise, a workout or a wholesome study session. It’s the thought that circulates heat and the primary portion where it pumps heat is the head and the face. That’s why you sweat on the head before an important job interview, an anxious situation or an apprehensive situation.
And 5 years passed like that. I kept on thinking I am feeling hot, the weather has gone hot. And whatever else but could not point to the surgery. It struck me in 2020 when it was starting to get humid in July. I was sitting on my bed, and I pulled up one of my old piano recordings in 2013. I was sitting comfortably and playing. And I hardly remembered playing like that in recent times. ETS and CS associated with it works slowly. ETS leaves the body in shock from the severed ganglions and the body takes time(years) to react and fully recover from the shock. After 5 years I now have CS all over the body, legs included.
I had a surreal experience of some energy (soul) leaving my body in the very next few nights. It was 100% real out of the body experience. I got so much associated with the instrument that the thought of harming it or sabotaging it was violent and bewildering.
Now ETS does affect my other aspects of life as well. For I cannot imagine myself doing any hard-working job in hot conditions. Jobs like mechanic, plumber, electrician are out of question for they would require working in hot conditions continuously or for long stretches of time. Body isn’t equipped for the heat anymore. Even jobs like material handling, sales executives, field workers and taxi drivers could become tedious after ETS. We underestimate the body comfort of our body. It's of paramount importance. You realize its value when you lose it. Body is the vehicle in which you have to sit and do all the work. If it uncomfortable. It simply won’t let you generate the right thought for you to do the work. It would simply compel you to leave the place.
Now, I am aware that ETS make lives of the majority of its patients better and CS doesn’t bother them for the rest of their lives or even if it noticeable the trade for the sweating on hands to the body is worth it. The CS becomes problem if it led you to compromise some aspects of the life which you were not ready for. For me, it was the PIANO. My life was woven around it, and I absolutely loved to play. Even with the sweaty hands it was never a problem. After I am done operating for ETS I cannot sit at all on the instrument in summers unless I have a gush of air blowing on my back which I have to manage thought a duct pipe and a small DC fan outside the room. The ceiling fan doesn’t work for at low speeds the air isn’t enough and high speeds sound can kill the instrument.
This simple arrangement amidst of all the chaos and panic of contemplating ETS reversal while I was working in a job side by side took me two years to set up. I struggled with sheer sense of brokenness, self-destructive suicidal thoughts manifested and stayed with me for long periods and basically ruined my self-worth and sense of self-esteem to the core.
So, if you are a pianist never never never go the ETS surgery or if you are a musician of any sort who practices religiously or professionally. ETS is not the right option. In fact, look at your lifestyle carefully. Any activity you like to do or prefer to do in hot conditions- gym training, exercise routines, running. It could be stalled after ETS or serious hamper to it might happen. Be careful and make your decision carefully.