Well, here I am. It seemed like a good idea to share my hyperhidrosis story. Who knows, maybe it will help me connect with other patients or iontophoresis users out there. Please leave comments if you have any advices for me or would like to get in touch. Thanks!
The Early Years
I already wrote a little about my hyperhidrosis history, but here it is one more time: It started when I was just a kid – I was pretty much “diagnosed” by my parents. At the time, I was running around carefree all the time, so it didn't seem odd to me that my feet or armpits were getting sweaty. I also remember that I kept wiping my hands against my T-shirts. Once my parents realized that my excessive sweating is abnormal, they took more care in buying the right clothes and antiperspirants for me. I also got several pairs of thin, fingerless gloves, which I would wear when writing homework, exams, and so on.
Dealing With It
As years went by, it became progressively difficult to take it all in stride. Yes, I'm lucky enough to have a supportive family and several great friends who don't mind my sweating. However, I know that they can never really understand me. Dealing with hyperhidrosis often makes me feel isolated in a really sad way.
Being a cheerful person by nature, I wanted to stay that way. There's a big difference between being relaxed and cheerful, and trying hard to be cheerful. The latter takes up a lot of energy. So, you see, for me, getting rid of hyperhidrosis was really a matter of psychological well-being first and foremost.
Happily Ever After?
Last year was something of a game changer for me. After two decades of suffering from hyperhidrosis, I finally got fed up! I saved up some money and started considering a more dramatic and permanent way to get rid of sweat. My first impulse way so look up Botox injections, and I also looked into miraDry, which seemed to be a more permanent solution.
However, after an extensive online research, I decided to try out iontophoresis first. The fact that you have to keep up with the iontophoresis treatments in order to stay sweat-free was off-putting, but I gave it a shot.
About half a year ago, I bought an Idrostar+ iontophoresis device (palmar, plantar and axillary package.) At first I focused on treating my palms: three times a week, and then even just twice a month was enough. This did not leave my hands completely dry, but was still a huge improvement! The similar thing happened with my plantar sweating, and I also had partial success with axillary hyperhidrosis.
So, after five months of iontophoresis: my hands are all normal, and I only need to use hand cream to keep the skin from cracking. My feet are okay when using the right socks and shoes, and underarms still need antiperspirants, but there is definitely improvement there as well. I am infinitely more relaxed!
My plans for the future
I will keep using this Idrostar+ device for now, and see if I'll get tired of iontophoresis eventually. If I decide to stick with it, my plan is to invest even more money into the best possible, pulsed current main-powered device.
For now, I find iontophoresis to be much more effective than other methods I've tried (clinical antiperspirants, special clothes, sweat pads, and other little tricks) and it actually makes me feel better about myself. I hope that this success will last.
2 Comments
Would you say that iontophoresis alone is enough to stop sweaty hands or feet? Or do you still feel that you need to use other hyperhidrosis treatments? I see what you wrote about underarms and the right clothes, but I am talking about hands in particular. (And I’m not really counting wise choice of clothes as a real hyperhidrosis treatment, heh.)
Please answer is you see this comment. Thanks!
Are u still sweating? (hands) if so, in what scenarios?