I would not have heard about VATS if it wasn’t for another female that I met while attending a course for the military and she stated that she only had CS on her lower legs. So I got VATS done before I went on active duty in the military thinking that without sweaty hands I would be able to handle my weapon better and be more active socially. But my CS has gotten progressively worse over the past 5 years and it doesn’t look like it will ever decrease.

I would urge anyone considering this surgery to really look at how the consequences will affect your life after the surgery. I have perspired so much sometimes that my entire uniform from top to bottom was completely soaked and that’s no way to live. I suggest anyone considering this surgery find a surgeon that performs the temporary ETS preferably during the summer months to see how your body will react and make you decision from there.

Consider not being able to walk hand in hand on the beach in a bikini or limiting your wardrobe because of your CS. I would rather have those sweaty hands back rather than have 90% of my body drenching with sweat and not being able to where the clothes that once wore or going to the places that you once went to because your afraid of the embarrassment of CS.

The surgeons will not stress to you how this surgery will affect you physically or psychologically, they just perform the surgery and leave you flappin in the wind when you are done.

I can say that I am considering the reversal surgery to see how that will work for me. If I do go through it I will definitely let everyone know how I make out. I can’t hurt anything if it improves my quality of living.

But the compensatory sweating is bothersome too. VERY bothersome actually. I still think its way better than dealing with obviously sweaty hands. My legs, ankles, buttocks, STOMACH, lower back get drenched like my hands used to. It really sucks to have to live with this when I see everybody else around me not having this problem.

I usually wear jeans to cover my legs, but the heat from long pants in the sun seems to make me sweat more. At least nobody can tell I guess.

The most promising treatment I’ve come across for compensatory sweating is APPLE CIDER VINEGAR. Its too early to tell since I haven’t been consistent with taking it everyday like I need to, but Ill update you once I fully test it out. However I just started taking ACV shots every morning and night and I feel noticeably drier all around! You can get it at Mothers Market if you have one of those around you.

Where is our government?

To those of you that are “seriously considering” ETS after all that you’ve read throughout the internet…

If you go ahead and go through this surgery, then it’s your own fault if you have complication like this. Is your sweating really that bad to allow a procedure to be done on that is normally used to alter the brain? I mean how much “evidence” do you need that you are: a) being lied to by the medical community and b) obviously these complications aren’t from a single incident in one small town. The only saying.. if one person complains about you, it’s probably them… if 100 patients complain about something, there is a problem.

Your sweating is NOT a nervous system problem. It is a hormonal problem. It is similar to that of women going through menopause. No amount of removing vital nerves is remotely ethical for this. I can bring another 15 patients to this blog who have experienced complications, some severe.

Also, beware that some ETS doctors will leave comments on sites talking about how great the procedure is to trick you into believing it’s a great cure!

Now just over a year since my bilateral ETS.
CS is still severe, especially in summer months. From my nipples down. Still only dry on my right side, left side facial sweating is worse than before.

Huge temperature differences between left and right sides. Right arm and hand freezing cold, no temp regulation at all, no sweating. left side normal body temp.
severe facial blushing only on left side of face, i look ridiculous.

DO NOT HAVE ETS

I was accused of cheating multiple times because of this, so i re wrote whatever i was working on without the use of a “sweat pad”, and by the time i was done the ink was smeared making it illegible, and the paper itself was shredding to pieces. when i drove my car sweat would drip down my forearms and soak my pants. if i shook someone’s hand they recoiled. i just wanted it to end.

after 2 years of going to Dr after Dr insurance was finally convinced to help out. i went to a neuro/cardiothoracic surgeon in waco Texas at scott and white. he recommended only having one side cut (cut, not clamped). i am forever thankful for that decision. from that day until today i have not sweated on the right side of my body from the waist up. if you drew a line directly down the middle of my body and one across my bellybutton, you would see the area affected. one quarter of my body has not sweated in 9 years!

i do not know exactly which nerves he cut or where (i was young and just wanted it over with), but i have minimal (MINIMAL) comp sweating. i may sweat a little bit more on my lower back, but it is definitely not a hassle compared to what i was dealing with.

SIDE EFFECTS
The only side effects i noticed/have noticed in the past 9 years are as follows:

• in the recovery room i had severe (9.5 out of 10 pain rating) chest pain. this all went away once they pulled the drain out 5 minutes later.
• normal post op pain.my underarm area hurt quite a bit for 3 or so days with swelling. pain and swelling were completely gone within 2 weeks.
• loss of temperature regulation in my right hand. once a day or so my hand seems to pick a temperature and stick to it for several hours. whether it be in the 55 deg operating room i work in, or my 80 degree apartment, i have no regulation. for example, my hand feels like it is running a fever right now. if my hand happens to get cold, i cannot warm it up because the sympathetic nerve is gone. this means my brain cannot sense that my hand is cold, so it does not send extra blood to warm it up. if my hand is hot, my brain cannot sense the need to cut back on blood supply a little bit. see what i am getting at?
• minor mental fog and distractability. i have no idea how cutting a sympathetic nerve innervating the hand could cause this, but i call it like i see it. now i am on adderall for ADD.

OVERVIEW
i would not change my decision to have surgery for anything. it changed my life…period. i recommend this ONLY to those that have extremely severe HH. my doc said i was in the worst 0.005% of the 1% of the entire 270 million ppl in the US that has this.

If you are just annoyed by clammy hands once a day, do not bother. you probably will regret it. but if you can literally sweat a 30ml pool of sweat in one minute flat (yes, i have tried this…) at any given moment of the day, then if your surgeon is experienced, you probably will love the results. research! please! research is worth it! know what may happen to your body. you only have one body!

Anyone out there in my boat that has undergone ETS?

I just don’t know what else to do anymore, and reading all this is making it more difficult. Are some doctors better then others? Does clampping really make a difference? Are there any other treatments in the works or being tested that are worth waiting for?

All your thoughts and help are appreciated.

Tasha

I have severe blushing issues. It has held me back in many ways. No college-couldn’t face being called upon, pregnant early (thought he was the best I could do) no self confidence. I work in a go-nowhere job. I’m 32 now and still suffering. It’s been the single biggest problem of my life. I have no insurance, so I won’t be getting the surgery. Which may be a blessing in disguise. However…

The one question I haven’t seen answered here–Is the “disease” hereditary? My daughter, after entering puberty, started sweating really bad under her arms. And she’s ALWAYS hot. She has to take extra clothes w/ her so she can change if she needs too. It’s affecting her ability to make friends. Her happiness is so important, I just want this to go away for her. Is her sweating just going to get worse?

Can this problem show itself in different ways for members of the same family?

Or am I just over-reacting?

thanks for all the comments. I always thought I was just weird. Why doesn’t anyone else have problems talking to people? I’ve been called “stuck up” so many, many times. I just don’t want to talk. I know I will blush, then everyone will look at me, make a comment, and I’ll feel like crawling under the table w/ shame. I’m very reclusive. It’s been hard, but it feels good to know there are people out there like me.

Anyone out there in my boat that has undergne ETS?

I just don’t know what else to do anymore, and reading all this is making it more difficult. Are some doctors better then others? Does clampping really make a difference? Are there any other treatments in the works or being tested that are worth waiting for?

All your thoughts and help are appreciated.

Tasha