iontophoresis please please help!!!

hey,

I am`in my trial iontophoresis treatment however the hospital in my area doesnt offer it so I have to travel to one out of my area like an hours train away. Anyway, I am following the routine treatments spread out over 4 weeks and am tommorow is my 6th however I am feeling no difference whatsoever! its summer so my HH is really bad too. I think it's because I have it at 4mA and from what I've read form other peoples posts this current is very low. I had a crap nurse and she said only when I start to feel a slight tingling is enough. SHE WAS WRONG :x :x . I was confused as to what sensation and intensity I was meant to be feeling. And know I know that the whole treatment has gone completely wrong.

Pleas help I am devastated that I will have to go through this all over again and I have to travel really far the cost of train tickets is insane. I start a new college at the beginning of september and wanted to radiate confidence. What should I do??? I have only 2 treatments left, and am noticing no change because I have it at 4mA if I have it at 10mA for the last two will i notice any difference (bearing in mind that they are a week apart). Or should I just buy my own machine and do all the initial treatments at home and start it all over again??

Any body please please help me I am so confused and spend all my time thinking and crying over it because I am have been feeling so dispappinted and let down
lv sophs xxxx

Hi,

Well, although I haven't had any succes yet myself with ionto (still waiting on the machine I ordered), from what I've read on this forum it is very important to have the right machine, the right amperage (I think something like 10-15mA for hands and a little more for feet) and the right frequency of treatments to achieve succes.

I basically had the same problem before; only one place in the neighbourhood (out of 5 physios) with old equipment and only one treatment a week...obviously that didn't work, untill I read some stories on this page I just thought ionto just wasn't a good treatment method. Apparently, in some 80+% of cases ionto is an effective treatment.

After this, I eventually decided to buy a machine for myself (idromed 4 GS). It costs some money, but given your train tickets this might be a good idea. Also, I can return it within 4 weeks when I get it and only pay about 60 Euro "admin costs" in case it doesn't work. Hopefully that doesn't have to happen...

Some helpful info is also in the previous 2 subjects about ionto, you MUST check it out right now :lol: . There are some links in there about where you can buy ionto machines for home use and which ones to buy/not buy. The Idromed 4 GS is apparently quite good. In case you're in the US, maybe you can also try the RA Fisher, in that case you might even get an insurance refund with help from the form at sweathelp.org.

Personally I got some good info from especially pinker and seekinghelp, who use ionto for hands and feet quite succesfully. So I guess you can ask them too if you don't go too crazy on the personal messages

Good luck!

Hi Sophs.

I have personly tried out 2 different ionto,3 different antiperpirants and botox in my hands.

The only thing that has been worth the money is the idrostar iontomachine,the drionic device i tried for 10 years ago was a joke for me.

I suffer from hands and feet HH.I am 90% dry, sweat from my fingertips still.

I use the ionto treatment now once a week,20 minuts on each side.

First time I took the treatment every other day and ill think it was about 12-14 treatments before I was 90%dry.Then once a week,and its VERY important to not skip a treament like I did.Then its all over again from the beginning.

They say that you should take new treatments when the sweating starts and I think that is ok the first time you try the ionto out just to see how long you can go whith no sweating.And that is different from person to person,some have to take 3 treatments a week and some 1 treatment for 3 weeks.So you just have to experience it out by your self.

My advice to you is to buy your own ionto no matter what i costs,because this problem will not go away,but the ionto can help you a lot.Like it has done for me.

It is very time consuming to take all the treatments so still if the fingertips sweating is bothering me I am not taking more treatments then 1 a week.

I have ordered some dehydral cream from canada to try only for my fingertips along whith the usual iontotreatments.

I would not buy the drionic ionto,but I think one of the cheapest ionto that is working good is idrostar.I also take it whith me for traveling,I maybe buy the Idromed machine later to use at home,then I can take the whole treatment in 20 min,both hands and feet.

Ill understand your frustration sophs,belive me I know.Crying is good some times but dont let this stupid disease win over you.Get mad,take action and fight it back.Just think that nobody has died from sweating yeat(ill think?)hehe,.Think let the fucking sweat come and maybe then it will slow down,if you think the oposite i will garanti you that you will sweat severe.

Its a fight against the parasymphatic and symphatic nervesystem,breathing only 6 times in 1 minut can also calm down the symphatic system so the parasymphatic takes control.I know that this will not cure the sweating but just small tips that may help you some times.

The best thing for you is to have something that you know is working,then you will be much calmer and the treatment will work even better.

Ill think personly that hte ionto is the best treatment today against hands/feet HH.

Only thing that can be better is to take the ETS-surgery and that is very dangerous whith a lot of side-effects for the most people whith no way back when its done.I advice you to try everything else out first,and ill think you will at least find something that will help you a LOT.

Good luck

I agree with klamm76.

I know money can be tight, insurance is hard to deal with, and the medical people are incompetent with HH treatments.

Try your absolute hardest to get your own Iontophoresis machine. HH is a lifetime problem. That way, you can figure out the best treatment for your HH condition without the nurse breathing down your neck.

As for your last 2 treatments, I recommend (I am no medical professional) to just skip it because it won't do anything. Again, that's just my opinion. What good would it do to give a dollar bill to a millionaire?

To put this into perspective, I'll share what I have done to achieve 100% dry hands and feet. I purchased the Idromed 4 (because it didn't require a prescription). This device recommends an initial treatment of 10 continuous days for the hands and feet, for 10-15 minutes each. It also recommends to find a current that causes a tingling sensation, which maybe difficult to quantify, and to keep it at that current for the rest of your treatments. For me, my first day was just messing around finding the current that causes the tingling sensation. For my hands, I started to feel something at 8mA but I could "really" feel it at 10mA, without burning my hands. For the feet, I could feel something around 15mA, but I could "really" feel it at 18mA.

It seems like you stopped at feeling something but you got to increase it until you really feel it. That is probably the most unscientific way to explain it but when you get to that right current, you just know it's right.

So for 9 days straight, I treated my hands for 10 minutes @ 10mA per day, and my feet for 10 minutes @ 18mA per day. That is a total of 200 minutes of iontophoresis treatments in 10 days.

It seems like your plan was 8 treatments spread out over 4 weeks. This protocol is too sparse, especially when your nurse put you at such a insignificant current. In my opinion (again I'm no medical professional), your iontophoresis treatment should be a steady onslaught for continuous days.

I don't know what other protocols are recommended by other Ionotophoresis devices but the Idromed4 worked for me, and to me it makes sense to do it that way.

Pinker has started this thread:
http://www.esfbchannel.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2595

I'll be posting pictures of my Idromed4 by the end of this week, when I get my camera cable. Hopefully you can learn something from it. Also, from what I read through the forums, the Drionic machine is pathetic. Avoid it.

Anyways, this is a lot of information but I hope it helps you. Please ask questions...

Best of luck.

Sorry to hear you are having so much distress over this. We've all been there. There is definitely hope for you though. I'll tell you what works for me.
Like everyone else said, you really need to invest in a machine yourself because this is a maintenance therapy and not a "cure". It's like taking a pill for high blood pressure. You stop taking the pill and the high blood pressure comes back.
I use the Fischer MD1A Ionto 3 times a week with a 0.05% Glycopyrrolate solution and use 20% Drysol in between treatments. This gives me about 90-95% effectiveness even in summer in Fl.
I tried the tap water first but it was only about 80% effective for me.
As for your last 2 treatments, don't bother going unless you've already payed for them. If you do, insist on at least 10-12Ma. it will itch like hell but it works.