ETS Surgery (My Story) (Positive for once)

billyb

billyb

Member
Ok a year and 2 months ago i had ETS surgery you can find more information here.

http://www.socialphobiaworld.com/postx8055-0-10.html

I will now go through what happend and how long things happend for, for those people planning on having the surgery or who have recently had it.

I read up on the operation alot, and took everyones experiences and advice into consideration. I rememember i was so for the operation that i would risk facing the side effects. I had my right hand side done. I remember waking up with quite alot of pain in my chest finding it hard to breathe. For the following 3 days it was gradually getting better and then my breathing was back to normal. People say that it may not have gone better i may of just got used to it. But i diasagree, i have a career in beatboxing. For those who don't know what it is, it's basically making noises with your mouth some beats in which require alotttt of air to make lol. Anyways, other side effects were that it could hurt round the area of the operation if it was touched i would get a sharp pain. I was worried about this, it continued for roughly 5 months. I touch it now and there is no pain at all. Looking at my hands my right hand is dry while my left is nearly dripping like it used to. What i have now is satisfiying therefore i will not be getting my left hand side done. I can live with having 1 dry hand and 1 wet as the dry one kinda helps the left one from not sweating if that makes sense :s. Having the operation has also helped my feet greatly they barely sweat or smell at all now. In my opinion the operation for me was very successfull. I have had no excessive sweating other then my left hand. I will be happy to offer advice or answer any questions.
 
Jenni

Jenni

Member
Billy - you're a star! Your post is just what I needed to hear.

I'm due to have an ETS in October & I was pooping my pants! I read up a lot on ETS & read all the scary risks & side effects... I decided that I would rather die than live with HH & it would ruin my chances of becoming a good doctor so the operation was worth a try.

How long were you in hospital? I've been told it's over night, weirdly enough thats what scares me the most, I hate hospitals.

How did the op help your feet? Thought they had to do a 'lumber ETS' for that.

Did your HH affect your armpits?

Are you completely dry now or do you still have 'normal' sweating? (been dying to ask that for ages!)

Is it ok if I have you email address?? The only person I have to talk about this with is dead against me having it. :roll:
 
BEA

BEA

Member
I haven't had it yet - it's scheduled for the 18th of October...

I'm so scared & only one person knows because I'm too ashamed to tell anybody..

I'm so scared of all the possible side effects :cry:
 
R

**removed**

Banned
say no to ets

Jenni said:
I decided that I would rather die than live with HH & it would ruin my chances of becoming a good doctor so the operation was worth a try.

How long were you in hospital? I've been told it's over night, weirdly enough thats what scares me the most, I hate hospitals.

The only person I have to talk about this with is dead against me having it. :roll:
Click to expand...

lol :lol:

I want to warn you not to get carried away with things and to think your decision through properly, the caution from your dermatologist means they know what they are talking about. They are not trying to sell you the treatment unlike some american surgeons.

Many people have reported some of the side effects don't appear until YEARS after the op, even as long as 6 years. Some people are probably more lucky than others so I hope billy is one of them. He hasn't had the op done on his feet which I think increases the risks a lot... but either way you never know what might happen. The sympathetic nerve has many functions and cutting it WILL have consequences. Some specialists are shocked to hear this surgery is actually carried out.. what does this tell you?!! It had been banned in two countries and there are some real horror stories.

If the sweating is almost disabling you and none of the other treatments have worked (?) then maybe you have every reason to get it done, and in some ways I don't blame you, but above all remember cutting the nerve is permanent. There are so called reversals but I have read people have paid thousands for this to no avail. The clamping method is also reported not to be reversible. These people say they would kill to have sweaty hands or feet again compared to the hell they suffer.

I'm not trying to scare you out of a decision but with things like this I think it is best to look at the worse case scenarios. Is it your hands that you want operated? Have you tried iontophoresis or Glycopyrrolate solution?

