I’ve had an issue with sweating since I was about 15 years old. I first noticed it when I was a sophomore in high school. Perfect timing, right?

That year, I wore a gray t-shirt for my first day of school—printed with the kind of saying that only a child of that age could appreciate—and I noticed in the middle of biology class (ironically) that I was sweating through my shirt.

From then on, it just got worse and worse. I tried to wear undershirts, but they didn’t really help at all. Winter became my favorite month because of sweaters and jackets. I tried all sorts of strong over-the-counter antiperspirants, but the amount of chemicals in them made me uncomfortable. So, I eventually gave up and stopped using anything too intense.

After college, I stopped caring completely and stopped trying to hide it. It just became a part of who I was.

A couple of years later when I started a new job, someone there recommended the miraDry procedure at the Hyperhidrosis Center at Thoracic Group for my sweating. Dr. Caccavale (“Dr. C” for short) and his staff were very welcoming. I was shown an interesting presentation about what happens in your body with hyperhidrosis—what it was, what the procedure entailed and so on. Dr. C gave me a walkthrough on what would happen. The staff were all super friendly, many of whom have had the procedure done themselves, which was really reassuring.

Treatment was pretty easy. Dr. C gave the local anesthetic and talked me through the process again and mapped out my underarms with little dots, then Franchesca performed the procedure. Her cheerful bedside manner and witty banter made the time go by like nothing. Overall, a very pleasant experience.

After the procedure, I was sore for the rest of the day but iced the area as recommended. When I woke up the next day, it was a little numb and a little swollen, but I was no worse for wear otherwise.

I don’t sweat anymore, which is a drastic change from the way I used to be. Pretty pumped about that. I only have to wear one shirt a day, and I can finally wear gray again!

I would definitely recommend miraDry to everyone who sweats too much, friends and family alike.