Other Procedures

There are a number of different procedures you can have if you are slightly on edge about having surgery. Here is a list of links that you might find useful.

Keyhole Surgery
Botox
Antiperspirants
Oral Medications
Everyday solutions

Post Op

I did feel a bit weird after my operations. I knew I didn't have to wear black anymore so I didn't know where to start when it came to clothes shopping, I was picking out anything and everything I could possibly find. I loved the fact that I could now wear t-shirts. There are side effects though. There was a possibility that my operation would be unsuccessful, or my chords could re-attach themselves. But what is most common is if you stop a part of your body from sweating it has to go some where. This is because we have to sweat to stay alive. So on me it has gone onto my back. My back does not sweat excessively like my under arms did, it only really happens if I tend to speed up when I am walking or if I am wearing heavy clothes. To me this way is a lot easier as I feel sweating from your under arms is worse as the patches are visible. My way of living is so much happier now my wardrobe is full of coloured t-shirts from blue to pink, white and yellow etc. I no longer have to wear sleeveless tops I can now wear them when I want and not because I have to. I have also noticed that I now have very dry hands. I was told this would happen I was told I would have to moisturise them everyday because when the weather changes and winter arrives the weather could cause my hands to dry that much that they can crack. This can be a pain during everyday activities as it has caused me to lose my grip so sometimes doing the simplest of things such as dismantling a cardboard box can be difficult because I cant grip it enough to rip it.

Operation 2

The day finally came for number 2 operation. I was looking forward to this as I knew I would have a happier life once I was healed and no more sweating and my wardrobe colour would drastically expand. When I was asked to change I was all smiles as I knew in just 1 hour I would be different, and normal. I surprised the nurse as she thought I would be nervous to be put under anesthetic I just said no been here before just want this over with so that I can go home. When I woke the same thing happened again I woke in the recovery room an x-ray was taken. Then I was taken back to the ward were the specialist met me and said "Good news you can go home today". I was so pleased and quite surprised. I think I was able to go home this time as I did not have any problem with the anesthetic previously. All I had to do was have some food. And this time it was a salmon sandwich.

The Operation

There is not a lot I can tell you about the operation as I was asleep. All I can remember about it was that I was wheeled down to the anesthesia room. I was asked to make a fist with my hand and to pump it, this was done so that a vain was more obvious so that the tube could go in my hand and the general anesthetic could go in. I was then asked to count down from 10. The next thing I remember is waking up in the recovery room. Here the nurses sat me up, and took an ex ray of my chest. I was then wheeled back into the ward were I awaited my lunch, I got a very small beef roast. I was not allowed home that night I had to stay in the hospital inorder for the nurses to monitor me. The following morning a nurse checked my temperature which was slightly high, but the ward was boiling. Later on that morning a doctor saw me and said I was fine to go home and a nurse removed the tubes from my hand and bandaged me up. The recovery period was 1 week, I did find breathing difficult and catching my breathe was also hard. Eating was a problem as it hurt to swallow, breathe and even cough. I had to be kept an eye on for a few days after surgery just in case my lung happened to collapse. I was fine but I did feel strange as at first I had my right side operated on and it felt as though I was walked lop sided and people were staring at me wondering why. This sorted itself out once I had recovered. What else I found weird was for 2 month I was only sweating from my left side my right side was completely dry. I was so relieved after my operation and could not wait for the next one. Before I could have my next one I had to go in again for the blood tests. And again await the date.

Pre Surgery

Obviously my condition was more serious than we had an anticipated. We never imagined that I would have to have surgery. Before going to see my GP I had tried numerous amount of anti-perspirant deodorants. The main two were Driclor and Anhydrol Forte. But unfortunately these both caused ne to come out in a rash. It turned out that I was actually allergic to them. I was told not to eat after midnight the night before my operation. I was not even allowed to have a drink or chew chewing gum. Because I was scared of not waking up I ate as much as I possible could that evening. I was scared when I arrived at the hospital. It turned out because the gentleman before me on the surgery list was late and I was second for some reason I was put to the bottom of the list. I had to wait between 4 and 6 hours. I was not happy. When it was my turn I was asked to change into their gowns, put on paper underwear, a paper hat to cover my hair and what I would call flight sock these were to decrease the chances of deep vain thrombosis.

blood test

Before my operation could go ahead I had to travel back to Bangor to have a blood test, BMI test be weighed and my height measured. I also had to have my heart monitored. These are all standard procedures all very quick and not very painfull. You are not in the hospital for very long as soon as everything is done and they have finished asking you questions you are free to go home and they will then post out a date for the operation to you.

Aged 16

Finally at 16 I got the courage to go and see my GP. I was nervous at first because what I had found on the internet was limited but everything I found kept saying that if you go and seek medical help you need to sell yourself to persuade the doctor that you are miserable with this condition and it is ruining your life.
Well luckily I didn't have to do this. My GP felt under one of my arms and could tell I was clammier than normal. Some people would put my sweating down to nerves. But I knew it was not that.
He wrote a letter to a specialist in Bangor. I thought I would hear from them within roughly 6 months.
it turned out to be just over a year. I had to travel from Tywyn to Bangor, to Ysbyty Gwynedd. A 2hour drive. I purposefully wore a red top that I sweated most in, only to realize when we had arrived I was bone dry. I just thought he wont believe me and not help me because of not sweating.
I was in his office for no more than 10 minutes. As soon as he shook my hand he said "congrats you have Hyperhidrosis and you are eligible for the operation" I was baffled as to how he could tell what I had just from shaking my hand.
so I asked, he just basically said I can tell through the clamminess of your hands, as both are connected through a nerve running down both sides of your spine. These chords were the things causing my problem and the nerves he was going to cut for me. Using fiber optics wires. The operation was called a TransThoracic Sympathectomy.

Photos

Here is a link to my photos so you can see the scars I have been left with after my operations. You will be able to see the incision marks made when entering my under arms with the fiber optic wires. The pictures are not very clear and the incisions are very small. I have three pictures two of which are of the same arm. Please click on the links below to access my pictures.

PIC 1
PIC 2
PIC 3