Raynaud's Disease Testimonials

Dear Dr. Nielson,
March 7, 2004 is a day that I will treasure for the rest of my life. It has been one month since my ETS surgery and words cannot express the happiness I feel. I know I have been blessed with a miracle. I have lived with palmer hyperhidrosis and Raynaud’s Disease for primarily all of my life, and I am so excited to have warm and dry hands for the first time. I have begun to live with confidence, joy and inner peace.
I am in the service industry and meet with clients on a daily basis and it is so exciting to greet my customers and shake their hands with the confidence of having warm and dry hands for the first time. I have started to go to church every Sunday, and I am at such peace. I shake every ones hand now when we do the peace be with you.
I have already delivered two large presentations for clients, and my anxiety level was at a low and my hands stayed dry. I spoke with confidence and shook everyone’s hand after the presentation. I just can’t believe the remarkable results of this procedure. I continually rub my hands together to ensure they are not sweating and have the largest smile possible on my face when I realize they are still dry and warm. I am much happier with my life both emotionally and spiritually. I look forward to waking up every morning and living my life. I have stopped avoiding work and social situations, and approach life with confidence and happiness.
I can’t believe how my life has changed. I truly believe that starting life over is never to late thanks to you Dr. Nielson. You are such a compassionate and caring individual as well as an excellent surgeon. I was nervous at first about the surgery, but once I spoke with you before surgery all my fears went away. Your kind words and professional nature put my mind at ease.
I am rapidly recovering day by day. The first two days after surgery were just as you described they would be. I felt pressure in my chest for the first few days after surgery and my throat was sore on the second day. The pressure resided after two days and my throat felt better as well, just like you said it would. I never felt pain, just pressure. I also encountered shortness of breath and slight shaking at times, but once I started to take small breaths I felt better right away. I think the shaking could have come from the low blood pressure because once I took a drink of iced tea or soda I felt better and the shaking stopped. I think I needed the sugar. I might have just been nervous as well.
After my first week of surgery I could not believe how fast I was recovering. I took it slow, but returned to work and started to get back into the swing of things with a new profound happiness. I only encountered an extremely small case of compensatory sweating the first week after surgery. It was so miniscule. I was in Florida in about 85 degree weather and I started to sweat slightly from my legs and stomach. I always use to sweating in the heat anyway so I am not sure if it was compensatory sweating at all.
I began to sweat a little more in my feat for the first week, but this has greatly improved over the past few weeks. I also encountered a few night sweats, which have stopped all together.
Dr. Nielson I never believed I would be able to escape the pain and frustration of my condition, and live a normal life. I was searching and praying for answers, but the day I found you they were all answered. You are the Best! I will always remember you, and you will always have a special place in my heart.
I also wanted to tell you about the greatest joy in my life you helped me discover. I had met that special someone in my life a week before my surgery, and we have been dating now for over a month. I love holding her hand and being intimate with her. We do everything together. I enjoyed meeting and handing out with her family, and continuing to share in special events and times in her life with her. I embrace every opportunity with complete and utter happiness, and I never avoid social situations.
I would embrace the opportunity with open arms to be a referral for you, and help any patient or future patient of yours with any questions they might have about the ETS procedure. The testimonials were what helped me make my decision to have the procedure done. It really means allot to hear other peoples perspective on the condition, procedure and joy you bring to our lives.
Lastly, I wanted to let you know how supportive and comforting your staff was through the entire procedure both pre and post surgery. Elaine and I had some great conversations, and she really cares. This is just another reflection of your compassionate and professional manner.  (Patient)

Dr. Nielson you have given me wings to fly and achieve anything I want in my life.
Thank you for everything.
May God bless you and your family always.
Sincerely, (Patient)

Dr. Nielson & Staff,
It has been six months since my micro ETS surgery and I want to give you an update. I honestly never thought that you could give me the relief that you did. I am symptom-free. I have my life back. I have my confidence back. And I am warm. On your website, the testimonials are primarily geared toward patients with hyperhidrosis. I had Raynaud’s. Note the word “had”. Thank you for pioneering this research and surgery. I cannot express my appreciation and satisfaction. If God forbid, I need the surgery again - you will be the first & only person I call. As I run into people with my past symptoms, I tell them about you. And if you ever need a referral for a future Raynaud’s patient - please give them my number; (available upon request). Again, I hope that you understand all that you have given back to me. I am eternally grateful.
Always - Jeff Easterbrook

