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Background: I've suffered from severe...
Background:
I've suffered from severe hyperhidrosis since I was in the 5th grade. Hands drip (even in air-conditioning, so handshakes SUCKED), my armpits would sweat THROUGH suit jackets (so I could only wear black/dark clothing and suits), and my feet sweat through canvas and leather shoes. My face and trunk sweat too, but these areas have never been my main problem and usually are triggered by sweating in one of the other areas mentioned above.
I've tried Driclor (useless), extremely concentrated antiperspirant gels (50% Aluminium chlorohydrate - minimal improvement and extremely uncomfortable), Botox injections in my hands (first time last 4 months, second time lasted only one month), and pretty much every sort of "natural" solution you can imagine (absolutely useless). I had seen numerous doctors of all types. I always thought about doing ETS, but sites like no-ets.com always dissuaded me, even when I was at my most desperate. My most recent effort to address my issue was to buy "hydrophobic" coating sprays and treated clothing, so that they wouldn't soak up my sweat (only partially effective).
MIRADRY:
I had given up on trying to solve my sweat problem until recently, when my child's hand slipped out of my hand for the second time while we were on a walk and she fell down. My child was totally fine, but I was really frustrated, and I decided I needed to take action. I made an appointment with a neurosurgeon who performs the ETS surgery so I could ask him questions. Of course I ended up on the no-ets.com site again, and out of fear, so I decided to book an appointment with an experienced dermatologist (Dr. Joyce Lim) as well to get her input first.
Dr Lim is a no-bullsh!t type of doctor. She heard everything I had to say, looked at me and said - "why don't you do MiraDry on your armpits? For your feet and hands you can do ETS, but if you don't like that and don't mind the inconvenience of iontophoresis, then do iontophoresis first." To her, my life-long problem was totally solvable. When she described what MiraDry was, I was a little bit worried. Pumping microwaves into your body doesn't sound like a good idea, but after some research online I learned that microwave radiation doesn't cause mutation in cells, it just creates heat. And MiraDry is obviously FDA approved (they all make a big deal about this, which was cause for suspicion for me). Anyways, I decided it sounded way better than the ETS procedure so I told her to sign me up. I got the procedure done after a week - it took a couple of hours total. The initial anesthetic and anti-swelling injections were pretty uncomfortable to be honest, but I just told myself it will be worth it. The doctor had to use the biggest armpit template because my armpits are big, and the clinic ran out of anesthetic 75% of the way through - thankfully they were able to get more quickly enough. But when they applied the MiraDry machine (Level 5), I could hardly feel a thing. And that was it. Immediately after the procedure my (gigantic, purple and swollen) armpits were completely sweat-free for WEEKS! Yes, they have started to sweat just a little bit now, but really only under strenuous activity, when anyone else would be sweating. It feels great. MiraDry probably reduced my armpit sweat by 80%-90%. I am supposed to go for a follow-up procedure in December (3 months later), but it's optional depending on how bad my sweat levels are still. Currently, after about 1.5 months, I don't think I really need it, but if it will reduce my sweating to almost zero - why not?!
WARNING: The initial bruises are UGLY. My entire pits were black and blue for a few days and they were gigantic. Many people liken it to having tennis balls under your armpits, and this is very true. Over time, the swelling starts to MOVE DOWN YOUR BODY. Eventually, after about 10 days, the swelling reaches your belly and it will shake like jell-o. Don't worry, it's normal. 1.5 months after, my armpits are almost 100% back to normal size and all the swelling around my body is gone. It takes time, but again, TOTALLY WORTH IT. I'm enjoying wearing shirts that I have never dared to wear my entire life. Colours, cotton tshirts, light-colored dress shirts, etc.. Everything is on the menu! I need a whole new wardrobe! I am absolutely loving it, and not a day goes by that I don't think about how amazing it is and how confident I feel now.
IONTOPHORESIS:
I had low faith for the Iontophoresis to work, but I figured why not try it? It had good reviews online and unlike MiraDry, my insurance (Cigna) was willing to cover it. My doctor said she could source me an Idromed 5 DS. I wanted the DS rather than the PS (pulsing one), because my hand/feet sweat condition is so bad I just wanted the strongest stuff out there.
I saw an immediate difference after the first day, but it really took about 2 weeks of DAILY use and experimentation before I could get through an entire day without my hands sweating AT ALL. After about 3 weeks, I didn't have to use it more than once a week and my hands would hardly sweat, even after a full aerobic workout! It's a frickin miracle guys - just try it!!! I still can't believe it. I wish I had tried this sooner. My hands used to literally drip sweat in airconditioned rooms, I could never shake anyones hands without them grimacing, and could not do a lot of the things I love to do, like: hold my wife's hand, write/draw on paper, use my DSLR camera without needing to wear a glove, build things with my hands... the list goes on. I can do all those things now. My hands are now normally paper dry, I actually have to apply cream on them sometimes! :) And if/when I do sweat (only a tiny bit), such as after a workout, I don't mind it at all. Kinda feels nice, if you can believe that!
