Hyperhidrosis treatment hope?

Yesterday I went to the dermatologist for a general checkup for skin cancer prevention. It was a new dermatologist, fresh from medical school. I had previously given up on getting treatment for my hyperhidrosis. More than 10 dermatologists had informed me that they would not work with me to get an iontophoresis machine and show me how to use it. However, they would be happy to give me expensive and painful Botox injections in my hands and feet. Truthfully, I had given up on getting treatment and had resigned myself to life with sweaty palms and feet.

But the doctor yesterday agreed to try to help me get an iontophoresis unit through my health insurance provider.  She said she would draft a letter of medical necessity on my behalf.

I began to cry as I sat there on the exam table.

She said she'll get back to me in a week or two with next steps.

If you've read my previous blog posts, you'll recall that I believe iontophoresis is my best treatment option for my primary focal hyperhidrosis. Surgery is too risky. Botox is too painful and expensive -- and short-lasting.

Wish me luck!

Sharing Your Excessive Sweating (Hyperhidrosis) Stories

For several years, I have solicited and published stories by people with hyperhidrosis. I have decided to stop doing so because I feel I cannot respond to the many e-mails I receive with the care they justify. I am a full-time working mom and I simply don't have much time to respond to these personal e-mails. Instead, I wish to focus what little spare time I have on original research and reporting related to hyperhidrosis. So please stay tuned.

I am often approached by other bloggers asking me to link to them. Usually, these bloggers are selling products in such a way that I question their trustworthiness. However, there is one hyperhidrosis website that I particularly admire: no-ets.com. The site has a hyperhidrosis forum that is active and useful. As such, I encourage people to share their stories on this forum rather than e-mailing them to me. That way, you will increase your chances of receiving the support you are seeking.

I like that the website's author recommends other treatments before highly risky ETS surgery. He had ETS surgery with mixed results (he ranks his satisfaction as a 7 out of 10), and suffers from compensatory sweating, as do many other ETS patients. He is still seeking help for his excessive foot sweating, as am I.

I did not vet every single post on his website, but the ones I saw seem impartial and based on research.

Please keep following my blog, as I will continue to post.

Underarm Sweating: Is a Cure in the Works?

A medical device company recently won government approval for a device it claims stops excessive underarm sweating, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The company, Miramar Labs, Inc., seeks funding to help bring this product to the market. However, it is unclear when this might happen.

Miramar CEO told the Wall Street Journal's Dow Jones Financial Information Service that the device sailed through a recent randomized, blinded sham-control study with 120 patients, which was followed by a 510(k) approval by the Food and Drug Administration.

For more information, see the Financial Information Service article, "No Sweat For Miramar Labs; Gets Device Approval, Seeks Funding" and the Miramar Labs website.