Signs that Ionto may be working

I was wondering if people had recognised any definite signs that their iontophoresis treatments are working.

I had a spell of 4-5 months last year when my treatments, combined with with Lyrinel XL gave me almost complete dryness at times. Unfortunately this effect waned and ever since I have had little success. I almost wish that this never happened as it seems worse to know how things can be.

I have now been doing treatments with my Idromed 5 GS for about 1 month ( missing several treatments with moving and pain from Ionto ) but no real noticeable change.

I have recently started a new job but after 1 week I am already close to leaving. The anxiousness/paranoia of the situation combined with the embarassment are at timesntoo much. My feet as always and in the last six months my crotch area overheat immensely when I'm in a work or social environment adding to the almost always present clamminess.

So apologies for the rambling post but as I asked at the start, does anyone know of definite signs when Ionto will work and how to proceed from there.

I'm not quite sure what you are asking? If ionto works you will know that it's working. Those are the signs. No one can know beforehand what will work for you in any definitive manner. It's exactly the same as taking medications. They work or don't work, stop working, may work again or never or not.

If ionto begins to work, proceed to keep up your maintenance treatments which can be different for everyone. I've changed my maintenance treatment schedule many times over the years. Just because ionto works for you today, this month, this year, doesn't mean it will continue to work later on. I've experienced it all: worked, stopped working, worked again.

I've been doing treatments consistently since 2005. I've had times when ionto made my hands dry completely or at 50%. Anxiety will increase sweating for us HH sufferers. Pulsed current is less way less painful than straight direct current. Ionto treatments requires commitment.

It's also possible that you may need to take meds for anxiety. This may increase your chances of ionto working. I do that also. It also sounds like you suffer from HH over wide spread body areas. You may need to be on an oral med such as Glycopyrrolate.

Don't worry about rambling here. Express what you need to express.

It's all a vicious cycle. We sweat, then we worry about sweating, then we sweat more. With my 50+ years on the planet I've never been able to get a grip on this cycle other than when ionto works. Then along came General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) which further messes up the cycle. That's where anxiety comes into play.... at least for me.

Sprawling, thanks for the reply.

I was just looking to see if people had any ways of recognising that the treatments were starting to work and how they proceeded from there ie increase/reduce/stop treatments etc.

I acknowledge that dryness is the ultimate indicator but sometimes I experience this feeling shortly after a treatment but it quickly goes. I have just done another treatment and can it feels as though both my hands and feet are trying to be dry ( if that makes sense ). I a usually able to achieve some success with my hands but not as yet. Do I keep going or do I stop and hope the rest period completes the process? I was wondering if sometimes you can do to many treatments.

I know some people stop treatments for a week or so when they have no success. Or should I just continue on?

I am in the middle of a very lengthy spell in which Ionto is just not working, coupled with being on the verge of quitting a new job. I'm just desperate for something to work.

I have been given Propranolol but with so far no noticeable change. Unfortunately Glyco is next to impossible for me to get here in the UK. I have asked on may occasions. I will keep taking Lyrinel in the hope it has an effect as before ( I also have to take it for a separate issue ).

I have in fact be using an ionto device since 2007 but this is the longest period of no success I have ever had. I will definitely look to switching to a pulsed system. Too many years of pain and discomfort.

Thanks again

What current do you run it at? If below 25mA I'd suggest trying increasing it and longer sessions but you've probably tried all that before.

Regarding pulsed - can only speak for myself but I wouldn't waste the money. I tried it two or three times and found it unbearable. Much worse than the normal setting. It feels like a million tiny insects crawling under the skin. Not terribly painful but unbearably itchy. I'd take the pain and discomfort of 30 mA standard over that any day.

HydroFlood said:

Regarding pulsed - can only speak for myself but I wouldn't waste the money. I tried it two or three times and found it unbearable. Much worse than the normal setting. It feels like a million tiny insects crawling under the skin. Not terribly painful but unbearably itchy. I'd take the pain and discomfort of 30 mA standard over that any day.

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Your settings were way too high on the pulsed current. The setting should be set where you either feel nothing or very little. You are the first that I know of to describe this experience.

30mA is extremely high and I'm sure most people can not tolerate that. 15mA-20 mA is reasonable for most. Best for someone to increase their treatment time by 5-10 minutes per session. That's my opinion of course.

JustG said:

Sprawling, thanks for the reply.

I have in fact be using an ionto device since 2007 but this is the longest period of no success I have ever had. I will definitely look to switching to a pulsed system. Too many years of pain and discomfort.

Thanks again

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Sounds like you have years of treatment experience. Pulsed current is not necessarily more effective, just cuts down on the pain factor. In one of my posts I did an experiment using pulsed current on one hand, regular on the other. Results were exactly the same, so I switched to pulsed.

It sounds like the stress factor for you on this job is way to powerful on your nervous system. It make sense that ionto is giving you trouble. That's where anxiety meds come into play. When large parts of your body sweat uncontrollably it's not unusual for ionto not to work.