Dr. Nielson,
Some things are a given.  We live with them, and we go on.  
I have always had cold hands.  It is never occurred to me that it was a disease or that it had a name or that it could be corrected. It was a given.
But about nine months ago I developed carpal tunnel syndrome and found a marvelous hand doctor who prescribed wrist restraints, limited hand usage, and a medication which resulted in warm, pink hands and feet. My wrists corrected themselves but as a side effect to the medication, my hair began to fall out. We stopped the medication, and my hands and feet returned to their cold blue and white state.
About 2 months ago my hands, especially the right, began to weaken.  I returned to the wrist restraints, but felt that carpal tunnel was not the problem because my wrists felt fine.  My hands were so cold that when I walked inside on my treadmill I wore gloves.  My fingers were numb, I could not close my right hand, spasms would shoot from my middle and ring fingers up my arm to my armpit when I tried to write a check, hold a fork or a newspaper.  Cutting my food was nearly impossible. It was painful to push a grocery cart. Hooking my bra was excruciating. I would awake several times during the night my hands severely numb and in pain. My fingers were so numb that I could not feel a hair brush, a mascara wand, my own face!  Something must be done.
On a Wednesday I made an appointment with my hand doctor who told me to call Dr. Nielson's office to schedule micro endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy for my Raynaud's' Disease. I phoned his office the next day, Thursday, setting up the surgery for the following day, Friday. I did not have surgery for any other reason than that I was in pain and had been in worsening pain for as long as I could bear. I was in such distress that I opted gladly for surgery in less that twenty-four hours with a surgeon that I had neither met nor spoken to.
The following morning just before surgery, my husband and I met briefly with Dr. Nielson and his anesthesiologist.  If I had any fears or concerns, they quickly disappeared.  Oh, yes I am doing the right thing. I joyously anticipated surgery.
I awoke from surgery with right and left middle finger temperatures already risen from 30.0 & 23.0 degrees centigrade respectively to 36.0 & 31.0.  I can close my hands.  They are not numb.  There are no spasms. I can feel. And they are pink and warm, a bonus I had not expected to be so marvelous.  
I have had not pain from the surgery.  My bottle of post surgery pain pills has gone unopened.  The tiny incisions are only tender when touched, and the slight bruising has all but disappeared in the ten days since my surgery.
My right hand still has a little tingling in the middle and ring fingers, and I return to my hand doctor for nerve testing and reevaluation tomorrow.  But I can brush my teeth. I can zip my pants. I can hold the newspaper. All this without pain.  I have feeling in my fingers.  I can feel the things I touch.  I can tell when water is hot or cold.  I can feel my own face.  And I can feel my husband's face also.  
I have had a lot of blessings in my life but none any greater than the results of the endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy.  “How caring the staff was to realize my distress and arrange the surgery
in so short a time.”
(Patient)

How Dr. Nielson brought my son back to me,
I know that this title is a bit much but it is exactly how I feel and it states exactly what Dr. Nielson has done for my son and my family. First I thought that I would list the many symptoms/ailments/discomforts that my family believes that Raynaud’s has contributed to Brandon’s biological processes:
• Reflux Esophagitis
• Irritable Bowel
• Blue, cold sweaty hands and feet associated with a lot of pain
• Red, sweaty, puffy hands and feet associated with a great deal of pain
• Drawing Blood was painful and a timely process (his veins would collapse and they would have to try to find another and start all over again)
• Nighttime sweating
• Many rashes
• Sore, red, degraded tissue just below the cuticle of the nail on his fingers (all Ten)—This became worse as time went on
• Depression
• Head Aches
• Discomfort/ Tightness in the chest
Brandon had seen, many doctors and has had many diagnoses from fibromyalgia to Raynauds to a self-induced stress disorder. During the course of time that the doctors were trying to discover what was or was not wrong with my son his symptoms got worse and his health deteriorated and so did his personality.
Brandon was born a beautiful empathetic human. He was caring, trusting, self aware but not selfish and very interested in learning and about other people. As the pain in his hands grew and the color changes and the swelling increased to his feet he lost the energy to deal with many things in his life. He did keep his grades up and remained on the honor roll and he taught himself how to program in Visual Basic, Java, HTML and some database development and he continued in karate. However, he lost himself in many ways. Many days he did not have the energy to do anything when he came home from school except to sleep. He became more and more distant from his friends and us. Brandon became very angry and argumentative. He would often say that there was nothing in his life that he looked forward to and that life was nothing but hard work and hardship. Yet a glimmer of excitement did glow in him and that was because of his teachers and his school –I think because his teachers, the administration and the students were supportive and kind to him while he was ill and after.

