I have been going to Dr. Krauss for many years now. She is always on the curve with new technology. She is always helpful and kind. She recommended miraDry for my underarms. After only one treatment in June 2016, I no longer only have to wear dark tops. This stopped a most all my underarm sweating. It was a life changer for me. I can't say enough good things!!!
I've been getting medical botox in my under arms for the past few years, which has worked great, but when the option of mirDry was offered to me, I thought I might as well fix the problem for good rather than for 6 month intervals. I had the miraDry treatment 2 weeks ago and couldn't be happier with the results. Not only do I not sweat at all anymore from my under arms, but I also don't smell either! I was told that I also may not grow under arm hair anymore either, but unfortunately I still do have hair growth (but no big deal). My underarms were fairly swollen/uncomfortable/lacking feeling up until recently, but it was only noticeable to me (I went to work the day after the procedure, and resumed my normal work out schedule 3 days later). I just didn't wear sleeve-less shirts until a few days ago, and that was a perfect solution to the swelling. I did ice my under arms for the first two days after the treatment, but to be honest, I didn't do a great job of icing so that may be why they were swollen for the full two weeks afterwards (and are still a bit swollen - but I'm sure they will go down soon as they get less and less swollen daily - see photos below). Overall, I couldn't be happier with the treatment and results! I highly, HIGHLY recommend this! Updated on 3 Jun 2016:
I suffered from excessive underam sweating. Dr. Krauss told me about MiraDry. It was a completely safe and painless procedure and I had no downtime! I am so pleased, it wors immediately!! I no longer have to worry about what I'm wearing because of the embarrassment or discomfort of my excessive sweating. The treatment went smoothly and was successful and I couldn't be happier with the results. MiraDry was the best decision for me!
I'm a male in my early 30's, over 6' tall, and 230 pounds who tried CoolSculpting yesterday. I exercise 4-5 days per week, but I still have that typical tire around the middle that won't go away. I chose CoolSculpting because it is non-invasive and it kills fat cells without heating them, which seems safer than other procedures. Also, the reports of severe pain were fairly uncommon (supposedly 1 in 2000). I will keep a record of my experience up to date here, and I plan to post clinical before/after pictures after my followup appointment in four months. I went into my consult with an idea of what I wanted, which was to use the large (8") applicator on each side from my navel over toward each love handle, aligning in the middle. I was open to other options, but this targets most of the area that I want to reduce. I can imagine going back for another large applicator below the belly button, and maybe a small applicator on each love handle. Day 1: Once I was in the chair, they wanted me to lie kind of flat, but I wanted to sit up so I could feed a good chunk of fat into the vacuum. They raised the chair, supported me with pillows, and then placed the gel pad on one side, and started the suction. It felt like somebody with cold hands squeezing my belly and not letting go for an hour. I would describe it as very uncomfortable but not painful. I distracted myself by watching a movie on an iPad that they provided. After it was done, an assistant massaged the area, and that was painful for about two minutes. The whole procedure was repeated on the other side. The area was somewhat red and numb and yet painful to touch for a few hours afterward. I wore a compression garment for the rest of the day. I did not go back to work, but I had a good night's sleep. Day 2: This morning, the area looks slightly swollen and the color is almost back to normal. It feels kind of numb and warm, and only a little bit sensitive to touch. I'm headed back to work. Updated on 11 Aug 2012: Day 3: I went to yoga this morning, and there were no problems. Then, I went on the elliptical motion machine and experienced some uncomfortable pulsations in my belly, so I stopped after about 10 minutes. The area is still a bit swollen, but the temperature has normalized. It feels bruised, probably due to the way that the applicator pinched the skin, but the bruising is hardly visible. I am very happy with the recovery process so far. Updated on 12 Aug 2012: Day 4: I went to the gym this morning, but I'm avoiding intense exercises involving the belly. I still