Miradry: Effective and Almost Painless - Columbus, OH

This review will be long and detailed, but I wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything. I should mention that I read every single review on this site before I went in for my procedure, and feel like I have a good idea of what's important to include.

I have struggled with hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating) in my armpits since I was 13, which was over ten years ago. I can be calm, sitting in a 65 degree room and still manage to sweat through a shirt. I have tried just about everything to cure it: Drysol prescription deodorant, wipes, over the counter prescription strength deodorant, etc. I started looking into other options about a year ago and considered surgery, botox and everything in between when I heard about Miradry. Miradry seemed to be the best option since it is FDA approved, non-surgical and doesn't require frequent upkeep and trips to the doctor like botox.

I scheduled an appointment at Dr. Anne Therese's office in Gahanna, Ohio. I first met with the nurse who explained the entire procedure is great detail including all of the possible side effects and which parts of the procedure can cause some pain. She was very open and honest, and didn't rush me through the appointment even though I had a million questions. She even showed me the Miradry machine as she explained things so I could picture everything clearly. After getting answers on just about everything, I decided to schedule my appointment. I should also mention that everyone in the office was extremely nice and they even gave me a nice welcome gift. The office was very clean and well maintained, which I am a stickler about.

I came in for my appointment on the afternoon of Friday 2/13/15 and met with the same nurse that I had my consultation with. She brought me a water and a toga-like robe to change into. I had not shaved my armpits in 2 days (which they suggest so they can see where the hair grows to know where the sweat glands are) and had no deodorant on which was very unusual for me. The nurse then applied a topical numbing cream to my armpits and had me sit for a few minutes while it kicked in. I couldn't really tell if I was numb or not until they began the local anesthesia shots. In all of the 150+ reviews I read, most people said the shots were the worst part, but to be honest, I barely felt them. The topical numbing cream is a MUST. I am a total whimp with needles and have fainted many times during shots and blood draws. The numbing cream made the top layer of my skin completely numb, so I could not feel the prick of the shots. There were one or two I could kind of feel, but not nearly as bad as a typical shot. Before they did the shots, they measured my armpits and used a grid-like temporary tattoo that allowed them to see where to put the shots and the Miradry machine.

After I finished the 20 or so shots in each armpit, I was a little shaky from the epinephrine in the shots, which the nurse said was very common. I was chatting a lot during the shots, but after I took a few deep breaths and a sip of water, I wasn't as shaky. I sat for a few minutes and started to feel really numb while the Miradry machine started up. She set the machine to level 3 (out of 5), which is average for a first time treatment. Another nurse came in and showed me the Miradry screen, which looked like a football field with little triangles on it. She explained that she looks at each triangle and lines it up with the corresponding temporary tattoo mark on my armpit. At the bottom of the screen, there is a progress bar that shows how long each mark will take. The first half of the progress bar is green, indicating that the machine is heating and the second half is blue to indicate cooling. She went through one by one, lightly pressing the machine on each mark as I watched the progress bar go from green to blue (about 5-10 seconds per mark). I really could not feel a thing. There was one spot towards the bottom of my armpit that wasn't as numb as the rest, and she told me it was the last one, but she could do another numbing shot if I wanted it. I decided to finish without the shot, and it felt a little hot, but I was watching the progress bar and knew it would be over in another second so it wasn't bad at all.

Aside from that one little spot at the bottom of my armpit, the procedure was pretty much painless. I was expecting moderate pain based on the reviews I read, but was pleasantly surprised by the lack of pain. They gave me ice packs, and Rx for pain medication and sent me home to heal.

I started taking the pain meds an hour or two after I got home and iced my armpits constantly. I bought these reusable ice packs from CVS called Peas in size medium, which were the perfect size. I also used frozen mini water bottles. Don't forget to freeze your ice packs the night before! I iced, laid on the couch and took pain meds for 3 days. I felt no pain. I kept waiting for the pain to come or things to get worse but it never did.

After 3 days, I stopped taking the pain meds and icing, I felt slightly sore, but not bad at all. I went back to work Monday morning as usual except for one thing...NO SWEATING! I have a few small lumps in my armpits I can feel if I press on it, and certain areas still feel a little numb, but other than that I feel totally normal.

So far, I would recommend Miradry to anyone struggling with excessive sweating. If you live in or near Ohio, go to Anne Therese's office, they are amazing. I think the key to success with Miradry is the topical numbing cream and icing as much as possible the first few days after the procedure. From the reviews I read where people complained of pain, they never mention topical numbing cream, and people that mention pain after, didn't mention obsessively icing after. I will post an update in a few weeks about the effectiveness, and am happy to answer any questions anyone has!