Medical industry pushes most profitable hyperhidrosis treatments
If deodarant doesn't stop the excess sweat on your hands, feet, or under your arms, then your next best option is iontophoresis. It's a non-invasive, highly effective treatment with an initial investment of approximately $500 and a few doctors office visits to learn how to give yourself treatments with the Fischer Galvanic unit.
Yet, has anyone had any luck finding a dermatologist who will give you iontophoresis treatment and training? You can find dozens of doctors who will inject expensive Botox into your hands and feet, and welcome you back every few months for follow-up injections. This could cost you a few thousand every year. If you were a doctor looking to make money, it's a no-brainer to offer Botox rather than iontophoresis. Huge profit margin and guaranteed repeat business.
I think the International Hyperhidrosis Society is doing great work, but I wish they would encourage more doctors to offer iontophoresis treatment, or publish a directory of doctors who do. Because I have yet to find one in my large city.
5 comments:
Hello Tiara,
I think that it is great that you put this blog together. I just stumbled across it researching a treatment for my hyperhidrosis (which is the worst on my hands, feet and underarms, but, in general I am a very sweaty person).
I have not read all of your postings; however, I wanted to answer this one because my dermatologist discouraged Botox and recommended the iontophersis unit called Drionic. You may want to check out the website which is http://www.drionic.com/index.htm.
Let me start off by saying that Drionic is a wise investment for someone with hyperhidrosis. With that being said, you must have a lot of patience to opt for a treatment such as iontophersis.
I purchased the Drionic unit for my hands and feet online for $140. Some insurance companies even pay for the unit; however, mine did not.
It is a funny thing, I can stick my feet in the unit on full power and I do not feel the slightest bit of discomfort; however, when I put my hands in that thing, it stings and itches like crazy?? There is a knob that allows the user to adjust the power of the electric current and I am such a wimp I have to set it under 1/2 power which is probably why I have to spend 2-3 weeks at 30 minutes a day (every day) before I see sweat free hands. Also, I was never able to get the thing to work for my feet?? When I can find a 3 week period that I have nothing better to do than sit with my hands in electronically charged trays of water, I will use the units; however, I am now looking for an oral treatment to help my overall sweatiness.
I have been taking glycoppyrolate and have seen positive results with that; however, that dries out my throat severely. I have been doing research online and am going to ask my doctor tomorrow if she would recommend an oral herbal treatment such as sage or English walnut leaf. I will let you know how that goes if you are interested.
Also, a word of caution: the Drionic takes a special type of battery which you can only purchase from the Drionic website. I like to save money, so I did a little research and came across a website that shows how to convert the unit so that it can be plugged into a wall socket. I had my brother convert mine because it involved soldering and it works great (I haven't purchased batteries for over a year).
Regards
Tiffany from Florida ;)
Hi Tiffany, Thanks for your comments. Please keep us posted on your progress and what you learn. That is a great tip on the Drionic battery.
I have not started iontophoresis treatment yet...I can't find a doctor who will prescribe it. Yes, Botox is pricey and painful.
I went to a medical conference last year and the iontophoresis unit that was recommended was the Fischer Galvanic--a prescription only item.
Hi! I know this is an old blog, but I just wanted to share my experience with doctors. If you can just find the right doctor that actually knows and cares about your sweating problem, it makes all the differece. I had some very helpful doctors when I went in for hyperhidrosis. I found a doctor that had a familt member with it so he knew exactly what it was. He have gave me oral medication which didn't help that much, and he recommended me to the derm. The derm. doctor was great and used the iontophoresis on my hands and feet. After about two weeks I started to notice that I wasn't sweating as much so she gave me all the info. to buy my own machine. I now have the Fischer Galvanic. I had went to other doctors before and they had to look up all the info. on hyperhidrosis, so I knew they weren't going to be any help. But I tryed different doctors until I found one that really helped. I tryed another derm. doctor a few months ago to ask if I could get botox on my palms but she said no because it wasn't helpful on the hands and no one in that dept. had done it before on palms. So, it really depends on the doctor as to whether they will perform botox or iontophoresis treatment.
Thanks for your comment, 2:46 a.m.! If you don't mind sharing, who is the doctor you recommend and where is s/he located? It's really hard to find a good dermatologist! I called about 15 in my major metropolitan area and none of them would help me get an iontophoresis unit.
Hi Tiara,
This this is Anonymous from above. The doctor I used was in Central Texas, where I live, at Scott & White in Temple. I'm sorry, but I forgot the name of the doctor. It was about 5 years ago. The derm. doctor told me that the director of physical therapy (I think??) thought the iontophoresis machine was more effective than anything else, so they used it for patients in the physical therapy dept. The doctor was so helpful, because after noticing that it worked, she helped me to get one. She said it was a waste of my money to keep paying the $20 co-pay for a one time use. I feel very lucky to have had such a easy time getting mine. My doctor gave me a prescription/recommendation and my insurance paid for some of it. I believe I ended up paying about $300-400 for it after my insurance paid their part.
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