I found Dr. Nielson on the web. Since I found him on the web I was very skeptical. Since in the news you only hear the bad events associated with people and their web sites. You do not read or hear about many good events associated to medicine and the web. I thought that most people would think that I was crazy for bringing my child to a Doctor that I found on the web. However, I decided that we had finally come to a point in time that we had to do something to help Brandon. I began asking friends and family how to investigate a doctor. Most could not help me so I set out to do it myself. As Dr. Nielson provides his address and phone number on the site I first called his office. I have to say they are the nicest most earnest people that I have ever had the pleasure to meet. At the first few minutes of my phone call I have to admit I was nervous and upset and rehashing the unpleasant moments with other doctors but Jan stayed calm and supportive. I followed Jan’s directions and filled out a form on the website and Cheryl responded a couple of days later with one simple sentence. Dr. Neilson thinks that Brandon has Raynauds and Hyperhydrosis we can help him. My heart felt like it had been lifted! Finally, someone understood what we were talking about. However this web omen hung over my head so I decided to go on line to see if there was any information out there about Dr, Nielson. I searched on Texas Board Of Health. They had Dr. Nielson’s medical license number and they showed that there were no complaints lodged against him at this time and that he had held a license in Pennsylvania. I called the Texas Board of Health and they gave me the same information that was on the web they were polite and told me that Dr. Nielson was in good standing in Texas. I searched for the Pennsylvania Board of Health and found their number and called: they state that Dr. Nielson had not renewed his license on his own and that as far as they were concerned that he could come back to Pennsylvania and practice medicine there again.
I felt that since Dr. Nielson was also a Thoracic Surgeon and that he must deal with patient’s that have critical conditions and yet he had no complaints lodged against him so that must mean he is a skilled surgeon. So I felt that we had found a good doctor at last.
From the moment I first talked to the people in his office I had a good feeling that we had finally found the right place. They understood everything that I said and also verified many of Brandon’s symptoms by asking me questions about things that I did not even know were related to the disease. For example, Brandon’s hands were always sweaty and at night Brandon would sweat a lot. I thought that the sweating was a “teenage boy” thing but it was actually a related condition called “Hyperhydrosis.”
All of our family Brandon’s grandparents, great grandparents and many friends helped us to make the decision to take Brandon all the way to Texas. Some of our friends new folks in the medical field in Texas and had the medical professionals check out Dr. Nielson and every single one of them said that they heard nothing but genuinely positive things.
So off we went to Texas, Brandon his grandmother and myself. When we finally met Dr. Nielson in person it was like meeting a super star to us. He is the kindest, gentlest, most professional person I have ever met. We were so relaxed and so confident in his skills that a lot of the worry went away. We sent Brandon off to surgery. At this point I would like to tell you about the pact that the three of us made. If any one of us had one twinge of doubt we were all going to agree to ask to wait to have the procedure later or bow out gracefully somehow. After talking with the Dr. none of us had even a small twinge we felt that this was the right thing to do.
He said that in fact if we did not get Brandon’s fingers taken care of then eventually he would loose his fingers. That the sores we were worried about were troublesome. He talked to Brandon in a very kind and thoughtful manner. This was the first time any doctor treated him so respectfully.
The surgery went well for Brandon when he woke up one of the first things he said was “Hey my hands don’t hurt!” He said it as if he were saying something was wrong because it felt so weird for him not to be in pain. Also, Brandon’s skin color throughout his face arms and chest was no longer an ashen gray but it had a soft pink/flesh color to it and the rashes on his chest and back were also very pink. His hands were very red but Dr. Nielson said that that was normal because the blood flow was suddenly getting to them and everything was over stimulated. His hands did not hurt with this though. Also, his hands were warm and dry and that night he did not perspire in his sleep. It was amazing.
Brandon had a little trouble after the procedure but he said it was still well worth it. He had some pain in the elbows associated with the over stimulus of the nerves caused by the operation. He had to be on medication a little longer but it is going away.
Over the next few days and weeks other amazing things began to happen. Brandon’s reflux was improving along with his irritable bowel and of course his appetite improved along with those improvements. He also walked straighter and taller and his smile came back.
Slowly his depression and anxiety faded and his true self was revealing itself to us again. He is now joking, teasing, playful, happy, full of energy, active, social, caring, sympathetic, and helpful again. That is why I tell folks that Dr. Neilson did not just cure my son from an awful disease but that he gave me my son back.
(Patient)

