I am still very satisfied with the results of my ETS surgery.  I experience only mild CS in hot and humid conditions and occassionally whenI drink hot liquids like coffee or tea.  I can easily mask the CS by wearing a t-shift under my regular shirt.  When exercising I sweat a bit more profusely than before in my groin area but nothing too weird.  The surgery team was professional and took great care of me.  The post op pain for me was only slightly uncomfortable and quickly subsided.  I cannot speak for anyone other than myself, but I am very pleased with my results.

Ever since I was a small child, I've suffered from HH of the hands & feet.  When I became a teenager, I began to sweat not only on my hands & feet but on my underarms, face, back, stomach, thighs & legs.  I also developed mild FB. 

 

I tried so many things to get rid of the HH but nothing worked.  After researching ETS and the various surgeons for a few years, I decided to finally take the plunge and have the op done after my sweaty hands dripped into a PC I was repairing at work and I shorted-out the motherboard.  For me, that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

 

I had T2 & T3 cut plus Dr. Nielson cut 8 Kuntz nerves.  After living with HH & FB for most of my life, ETS has been one of the most positive experiences.  I no longer have to hide my hands.  I can wear bright colors, I can shake hands with clients at work, I can have a conversation and not go red in the face.  I can't tell you how wonderful it is to feel normal again.

 

So far, the side effects have been minimal to none.  I rarely get CS and when I do, it's very light like a thin film of moisture.  I usually only get it when I'm working out or if it's hot & humid outside in the summer.  Otherwise, I'm dry.  My pre-ETS FB was very mild and the op has stopped the FB for me 100%.

 

I'm just loving life and enjoying all the little things in life now.  It's amazing how much my self-esteem & confidence have been boosted by not worrying about HH/FB anymore.

 

*** UPDATE ***

 

It has been almost 3 years since my ETS.  I am happy to report that my CS has not changed since I had the op.  I still have very mild CS.  I never get it in the winter time (I'm in Chicago) and only experience it during the hot summer days or when I'm working out.  The only other side effect is a lowered heart rate (went from 76 bpm to 66 bpm) but this hasn't prevented me from participating in activities like sports, aerobics, etc.

 

I'm finally to the point now where I don't worry about sweating or blushing anymore.  It takes a while to "re-train your brain" after getting ETS.  You get so used to living your life trying to hide the sweating & blushing that you have to learn not to do it anymore.  I have definitely become much more confident.  I now working in a high client contact area of my company which I could never have done prior to the surgery.

I battled with HH since i was a child. Once i heard about ETS, i did some research on the Net. I came across Dr. Nielson and his website and decided to go with him. I scheduled my date and traveled to San Antonio. The surgery went fine and i left to go home a couple days later. My hands have not sweated since that day i went in for surgery. I have CS, but take ditropan for it now and it seems as though i am finally normal.  I am very satisfied with Dr. Nielson and his staff. They have been great through the whole ordeal and now i am a completely different and outgoing person. I am very happy with my results.

Hi! for me ETS was a lifesaver. I am 21, and started blushing badly at about 19.  I always ran away from the problem and even went travelling around the world in an attempt to escape from it - but of course, it followed me.  One day i discovered that there were other people out there with my condition!! For me ETS seemed the only option since my life was at rock bottom. Since the op i haven't blushed once.  I never used to go out AT ALL unless i was completely drunk, and i did i wore thick make up and even face masks all the time!! It was awful! 9 months later and my life is back to the way it was pre-fb! I have a job where i am in contact with the public the whole time, i have reestablished great relationships with all my friends, and i rarely drink.  There are side effects, i have very dry hands and i sweat when its hot, though this i can cope with easily.  Please contact me if you want to talk!!!

Essentially, my HH had reduced my self-esteem and confidence so much I really didn't want to go out any more, so really, I felt I had no other choice and wasn't actually given that much info about other alternatives, like Obadan or wipes etc. Despite the fact that it has only reduced my underarm sweating not stopped it completely it has stopped my palmar sweating which was awful and reduced my facial sweating to a normal level- for this reason I now have a much better life; I can shake hands and do all number of things which would have made my cringe and hide under my duvet before. I'm looking into ways to control the leftover underarm sweating and my feet sweating but I don't regret having the operation.