Here's something that has helped me: Order some ANTIHYDRAL cream online. This stuff is extremely powerful and can dry out your hands if you were to use it on a regular basis. Rub the cream throughout your hands half hour before treatment. Before bedtime rub some more onto your hands giving it enough time to dry. Do this for about 5 days.

If you have been doing treatment for 2 weeks straight every day best to give ionto a break for at least 5 days.

Sprawling, thanks once again.

I will follow your advice on having a rest period from treatments. I'll also look into Antihydral cream, hopefully it can also be used on my feet. I have been looking at Kleinerts wipes for this purpose.

@Hydroflood - I only ever go as high as 8mA on my hands, which usually does the job.

For my feet, I go between 18mA - 20 mA as I have irritation at this level. 30mA would be to uncomfortable for me.

8mA is definitely too low. 15mA minimum. If that's too high you'll need to switch to pulsed current.

Antihydral is actually meant for feet. The weaker version Dehydral is also meant for the feet.

Try it before treatment. I do this when I don't have cuts on my hands.

I don't know if the amperage is equal with all ionto machines, meaning 15 mA(example) feels the same on all units (I would assume so, but don't know for sure) but I have been using a hidrex unit set at 35 for the past 5 years or so since I got it and only feel a bit of pain on one of the polarities (I switch after 20 min) and it's very minor and goes away after a min or two of switching polarities. After that, just a slight tingling and one of my hands feels kind of cold while the other gets a warm sensation. No pain. I don't do maintenance treaments, just wait until the sweating starts to return, which usually takes 3-4 weeks. Don't treat my feet at all. Luckily I haven't noticed any reduction in effectiveness in treaments other than lately my feet sweating either doesn't go away 100% or starts to return before my hand sweating does. Although this may be due to me sometimes not completely finishing all the sessions I had planned on doing. I sometimes miss a day or two or three and if my sweating stops enough in that time, that it's no longer inconveniencing me in my daily life, I won't do anymore treatments even though the sweating might only be 90% reduced. Just laziness.

This may sound silly to some, but I try to meditate or just relax when I do my treatments. Sometimes, I try to actually visualize or "feel" the electricity run through my fingers and up my forearms. I try to absorb it, suck it up whatever you want to call it lol. I swear I feel like my treatments are more effective when I do this lol. Maybe this is in line with anxiety playing a part in treatments being less effective. The more relaxed and calm, the more effective the treatment. I don't really have anxiety issues, except in public places/social situations, so I have no personal comparisons of relaxed vs high tension/anxiety states.

This makes me wonder, has anyone tried treaments while high? On weed not like crack or whatever lol. Maybe if you have anxiety or hyper tension, this will put you in a more relaxed state and thus maybe the treatments will be more effective? Just a thought. This is in substitute for the meds mentioned above of course.

Also, I don't smoke weed, but I used to a little bit and I seem to remember my hands being dry when I'm high. Anyone find that to be true for them as well?

Just thinking out loud.

Sprawling said:

Your settings were way too high on the pulsed current. The setting should be set where you either feel nothing or very little. You are the first that I know of to describe this experience.

30mA is extremely high and I'm sure most people can not tolerate that. 15mA-20 mA is reasonable for most. Best for someone to increase their treatment time by 5-10 minutes per session. That's my opinion of course.

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My settings on the pulsed current were between 15 and 20 and produced that feeling.

I find 30mA on normal setting tolerable. In fact Ionto is only painful if you have exposed cuts (whereby it is excruciatingly painful). But waterproof medical tape and some patience will do the trick. At that amperage at 15 minutes each way, I only have to do it every 10 days or so.

I have no idea what the output is on my pulsed device. I go by feel. I set it just to have a very slight tingle or just below the tingle.

I like the idea of waterproof medical tape. Currently I use petroleum jelly. I also always seem to to have a cut somewhere on my fingers.

Fibromyalgia sometimes plays havoc on my treatments. My body does all kinds of weird stuff so sometimes treatment is every 3rd, 4th, or 5th day. Back when my body was more normal I'd get to go longer without treatments.

So anyone reading this, health issues, medications, excessive stress can have an effect on your treatment schedule and how well ionto will work in general.

+1 for petroleum jelly. I use the vaseline kind that comes in a squeeze bottle. I've even used chapstick a few times when I was out of vaseline and couldn't find anything else to use.

I used to use vaseline too but found it too messy and would sometimes dissolve off my fingers halfway through.

I can swear by this stuff Nexcare Tape 3M Absolute Waterproof Foam - 1 Ea ( Pack of 6 ): Amazon.co.uk: Health & Personal Care

A six pack will last you 3-4 years even if like me you always have loads of cuts to cover up.

That looks good for cuts and ya sometimes the vaseline will come off. Tip is to apply it when your skin is dry, if possible, so it stays on better. I chew my nails and I also get dry hands from work so I get splits or chew too close and tear the skin around the nail. So the vaseline works great for those areas.