P.S. We would also like to thank the families that talked to us before we took Brandon to see Dr. Nielson. The referral program was also one of the great things that the office does for us. The families that we talked to were gracious and kind and they also gave me the affirmation and mental strength to help me to get up and take Brandon to another Doctor.

Dear Peggy and Sylvia,
I wanted to let you and Dr. Nielson know that I woke up this morning with complete feeling restored in my ring finger of the left hand! There is still some numbness in the small finger and the side of the hand. The remarkable thing is, there is no pain anymore, even when I am tired.
This is wonderful improvement for me, as I was in constant pain prior to the surgery. I am experiencing coolness in the left hand when it is cold outside, but not the extreme cold that was there before. I will continue to take extra precautions when I know I will be exposed to coldness. If there is anything Dean and I can do to repay your kindness, just let us know.
Love,
(Patient)

Dear Dr. Nielson,
I had the Bilateral Micro-Single Incision Endoscopic Thoracic Sympathectomy of T2 done on January 8, 2001 and the operation worked fantastically. I didn't even incur any compensatory sweating. If I have, it's so minute I haven't even noticed it. I was diagnosed with severe palmar hyperhydrosis, moderate plantar hyperhydrosis, and a moderate/severe case of Raynaud's disease. My hands are completely dry, my feet have dramatically reduced in sweating, and my hands are also perpetually warm, respectively. I am completely satisfied with the results and my only regret is that I didn't take the initiative upon myself to find a doctor that could guarantee results like you. I really meant it when I told you that you're the best doctor I've ever had. I had to waste a lot of time, energy, and money relying on incompetent doctors. Your procedure is safe, precise, quick, painless, and 100 percent effective. An antiperspirant like Drysol doesn't do anything for a severe case of palmar hyperhydrosis and Botox injections are very imprecise, unreliable, costly, time consuming, and impermanent. My social relationships have dramatically improved because I am now no longer focused on my cold, wet hands. I am much more at ease in all situations. I find that the general anxiety that I would feel throughout the day is almost completely gone. I can now go to church and hold hands and shake hands without any hesitation. I no longer avoid any social interaction in which I use to anticipate interpersonal touch. I sincerely thank you for your genuine concern, remarkable surgical ability, and your professional and friendly demeanor.
(Patient)

Dr Nielson,
I have a success story for you. Yesterday I was at a sales conference and they had the air conditioning running at full blast. I was freezing but my hands stayed warm. Now normally a cold stimulus like that would turn my hands purple and blue. So I have passed the air conditioning test and the cold water test since my Micro ETS surgery. I will let you know in the postop follow ups how my hands react to cold weather. Thanks for getting back to me,
(Patient)

Hi,
Just want to let you know how well I am doing!! It will be a year this FEB 1999 since ETS surgery!!! I use DrySol on my back and chest and it does help me! It's not problem this time of the year anyway. My HANDS are warm!!! They don't turn blue anymore and they don't get stiff! Thanks for helping me, I am doing 101% better. I would take the back sweating over the head any day! Keep up the great work!
(Patient)

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