My story, many years after ETS
Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2015 5:28 pm
I am a woman who suffered from severe hyperhidrosis of the hands and feet from a young age. I remember many embarrassing incidents from pre-teen years of having to hold hands or go barefoot in gym or drama classes and physical difficulty doing certain activities that I might have enjoyed otherwise, like sewing and playing guitar or piano. I remember having to keep a hand towel with me when I was writing homework and constantly wiping my sweaty palms in class. As I got older, obviously it caused me a great deal of embarrassment when having to shake hands, try on shoes or during intimate contact. I tried many methods that didn't work, spending a great deal of time and money (talcum powders, Drysol, soaking my hands in Formaldehyde, Valium). When I was 29, I had ETS surgery. At first it completely stopped my hands from sweating. My armpit sweating has been minimized. It didn't do anything for my feet, however; I'd been warned about this). I didn't have any serious complications from the surgery, like a collapsed lung. I did begin to have (and still have) compensatory sweating on my chest, back, groin and legs. Within less than 10 years though, my hand sweating started to come back. Not dripping or severe, but more than average hand sweating, exacerbated by social anxiety or hot, humid conditions. In my 40s now, My feet sweating is worse than ever. I'm on a tight budget right now, so Botox every 6 months is not an option. The Iontopheris (not sure if I spelled that right) machine is also expensive and seems like a hassle-if I travel or stay at someone else's home. My physician agreed to prescribe me Oxybutinin, an oral medication. I have been taking 2.5 mg before certain social situations - manicures/pedicures, dating, social events, dancing - and it seems to be effective. I don't feel like it gave me dry mouth or affected my alertness or coordination- I tried another drug years before, after the surgery, that did have all this side effects, so I stopped using it. The only side effect was a bad leg cramp in the night, probably due to dehydration because I had several alcoholic drinks on that particular night. However, I don't want to take this every day and am concerned about the side effects on my internal organs with long term use.
Today, frustrated with my feet sweating, I bought an ebook called Sweat Miracle by Miles Dawson. A former hyperhidrosis-sufferer himself, he claims he was cured using a holistic approach: avoiding a long list of foods and increasing consumption of others, performing juice cleanses and practicing relaxation techniques. He also lists a variety of natural remedies including drinking sage tea. I hope I have not wasted my money on this book. I can try to reduce my intake of dairy, sugar, coffee and spicy foods, but I fear I won't be able to cut them altogether - I have been drinking coffee since university (my hyperhidrosis started before that) and I like to travel. I find that completely eliminating certain foods from your diet can be difficult when traveling and socially-isolating.
I am interested to talk to people who've had ETS surgery, but still sweat and find out how they're coping. I'm particularly interested to hear from people who've had success in reducing sweating by cutting one type of food from their diet, i.e. Dairy or caffeine (rather than many types of food-too difficult!
Today, frustrated with my feet sweating, I bought an ebook called Sweat Miracle by Miles Dawson. A former hyperhidrosis-sufferer himself, he claims he was cured using a holistic approach: avoiding a long list of foods and increasing consumption of others, performing juice cleanses and practicing relaxation techniques. He also lists a variety of natural remedies including drinking sage tea. I hope I have not wasted my money on this book. I can try to reduce my intake of dairy, sugar, coffee and spicy foods, but I fear I won't be able to cut them altogether - I have been drinking coffee since university (my hyperhidrosis started before that) and I like to travel. I find that completely eliminating certain foods from your diet can be difficult when traveling and socially-isolating.
I am interested to talk to people who've had ETS surgery, but still sweat and find out how they're coping. I'm particularly interested to hear from people who've had success in reducing sweating by cutting one type of food from their diet, i.e. Dairy or caffeine (rather than many types of food-too difficult!