Calling anyone who had an Endoscopic Thoratic Sympathectomy performed (hyperhydrosis)

In My Humble Opinion
1

I have episodic hyperhydrosis of the hands and feet. For those that don’t know, that basically means that my hands and feet sweat like it’s their job. The episodic part is thrown in there, becsause every so often they don’t sweat for a little while (this is a rare occasion). Anyhow, I’ve tried all the good stuff out there. Drysol, didn’t work, in fact it actually stung my hands and feet. I tried the oral medication (whose name escapes me) and got no results what so ever. I’ve thought about Botox, but it doesn’t sound like it’s worth it.

So I’m seriously considering having Endoscopid Thoratic Sympathectomy performed. I’ve read up on the procedure and all that good stuff, but I want to poll the SDMB and see if I can get any insight into this thing.

I’m basically concerned with:

  • What was your condition?

  • Was/is it worth it?

  • Was/is the composatory sweating bad?

  • How much did it set you back, did insurance cover any of it?

  • Anything else you might want to add

I’m not taking this lightly, I know the risks. It’s the rewards that I’m curious about. And bring the bad with the good. I want to hear about this from all angles.

2

Sorry Papa but I don’t have any info on the procedure, but I’m curious, I had this as a teenager. My doctor prescribed some type of medication that I applied to my feet (the major problem) at night, wrapped in plastic. Within about two weeks, the problem went away. Have you checked with your gp or a dermatologist? There has to be some type of topical remedy, anything ending in -ectomy can’t be good.

3

BF I’ve tried a couple different topical remedies in the past and none of them helped. Drysol (I imagine that’s what your doctor perscribed) didn’t help, I was told to do the wrap thing as well, and a I tried that and it didn’t help either, in fact it actually hurt my hands and feet. I was told when I was a teenager, that when I stopped growing it would go away. I haven’t been growing for a few years now, and it has not let up at all. At times it definitely seems worse.

I agree with you that -ectomies aren’t good, but I’ve tried quite a few things without any success. I know the procedure, and it seems pretty straight forward (as far a surgery can be). Now I’m trying to determine if it’s worth it