Happy belated New Year! I apologize for the large gap in my entries. Life is as hectic as always and I’m here now to catch you up on my most recent adventures.
In December and January, I traveled to China with an orchestra to tour! It was an amazing, once-in-a-life-time experience filled with culture, excitement, and good music.
In preparation for the trip, I think everyone was stressed out. There was a lot to do in a short period of time. We needed to fill out a lot of paperwork, go to the Chinese consulate to get a Chinese Visa, and do extensive preparation of music – not to mention pack for a 3 week tour for several different climates.
I had additional stress because I felt like I needed to also prepare my body. I needed to start my iontophoresis treatments again so that my hands wouldn’t bother me playing 15 concerts in 3 weeks over in China.
I finished my initial 10 treatments just in time, right before we left. I’m happy that I did this because I barely had an issue with my hands while I was over there. I think a big reason for this though was the climate. Many cities we were in were very cold and several of the halls we played in didn’t have proper heat. Cold weather is always good for people with HH, so I wasn’t complaining.
A month after returning to the states, I performed with this same group at Carnegie Hall. I hadn’t kept up the treatments, but my hands weren’t bothering me because of the winter weather. However, Carnegie was really tough for me. I’m lucky that I remembered to bring my wash cloth on stage. I thought I’d only need it intermittently, but the stage was hot and I was holding onto it for dear life in between the notes.
Playing the flute with HH is really tough. Over this past weekend, I played a concert with my quintet and during rehearsal, my hands were so bad. I had to constantly use my towel and even had to ask if we could open a window to get some colder air circulating. It’s really frustrating when I need to concentrate on playing the right notes and all I can do is make sure I don’t drop my instrument. I feel like I’m not playing to my potential because a lot of my energy is going to just making sure my hands don’t break my instrument.
I need to start treatments again really soon. Not only for musical reasons, but because my wedding is now next month! Time flies!
HH strikes again in the most unexpected places. 2 weeks ago, I had my first dress fitting. I was having my dress pinned so it could be hemmed and the tailor asked if I could hold out the front of the dress. I did until my hands got to be too much. I actually told the tailor that I have hyperhidrosis and asked my mom to take over holding the dress. I was so scared that the sweat on my hands were going to discolor my dress! I don’t know why I bluntly told the tailor about my HH. I think it is because I figured she wouldn’t know what I was talking about, but I also got the sense that she wouldn’t care.
Also two weekends ago, I got a new phone. I upgraded from an iPhone 4s to the 6s. On this new phone, it takes your thumb print as a security code. In the store, the sales rep was asking me to type info and put my thumb print on the sensor. The whole time my hands were dripping and I was petrified that it wasn’t going to work. Thumb print scanning has failed in the past for me because of HH several times. I was also worried the sales rep would notice and I’d get embarrassed.
So, there’s always something with HH. I’m on the subway right now typing this up on my new iPhone and I have to keep stopping to dry my hands. Scared I’ll break it or electrocute myself.
I’m going to start treatments tonight. In the winter months, I need it less, but in general, I find continuous treatment challenging. Maybe I’m too busy, or maybe I’m just lazy. Does anyone else have trouble keeping up?
Until next time: Stay cool and dry!
Thanks for reading,
Caryn
Just a Little Sweat 
I started iontophoresis treatments, but with a homemade version I found on YouTube. My insurance wouldn’t cover the cost and it was too much for me to purchase. But…..I have had successful results! I was very diligent in the beginning and then started doing it less frequently- every 2-3 weeks. I could tell the sweating was starting to come back so I’ve started doing it again once per week. I don’t like doing it, I find it kind of uncomfortable, but I turn on the TV and try to stay distracted. It is however worth it to not have sweaty hands! I’m about to start doing it on my feet too since summer is coming up.
Hi Caryn & Jen, I live in the UK and have been on a trial period through the NHS (National Health Service) for the iontopheresis treatment, its seven 20min long sessions for my hands & feet over a 4 week period. I have done 5 sessions (2 more to go) but not noticed much difference. I still have the intention to buy a machine at the end of my free trial period as i have read online about others experiences with iontopheresis and that it can work better if done everyday until there is a decrease in sweating that is satisfactory then maintanence sessions are required. Also whether the water is hard or soft and have heard that medication can also be added, all these can have different effects. Just curious what was your experiences with iontophetesis in seeing results?
Hi Liz,
This is the video I followed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOQfjZ9-Akw
I bought the exact items shown in the video. I’ll put aquaphor on the back of my hands – cause the tend to be dry and on any cuts I may have. I use tap water and do not add salt. I looked it up online and the water in my city is considered moderately hard. I do it for about 10-15 minutes each time and switch the clips halfway through. It’s kind of hard to “hover” my hands. Also, sometimes I can’t take the tingling so I’ll take my hands out for a moment, but that means I then have to put my hands back in – placing them in the water is when you get the biggest “shock”.
I did it for 5 days in a row, then every other day, then every 2-3 days, then once a week. I now do it every 2-3 weeks.
The first couple days my sweating was worse, but after about a week it was so much better. I’d say my hands are dry now almost 100% of the time.
Good luck!
Hi! Really like your blog and I too am a Hyperhidrosis sufferer! I find it really inspiring that so many people who deal with this issue find ways to go out about living their daily life. They’ll never know how much we’d appreciate doing normal things without sweatig.
I see you haven’t updated your blog in a while but I think it’d be really cool if we could collaborate on some posts together. My site is also about dealing with sweating: https://www.beat-sweating.com/
Hey Caryn, really like your perspective, can’t imagine playing any instrument with palmar HH, let alone the Flute. Really inspiring that you’ve followed your passion and haven’t let HH beat you. Ion treatments on your hands sound tough, especially given that you play the flute. Have you tried many other treatments?
I write about HH topics on my own site, http://CureExcessiveSweat.com. I’ve written about homeopathic methods, conventional treatments and reviewed and researched a bunch of products. Would be great if you or anybody out there could check it out!