Botox: Apply directly to the pits?
July 28, 2011 8:42 AM Subscribe
Should I get Botox to treat my hyperhidrosis? What is it like?
I've had hyperhidrosis (underarm area) all my life. I've been through OTC and prescription topical products and nothing has helped me. My dermatologist says I am out of effective topical options and the next thing to try is Botox.
If my insurance covers Botox for hyperhidrosis (which it likely will, according to my doctor), I think I'd like to give it a try. I've read the Botox-branded literature, and a nice article someone posted in a previous hyperhidrosis AskMe, but I'm looking for more personal experiences.
I have a pretty high tolerance for pain and have had lots of needles and such in the past, so the initial pain of the shots isn't a big worry to me, but what about the other side effects? For example, muscle weakness... will this keep me out of the gym for awhile, or just feel a little funny for a day or two? Headaches? Flu-like symptoms?
Anything else to know about the procedure besides the shots themselves? How long does it take?
How about the actual results? Are they as life-changing as one would hope they are? (You mean I can buy any clothes I want and not ruin them within days?!) Good enough to make you keep doing it every six months or so?
I've had hyperhidrosis (underarm area) all my life. I've been through OTC and prescription topical products and nothing has helped me. My dermatologist says I am out of effective topical options and the next thing to try is Botox.
If my insurance covers Botox for hyperhidrosis (which it likely will, according to my doctor), I think I'd like to give it a try. I've read the Botox-branded literature, and a nice article someone posted in a previous hyperhidrosis AskMe, but I'm looking for more personal experiences.
I have a pretty high tolerance for pain and have had lots of needles and such in the past, so the initial pain of the shots isn't a big worry to me, but what about the other side effects? For example, muscle weakness... will this keep me out of the gym for awhile, or just feel a little funny for a day or two? Headaches? Flu-like symptoms?
Anything else to know about the procedure besides the shots themselves? How long does it take?
How about the actual results? Are they as life-changing as one would hope they are? (You mean I can buy any clothes I want and not ruin them within days?!) Good enough to make you keep doing it every six months or so?
If you want to not have to wait for the numbing cream, you can buy LMX Cream at the drugstore and put it on before the procedure. Ask the pharmacist.
posted by radioamy at 9:03 AM on July 28, 2011
posted by radioamy at 9:03 AM on July 28, 2011
I can't speak from personal experience but I looked into it pretty deeply some years back. Since mine is more generalized, though worst on my back, it wasn't practical. The other thing that put me off it may be less pertinent now - at the time it was more of an off-label sort of usage and it wasn't easy to find someone experience with using it for sweat control.
My suspicion is that the side effects are far more likely when you're dealing with a practitioner who isn't experienced using it this way. Since the goal is to get the sweat glands and they're at a different layer than your muscle, it seems to reason you're likely to get fewer side-effects if someone is on-target and uses appropriate dosages.
Good luck
posted by phearlez at 9:31 AM on July 28, 2011
My suspicion is that the side effects are far more likely when you're dealing with a practitioner who isn't experienced using it this way. Since the goal is to get the sweat glands and they're at a different layer than your muscle, it seems to reason you're likely to get fewer side-effects if someone is on-target and uses appropriate dosages.
Good luck
posted by phearlez at 9:31 AM on July 28, 2011
Best answer: I had this done a couple of years ago and it went just fine. The injections weren't painful (I think they might have given me an anesthetic shot first, but I don't actually remember) and I didn't get any side-effects like weakness or flu-like symptoms.
The coolest part was the preliminary test where they locate the sweat glands: they rub a yellow iodine solution on your pits, dry them thoroughly, then dust 'em with cornstarch. As you may remember from high school chemistry, iodine turns blue/purple in the presence of starch and water. When the glands start pumping out sweat you get purple polka dots in your armpits, and that's where the Botox goes. In fact, if you don't start sweating while just lying there peacefully, they may not do the injections because your hyperhidrosis may not be bad enough to justify the treatment.