feel some internal bruising and discomfort in the treated area. It seems more sensitive today than yesterday, but overall it's not too bad. Updated on 13 Aug 2012: Day 5: No change since yesterday. The area is still tender to the touch. My next update will be when I notice a change in feeling or appearance. Updated on 14 Aug 2012: Day 6: Unfortunately, I am feeling increased pain and discomfort today. I'm getting what some others have described as "bee sting" sensations along with dull pain that is somewhat distracting. I am not taking any pain medications or using ice or topical creams at this time. Updated on 16 Aug 2012: Day 8: The pain has reduced, but my belly feels bloated. I have had unusually strong cravings to eat, possibly due to the stress of dealing with the pain. I went to yoga yesterday and did some cardio today. Exercise doesn't seem to hurt or help. I'm really looking forward to when the pain stops and the results start showing. Updated on 18 Aug 2012: Day 10: Finally, I had a day where I didn't notice my belly much. If I massage the area, it is still very sensitive, but the bee stings and general pain are gone. I'll update again when something changes. Updated on 6 Sep 2012: Day 29: I still feel substantial numbness over the treated area, which makes me worry about whether the sensitivity will ever return to normal. Also, there has been zero reduction in fat so far. Maybe something will change given another month ... Updated on 7 Oct 2012: Day 60 (approximately): I have received no benefit at all from this procedure. The treated area still feels mildly numb and the skin feels slightly rough. Updated on 12 Dec 2012: Day 120 (approximately): Overall, my experience has been very disappointing. I just had my final photos taken. There was virtually no reduction in the treated area around my belly, or not enough for me to see or feel. You can judge the photos yourself. In my opinion, it certainly was not worth $2400 + two months of discomfort. I do not blame Dr. Krauss. However, I do blame Zeltiq for marketing a medical product before understanding why it often fails to work. They offer no remedy such as a partial refund, reapplication, or alternative techniques. So sadly, I cannot recommend CoolSculpting to anyone.
These marks will certainly fade over time. Keep your hands well moisturized and protected with sunscreen. For age spots, seborrheic keratosis, liquid nitrogen is certainly the standard of care. Unfortunately the recuperation takes time.
Many people confuse Botulinum Toxin (Botox) with Botulism. Botulism is caused by an infection with bacteria that produce Botulinum Toxin. These bacteria can be in spoiled food or improperly canned/jarred food. Getting this infection is like ingesting a Botox producing factory, and hence there can be gigantic amounts of the toxing getting into the blood stream. None of these bacteria is present in Botox, just he purified molecule of the toxin. You have nothing to fear from ingesting a small amount of Botox.
More commonly, seborrheic keratoses, or "age spots" are frozen, while nevi (moles) are biopsied. Perhaps your physician froze a completely benign brown velvety seborrheic keratosis and not a mole. Many times, it is dificult for a non-physician, or non-dermatologist to tell the difference. Please see my blog post on the Kraussderm website to read about seborrheic keratoses.
6 weeks is a bit early to tell your results. It generally takes 4-6 months to see the full results, so you may feel that the appearance improves greatly over time. The smaller handpiece is great for the upper abdomen and when placed by a well trained physician is very unlikely to get near any breast tissue. Often we don't realize how much adipose there is in the upper abdomen until we stop focusing on the lower abdomen fat, so I often recommend to patients who treat their lower abs, that they strongy consider coming back for their upper abs after they see their results over time.
Coolsculpting by Zeltiq does use 3 different handpieces. 2 are smaller, with slightly different sizes which may fit certain patients and areas better, and 1 larger head for the abdomen which treats twice the area. The larger abdomen head is not for everybody. It works best on a softer abdomen do to its narrow and long shape, and some patients do better with 2 cycles of the smaller heads (left and right abdomen) rather than the larger one to the entire abdomen. I recommend finding a reputable center where the physician, not just technicians, are involved in the decision making process of whether CoolSculpting is right for you, and if so what heads and areas are best to treat.