As for my feet, well that's a slightly different story. I went full-on with iontophoresis on my hands: I spent about 45 mins on my hands on high power (setting of 17-19) DAILY for a week before I got the results I have now. You need "hard" tap water, too, which can be tricky depending on where you live. I did not spend as much time on my feet because I was getting small blisters and it takes longer for the machine to even recognize that my feet are in the trays (still not sure why, I think I need to drink more water). But they have reduced sweating considerably, and now that my hands are well under control, I am planning to focus on my feet more. I am looking forward to wearing canvas shoes for the first time in my life, and wearing flip-flops outside when meeting friends without worrying that my feet will create puddles in my shoes. Just wearing sandals without socks now is just so awesome! And a nice side-effect - my feet never smell anymore. That's the real miracle here, because after my feet were stuck sweating in leather work shoes for 10 hours, they would stink pretty bad. Always embarrassing when I would go to friends' houses after work (in Asia we often don't wear shoes indoor).
So - my life has already changed to a point that I could not have imagined only 2 months ago. I can wear any type of clothing I like (no more black tshirts and polos made out of spandex), I can hold my wife's hand during a stroll down the road, I can write on paper (relearning how to write, now that I can put the side of my palm down on the paper now), I never hesitate to shake someone's hands and I'm slapping high-fives left and right, I don't have to worry about ruining my electronics. As a result, the rest of my body (face and trunk) has stopped sweating as much as well! I am just so grateful and just so, so happy with the results.
MiraDry + Iontophoresis. If you suffer from severe Hyperhidrosis on the armpits, hands, and feet like I did, this combo can change your life forever. It's expensive, but it's worth every penny.
Sorry this has been so long, I could probably keep going for pages. I hope this review has been helpful!
I've suffered from severe hyperhidrosis since I was in the 5th grade. Hands drip (even in air-conditioning, so handshakes SUCKED), my armpits would sweat THROUGH suit jackets (so I could only wear black/dark clothing and suits), and my feet sweat through canvas and leather shoes. My face and trunk sweat too, but these areas have never been my main problem and usually are triggered by sweating in one of the other areas mentioned above.
I've tried Driclor (useless), extremely concentrated antiperspirant gels (50% Aluminium chlorohydrate - minimal improvement and extremely uncomfortable), Botox injections in my hands (first time last 4 months, second time lasted only one month), and pretty much every sort of "natural" solution you can imagine (absolutely useless). I had seen numerous doctors of all types. I always thought about doing ETS, but sites like no-ets.com always dissuaded me, even when I was at my most desperate. My most recent effort to address my issue was to buy "hydrophobic" coating sprays and treated clothing, so that they wouldn't soak up my sweat (only partially effective).
MIRADRY:
I had given up on trying to solve my sweat problem until recently, when my child's hand slipped out of my hand for the second time while we were on a walk and she fell down. My child was totally fine, but I was really frustrated, and I decided I needed to take action. I made an appointment with a neurosurgeon who performs the ETS surgery so I could ask him questions. Of course I ended up on the no-ets.com site again, and out of fear, so I decided to book an appointment with an experienced dermatologist (Dr. Joyce Lim) as well to get her input first.
Dr Lim is a no-bullsh!t type of doctor. She heard everything I had to say, looked at me and said - "why don't you do MiraDry on your armpits? For your feet and hands you can do ETS, but if you don't like that and don't mind the inconvenience of iontophoresis, then do iontophoresis first." To her, my life-long problem was totally solvable. When she described what MiraDry was, I was a little bit worried. Pumping microwaves into your body doesn't sound like a good idea, but after some research online I learned that microwave radiation doesn't cause mutation in cells, it just creates heat. And MiraDry is obviously FDA approved (they all make a big deal about this, which was cause for suspicion for me). Anyways, I decided it sounded way better than the ETS procedure so I told her to sign me up. I got the procedure done after a week - it took a couple of hours total. The initial anesthetic and anti-swelling injections were pretty uncomfortable to be honest, but I just told myself it will be worth it. The doctor had to use the biggest armpit template because my armpits are big, and the clinic ran out of anesthetic 75% of the way through - thankfully they were able to get more quickly enough. But when they applied the MiraDry machine (Level 5), I could hardly feel a thing. And that was it. Immediately after the procedure my (gigantic, purple and swollen) armpits were completely sweat-free for WEEKS! Yes, they have started to sweat just a little bit now, but really only under strenuous activity, when anyone else would be sweating. It feels great. MiraDry probably reduced my armpit sweat by 80%-90%. I am supposed to go for a follow-up procedure in December (3 months later), but it's optional depending on how bad my sweat levels are still. Currently, after about 1.5 months, I don't think I really need it, but if it will reduce my sweating to almost zero - why not?!