Anyway, it lasted about 4 months for me and it was wonderful but the effects tail off slowly. So you either have to wait for it to wear off completely (over a few months of increasing sweatiness), or you go back for multiple treatments as each cluster of sweat glands comes back on line. Just something to think about ... MeMail for more details if you want.
posted by Quietgal at 11:42 AM on July 28, 2011
The coolest part was the preliminary test where they locate the sweat glands: they rub a yellow iodine solution on your pits, dry them thoroughly, then dust 'em with cornstarch. As you may remember from high school chemistry, iodine turns blue/purple in the presence of starch and water. When the glands start pumping out sweat you get purple polka dots in your armpits, and that's where the Botox goes. In fact, if you don't start sweating while just lying there peacefully, they may not do the injections because your hyperhidrosis may not be bad enough to justify the treatment.
Anyway, it lasted about 4 months for me and it was wonderful but the effects tail off slowly. So you either have to wait for it to wear off completely (over a few months of increasing sweatiness), or you go back for multiple treatments as each cluster of sweat glands comes back on line. Just something to think about ... MeMail for more details if you want.
posted by Quietgal at 11:42 AM on July 28, 2011
Reading over your other questions, I see that you are excessively sensitive to cold.
The Wikipedia page on hyperhydrosis lists thyrotoxicosis among possible causes of hyperhydrosis. Thyrotoxicosis is "the clinical condition of increased thyroid hormones in the blood."
Taken together, these suggest to me that your body has increased thyroid hormone to increase your metabolism in order to warm you up, but that it hasn't worked for some reason, possibly leading to an even greater increase in thyroid hormone output.
Incidentally, thyroiditis, one of the causes of excessive thyroid hormone, seems to be associated with increased gagging-- which would make sense if the thyroiditis caused the thyroid to enlarge and narrow the esophagus. Therefore, you might expect more gagging if the thyroid enlarged for any reason, including a signal to produce more hormone.
I think you should insist on an evaluation of your thyroid hormone levels before resorting to Botox.
posted by jamjam at 12:06 PM on July 28, 2011
The Wikipedia page on hyperhydrosis lists thyrotoxicosis among possible causes of hyperhydrosis. Thyrotoxicosis is "the clinical condition of increased thyroid hormones in the blood."
Taken together, these suggest to me that your body has increased thyroid hormone to increase your metabolism in order to warm you up, but that it hasn't worked for some reason, possibly leading to an even greater increase in thyroid hormone output.
Incidentally, thyroiditis, one of the causes of excessive thyroid hormone, seems to be associated with increased gagging-- which would make sense if the thyroiditis caused the thyroid to enlarge and narrow the esophagus. Therefore, you might expect more gagging if the thyroid enlarged for any reason, including a signal to produce more hormone.
I think you should insist on an evaluation of your thyroid hormone levels before resorting to Botox.
posted by jamjam at 12:06 PM on July 28, 2011
Response by poster: My thyroid has been tested recently (unrelated). You can safely assume that the hyperhidrosis is not related to my thyroid, other health issues, or previous posts.
posted by dayintoday at 12:19 PM on July 28, 2011
posted by dayintoday at 12:19 PM on July 28, 2011
Best answer: I do remember the Botox shots in the pits hurting, but compared to how well they worked in controlling the sweating, it is completely worth it. After several rounds of treatments, I now have somewhat normal pits that react perfectly well to normal deodorant. I would hands down recommend it for a single try. After you see what happens, you can take it from there.
posted by Nackt at 2:59 PM on July 28, 2011
posted by Nackt at 2:59 PM on July 28, 2011
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The injection was not bad at all, no worse than any other injection in a fatty body part. I used to do allergy treatments too, and it was no worse than that. I have read that on feet and hands it can be much worse, but have no experience. I expereicned no side effects like muscle weakness, headaches, flu-like symptoms? These may be one in a million.
This was a 20 minute in-patient procedure. Mostly because you can get a topical anaesthetic ("numbing cream") that takes a little time to settle in, and because I had some mole removed at the same time.
Results-wise, it worked out great for the 5-6 months promised, and though I don't think I am back to square one, I would do it again. The cost-effectiveness is debatable in my case: this was not cheap, and to think about doing it over and over again is wearying. If you actually ruin clothing quickly though, you will be coming out ahead in a short time.
If anyone in Minneapolis is looking for a guy to do it, you can contact me by memail.
posted by whatzit at 8:54 AM on July 28, 2011