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Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Rare Hyperhidrosis Sweating on Back of One Hand

Last week I finally saw a dermatologist who could help me. After 10 years or more suffering with pouring sweat from the back of my left hand, and googling the problem endlessly, I finally discovered the condition of excessive sweating was called Hyperhidrosis. When I was younger I saw a dermatologist that informed me he had never seen this, did not know what it was, thought I should tough it out, and sent me home with a prescription for Dry sol that burnt my hand and severely irritated my hand, not fixing the problem. Through my searches online I found two dermatologists, one through well renowned Dartmouth Hitchcock who has a branch in Manchester, NH, and one farther away who was willing to see me sooner. I scheduled both appointments and the first one was terrible. Dr. Campbell at Dover Skin Health did not spend more than five minutes with me, ignored my story, said less than ten words, and sent me home with a prescription for the same stuff that hadn't worked for me beforehand! It was a disaster, waste of a drive! After a three month wait I saw Dr. Willer through Dartmouth, and he was superb. He saw me 45 minutes late since my Lyme brain got me terribly lost, and spent at least another 45 minutes with me. He listened to my story, showed a diagram of the body's nerve pathways, described my condition and the concerns with certain treatments and their complications right now, and he even assured me we would figure it out once the Lyme clears up. There was nothing negative said about the diagnosis of Lyme Disease, and all was smooth. Dr. Willer had never seen a patient with this sever of a condition on the back of a hand, nor on the back of one hand. Usually patients suffer sweating on both sides of the body equally. So I guess I am one percent, and unable to receive surgery since the place of problem is nearly impossible to find. He suggested we get a neurological work up since usually problems on one side of the body are caused from a problem including a tumor in the brain or on the nerve somewhere. A tumor is unlikely after 10 years of dealing with this however, but still we should look into it. So when I see my new PCP for the first time I plan to discuss this with her.

4 comments:

  1. Hi Elaina!

    I don't have Lyme disease but I do have palmar hyperhidrosis. Drysol is terrible stuff for hands and only doctors who barely know anything about HH still prescribe it today. It's a shame that your doctor couldn't even listen to your story and prescribed you the same stuff again.

    Personally, I think Botox (which I have tried before) or iontophoresis (what I currently use to manage my HH)is the best treatment option for hands at the moment but, your situation is a little bit different than regular palmar HH so definitely see a good doc about it. ETS surgery is an ABSOLUTE LAST RESORT because it can cause other symptoms such as Horner's syndrome or compensatory sweating that is worse than the original sweating. I have not done ETS surgery before (or even plan to) nor would I recommend it to anyone. The risks are just too great.

    If you need a good doc that is trained in treating and diagnosing HH, the International Hyperhidrosis Society has many listed in their directory. You might be able to find one in your area using their Physician Finder tool and they may be able to help further.

    http://www.sweathelp.org/en/taking-action/find-a-doctor.html

    I wish you the best of luck and I hope that you will find something that works for you!

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    1. That is actually how I found the idiot doctor who was on that website. And the other doctor I saw that suggested maybe neurological problems was on there as well. Thank you very much.

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  2. Is there any followup to this? I have experienced the same thing sporadically over 40 years. I can go years without it happening. And then, suddenly, one day it's there and can last several days.

    Just curious what happened after this. Thanks, Bob

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I started using Dry Sol and it seemed to help. Thanks

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