Hello to all HH sufferer's, Some of you may remember me. I used to post here on a regular basis, then i felt like there was not much for me to tell anyone that they haven't heard already. On 3/1/02 I went to my hospital and had the ETS done on me. The docs cut and coterized the T2. The only problem they had with me was that it took them over 2 hours to Intabate me. My little mouth wouldn't allow all of the hoses and such to go into my mouth and down my throat. I woke up 4 hours later and the first thing i noticed was how sore my throat was. They removed this big ol nose hose from me and i started coughing up. I got to chew on some ice chips giving some kind of relief to my throat. in a coulple of hours, I was sent to my room where i was going to stay the night and they can observe my breathing. Well all in a nut shell.....

Everything went just fine. My breathing was great and the pain was managable. The next day i was up walking around. My chest x-ray looked good, so the doc let me go home. I was giveing a script of Vicodin. I must admit, if it wasn't for the Vicodin I would of experenced some pain. Today is 3/5/02 and im ready to go back to work tomorrow.

Oh yea..... Im dry under the arm and im dry in the hands. I have sweated in differnt areas of my body, like back and legs, but the tempature called for it.It feels good to be dry. Today Im going to go pick out a different color uniform to wear for work. No one could understand why i always wore Dark blue. Now I'm ready to tell them all. The best luck to all.....

                                                                                   Critter

Hello Everyone,

 

I'm so very happy to share my experience with you on this great site that I discovered 3 months ago. Well, after waiting for my Insurance provider to change to a non HMO so that they could cover most of it, I finally had the ETS done just 2 weeks ago and couldn't be happier with the results.  My hands are dry, feet still do sweat about the same, and luckily so far (fingers crossed), no Compensatory Sweating.  Surprisingly, even my upper extremities, like Head and neck area, sweat the same even when I play sports.  I hope it all lasts (especially through the warmer summer), but only time will tell.  My scabs from the incision just went away 2 days ago and the incisions aren't bad at all.   Dr. Reisfeld and his staff were great, and I'd recommend him for those considering ETS.  One should definatley go with the more experienced doctors, for peace of mind alone.  A pleasant surprise when I was at Dr. Reisfeld's, is that by coincidence the same day, 48 hours the tv show was filming the girl right after me who had facial blushing.  I got to speak to the Producer of the show in the waiting room in the morning and that was exciting.  I'll definately be waiting for that episode to air.  I consider myself lucky and am very grateful for the outcome and would recommend that all with HH to first try all the other non surgical options, such as Drysol, the Drionic, and Rubinol, which is the path that I took.  One should not take Surgery lightly and should be fully aware of the possible outcomes and be sure to use a reputable doctor.  In the end, give yourself plenty of time to think about it, and lots of prayers.

 

Good Luck,

-Dan

 

I have been cursed with moderate FB (only in groups of people, when talking to strangers and when speaking to authority figures), severe facial sweating, severe armpit sweating, and mild hand sweating my whole life.  I figured I was somewhat different from others (never having met anyone like myself before) and tried my best to get by socially.  I ended up severely limiting my life, avoiding groups altogether and any kind of public speaking.  I still suffered through severe facial sweating though when talking to my bosses at work.  It's only post-ETS that I'm finally realizing how greatly my self-esteem has been affected by this affliction and how much hiding I've done in my life.  It is really sad.  I should've done this a long time ago (although I would've probably gambled with my life even more, as doctors back then were not as experienced as they are now).  It's only been about 3 weeks, my CS is very mild, only in nervous situations and when it's hot.  Basically, the same amount of sweat comes out on my lower body, in same situations, instead of the upper.  I can sooo-oo-oo deal with that!!!  Now that's I've tasted the social freedom, I will never consider reversal, even if severe CS strikes me tomorrow.  I would rather take medication for CS than go back to facial sweating and blushing.  I love being able to talk to all people freely, not just my close friends, without the fear of looking like a freak.  Needless to say, I'm praying that my CS remains the same, and am very happy with the ETS.