I read in your other thread that you have sweating over the whole body? If so then this is even more risky. It is generally agreed that people with widespread sweating are MUCH more likely to have severe compensatory sweating, amongst other things. This could be the reality: http://p069.ezboard.com/Compensator...andreversalsfrm37.showMessage?topicID=1.topic
I would not want this to happen to anyone :( :x

On a more positive note, you never know not so far in the future there will be alternative treatments. They can scrape or suck the sweat glands from the underarms so maybe this can be applied to other areas some day? There was a recent report where botox was successfully delivered via iontophoresis - anhidrosis lasted for months with no side effects. Maybe they will invent a laser to destroy sweat glands? They can remove hairs with lasers, destroy cancers with radiation.. so why not?

Good luck in your decisions and take care of your body! 8)
 
BEA

BEA

Member
I should have said I hate STAYING in hospitals! :lol:

I'm absolutely terrified of said repercussions (sp?)

The surgeon said that it was the operation & nothing else would work on 'such a severe case'..... Aren't I special... :roll:

Is there any way they can do it just for my hands? Would this make the risks less likely?

I can cope with my armpits, feet etc, it's just my hands. It's been destroying my self-confidence since I can remember :cry:
 
R

**removed**

Banned
Oh gawd yeah I had to stay in a hospital for one night.. I don't blame you.

The possible side effects are very scary and I wouldn't want someone to go through with it unless there was no other option.. people with hyperhidrosis have suffered enough.

There is at least one alternative to surgery for hands and that is iontophoresis. Your surgeon may not have heard of it but it can work even in extreme cases. I have severe hand sweating (it could drip sometimes) and at times iontophoresis has made my hands completely dry. Some people don't like it because of the hassle of using it every week and the slight burning sensation but in my opinion an hour or two of treatment for dry or at least slightly drier hands is worth it.

If you really want the surgery then definitely only have it for the hands, maybe only one hand like Billy did. It would probably decrease the risk but i'm not an expert, I think some of it is down to luck. I don't think surgeons even recommend you have it done for both hands and feet, that would be pretty dangerous.
 
Negaigoto

Negaigoto

Member
Hi everyone, this is my first day on the forums and finally reading about other people like me is helping so much. Here is my experience with ETS...

I have palmoplantar HH and I had ETS surgery in 1999 to stop the sweating in my hands. My dermatologist recommended a neurosurgeon who met with my parents and me a few times to discuss the surgery itself and the possible side effects. We spent months convincing our insurance company to pay for the surgery (which they finally did!) and I had already tried all the available alternatives, but they didn't work for me.

I was in the hospital for 2.5 days as I had some trouble breathing after the surgery due to my lungs not fully re-expanding, but the oxygen mask helped me to recover quickly. My upper back was sore for about 3-4 weeks afterward and I had no problems with the incisions (three small cuts under each arm).

Now to what I hadn't expected...

I developed postoperative Horner's syndrome which the surgeon had said occurs in about 1% of patients who undergo ETS. Trust me to be an oddball :p This affected my left upper eyelid, and I lived with it for a few years before having a blepharoplasty to correct it.

I also hadn't expected the amount of compensatory sweating which occurred. I now sweat on my legs, tummy, and back which had never been a problem before the surgery. I also have to deal with gustatory sweating (facial sweating when you eat) every time I have a meal.

In hindsight...

I would do it again in a heartbeat, and I wish I had known about it earlier. I do have to deal with other issues caused by the surgery, but those are far outweighed by the success with my hands. They very rarely sweat now and I actually have to use lotion on them when they are dry! The mere thought of lotion before the surgery would make my hands start to sweat.

I do believe ETS is a valid treatment for palmar HH, but only after you have tried all other options. It is a serious surgery with potentially serious side effects and should not be undertaken lightly.

I would love to hear about others' experiences with ETS!
 
I

iDShaDoW

Well-known member
Thanks for sharing negaigoto.

I've considered ETS at one point too but was gonna wait on it, and try iontophoresis first.

Makes me wonder if when using iontophoresis, since you won't sweat through your hands or feet, will it cause symptoms similar to CS from ETS?

Sort of like a way to predict what kind of CS you might get from ETS?
 
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