Iontophoresis is Torture.

[Roads]

Well, I just completed an incredibly painful iontophoresis session a few minutes ago.

I have been using drionic for about 5 months now to stop hand sweating. And it does work, somewhat, but mother of f***ing god it is painful. I was sitting there for 30 minutes, sometimes screaming in pain, and I couldn't help but realize: I'm going to be doing this for the rest of my life. And I still sweat profusely in any kind of social situation.

I'm not really sure that life with this illness is worth it anymore(not to mention the long list of other irrevocable problems I have). The topicals never worked for me, the side effects for the medications seem unreasonable, and the ETS is just insane and everyone knows it.

f*** it, i guess im just ranting.

what do you guys think?

 

[BiGz]

Hey bud, how long have you been using it for? Also can't you try a lower setting? I'm not familiar with using one of these but from what I hear it becomes less painful over a short period of time.

I'm looking for a ionthreposis machine soon too as nothing short of being 100% calm or drunk works for me either.

 

[Roads]

Lowering the settings too much results in the treatment essentially not working as well. The pain is sometimes easier to bare, but most of the time its not.

 

[beckiboo]

lol I know what you mean, it does tingle a bit! ive just completed a month's course at hospital and my hands seem pretty dry so far, I didnt notice a difference till the 6th-7th session and im defo gonna get a home use machine, I figure its worth the pain for the improvement ive seen so far..

 

[dpr]

i've been using it for about a year now, not the dristar but the fischer md-1a.

it does tingle but i wouldn't describe it as extremely painful. uncomfortable maybe, but not painful. and i crank the thing up to 9.5 (about 19 ma)

do you have cuts or scrapes anywhere on your hands? that sometimes produces some pain for me. just make sure you cover the cuts with petroleum jelly. and try not to clip your nails right before you do the ionto, that can make it a bit painful as well.

you probably just need to get used to it more.

 

[missyv]

Ion...

Thanks for sharing, that leaves me out. I will not be using this method for my plantar HH. I cannot tolerate even the slightest pain.

 

[Roads]

I didn't know drionic was the worst. Any recomendations?

 

[HH]

first thing to do is get rid of the drionic and get a better machine like the idromed GS 4 or the fischer one, they cost more but its worth it. Then see how you get on with one of these, most people have it set on about 10mA which doesn't hurt to much. Theres things you can try to ease the pain e.g. don't cut finger nails before you do a treatment-give it a few days. Use vasiline to cover cuts and apply along the water line. If you have a cut put a waterproof plaster on it. Your hands should toughen up as you do more treatments making it less painful. Maybe use really cold water.

 

[blong]

I have been seeing a lot of posts on the forum that have brushed on a common misconception:

more current = better results

that is NOT true.

I used to use up to 25 mAs and if anything i sweated worse. I stopped using iontophoresis for a week and then started again with 12-14 mAs, 15 min on each polarity, for 10 days in a row and now im 90-95 % dry. Trust me, take a break and try a regimen with a lower current and you will get better results! And dont use baking soda (refer to the other forum topic).

often times over treating will make you sweat more.

best of luck

 

[amy7]

ow ow ow ow ow!!! I had no luck with iontophoresis! I know it works for some, but I got blisters and tingling pain before the treatment was ever effective. Vaseline on cuticles/cuts can definitely make a difference, but I feel your pain -- literally.

 

[HHzapp]

...

 

[bukitimah]

My experience tells me the higher current works better but you can start between 9 to 12 volts. or approx 8 mA

However, the most effective part is to switch the polarity every 15 mins. My understanding is once you get settle down after 5 minutes the charge in your body builds up and the current is reduced. By changing the polarity, your body discharge and allow the current to charge back in again. Your body works like a capacitor if you know what I mean.

To avoid any pain, it is important to soak your palm under the water. You got to protect any cuts or wounds. Do not cut your nail too deep too.

Good luck