WARNING: The initial bruises are UGLY. My entire pits were black and blue for a few days and they were gigantic. Many people liken it to having tennis balls under your armpits, and this is very true. Over time, the swelling starts to MOVE DOWN YOUR BODY. Eventually, after about 10 days, the swelling reaches your belly and it will shake like jell-o. Don't worry, it's normal. 1.5 months after, my armpits are almost 100% back to normal size and all the swelling around my body is gone. It takes time, but again, TOTALLY WORTH IT. I'm enjoying wearing shirts that I have never dared to wear my entire life. Colours, cotton tshirts, light-colored dress shirts, etc.. Everything is on the menu! I need a whole new wardrobe! I am absolutely loving it, and not a day goes by that I don't think about how amazing it is and how confident I feel now.
IONTOPHORESIS:
I had low faith for the Iontophoresis to work, but I figured why not try it? It had good reviews online and unlike MiraDry, my insurance (Cigna) was willing to cover it. My doctor said she could source me an Idromed 5 DS. I wanted the DS rather than the PS (pulsing one), because my hand/feet sweat condition is so bad I just wanted the strongest stuff out there.
I saw an immediate difference after the first day, but it really took about 2 weeks of DAILY use and experimentation before I could get through an entire day without my hands sweating AT ALL. After about 3 weeks, I didn't have to use it more than once a week and my hands would hardly sweat, even after a full aerobic workout! It's a frickin miracle guys - just try it!!! I still can't believe it. I wish I had tried this sooner. My hands used to literally drip sweat in airconditioned rooms, I could never shake anyones hands without them grimacing, and could not do a lot of the things I love to do, like: hold my wife's hand, write/draw on paper, use my DSLR camera without needing to wear a glove, build things with my hands... the list goes on. I can do all those things now. My hands are now normally paper dry, I actually have to apply cream on them sometimes! :) And if/when I do sweat (only a tiny bit), such as after a workout, I don't mind it at all. Kinda feels nice, if you can believe that!
As for my feet, well that's a slightly different story. I went full-on with iontophoresis on my hands: I spent about 45 mins on my hands on high power (setting of 17-19) DAILY for a week before I got the results I have now. You need "hard" tap water, too, which can be tricky depending on where you live. I did not spend as much time on my feet because I was getting small blisters and it takes longer for the machine to even recognize that my feet are in the trays (still not sure why, I think I need to drink more water). But they have reduced sweating considerably, and now that my hands are well under control, I am planning to focus on my feet more. I am looking forward to wearing canvas shoes for the first time in my life, and wearing flip-flops outside when meeting friends without worrying that my feet will create puddles in my shoes. Just wearing sandals without socks now is just so awesome! And a nice side-effect - my feet never smell anymore. That's the real miracle here, because after my feet were stuck sweating in leather work shoes for 10 hours, they would stink pretty bad. Always embarrassing when I would go to friends' houses after work (in Asia we often don't wear shoes indoor).
So - my life has already changed to a point that I could not have imagined only 2 months ago. I can wear any type of clothing I like (no more black tshirts and polos made out of spandex), I can hold my wife's hand during a stroll down the road, I can write on paper (relearning how to write, now that I can put the side of my palm down on the paper now), I never hesitate to shake someone's hands and I'm slapping high-fives left and right, I don't have to worry about ruining my electronics. As a result, the rest of my body (face and trunk) has stopped sweating as much as well! I am just so grateful and just so, so happy with the results.
MiraDry + Iontophoresis. If you suffer from severe Hyperhidrosis on the armpits, hands, and feet like I did, this combo can change your life forever. It's expensive, but it's worth every penny.
Sorry this has been so long, I could probably keep going for pages. I hope this review has been helpful!
Provider Review
Dr Joyce Lim
Experienced doctor, not much for chit chat but she knows what she is doing. I would highly recommend her and her kind staff. My operation took longer than expected because they had to use the largest template to match the size of my armpits! Did not hear a single complaint, they were very patient, even when they had to make an urgent run to get more anesthetic because I emptied the clinic's stash. :D Dr Lim also recommended and sold me the Iontophoresis machine, Idromed 5 DS.