ALL THINGS Gloves and sleeves
Comments
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sandcastle that's because so many women are not compliant about wearing them. I know a few women that don't wear theirs and now their arm is bigger and they have had cellulitis several times. One the tissue is damaged it won't go back. I have some thickness that will never go away although only those who are familiar with the condition may see the difference. I want to be sure it doesn't get worse. I plan on living a long time and don't need more hastles from this.
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The heat is unbearable in a sleeve, but I'd rather have it on because I'll pay for it later. That's how I handle it. Now I have a backwards "farmer tan".
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Do...any of you wear Compression at night?? My, therapist set me up with night compression.....I have a sleeve on loan....have not ordered that one yet........she said if I wore the Day Sleeve ALL the time I would not have to do Night Compression.....I am trying the loaner at night to see how I can stand it....Liz
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I never see anyone wearing sleeves here in MN. I get sick of the questions, too.
My LE story is kind of long, but here goes - shortly after my BMX, I told all my docs about the strange sensations and "puffiness" I had in my arm, under my armpit, and in the breast area. I was told, well, you just had surgery and some swelling is normal.... I was sent to a PT who was worthless, but I didn't realize it at the time. He never even measured me. I tried another PT closer to home who was supposedly a specialist, but after a few sessions my shoulder started hurting. When that PT went on vaca, I was sent to another PT who was to work on my shoulder, but she massaged my arm too roughly. Shortly after that I had some new swelling in my wrist and forearm that was noticeable immediately. I was getting worse, not better.
I called my BS at the cancer clinic and was sent to a physical medicine doc for xrays and it was discovered I had a frozen shoulder. I was told to do some exercises on my own for my shoulder, and saw a LE PT at that clinic who showed me how to do MLD and fascia massage for the side of the breast that really helped. Then I was finally measured and fitted for a sleeve and gauntlet. I faithfully wore my sleeve and did my exercises. I was getting help, but the problem was that my clinic was too far to go in for regular visits. In the meantime I had exchange surgery. Long story short, I finally found a LE PT close to my home who has been helping me reduce the minor amount swelling I've had since last spring. She showed me how to bandage my hand and arm, which I wear for 23/24 hours a day. It isn't pretty, but it worked to bring down virtually all the swelling. Granted it was only a small amount, but still it was not acceptable to me - or my therapist. She also showed me how to do MLD and that helped with the swelling under my arm. Yay! And the exercises she gave me for my shoulder are working, too. Things really click into place when you have the right therapist! But, it shouldn't have to be this hard! And yes, I believe ALND surgery will be a thing of the past because of this condition.
So, FINALLY, now that the swelling is down - today I am getting fitted for a new sleeve and gauntlet. I can't wait to get rid of the bandages! Once I get my new sleeve and gauntlet I've been instructed to wear them every day for one month. Can't believe I'm still struggling with all this almost a year after my surgery. Better late, than never, I guess.
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Hi everyone, new member here to the LE family. I had just gotten my first pair of arm sleeves, OTC mediven harmony (15-21mmHg). The therapist had only two types for me to choose, either this or another customized but not much compression sleeves. I have mild LE btw..
Here's the problem..the mediven sleeves is abit loose on me at the forearm, especially at the wrist. The distance of the top of the sleeve to the axilla is close to 2 inches. Am I right to say that the fitting is wrong??? I suspected I have lymphedema in my fingers as well because it's painful when I brush through my fingers when washing hands, however therapist said it could be chemo SE and not LE. What do you girls think?
As my current sleeves is a one-piece sleeve/gauntlet, I'm afraid it will cause fluid to pool at the fingers. Will it be better if I get gloves instead? Is there one-piece sleeves with gloves, or are they normally separated?I'm thinking to purchase customized sleeves online, what is a good brand with normally no sizing problem? From what I gathered here, Juzo seems good just don't get the black one which tends to be smaller?
Need help from you girls again for advice T_T I seriously trust the forum more than what my therapist said....
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Welcome, Lily!
You nailed it: that's not a good fit, and it could certainly cause problems with both your hand and your forearm. The idea of a compression sleeve is that it has gradually less compression as it goes up your arm. In other words, most compression in hand, least up near the axilla. And some of us need a size "long" in order to get the sleeve to come up high enough near our axilla. Best not to wear something that fits poorly, as it can cause pooling in your hand and/or forearm.
Most compression garments come as separate sleeve and glove (or gauntlet). I've never seen a one-piece sleeve/glove, just a sleeve/gauntlet, but maybe someone else here has and will be along to tell us about it.
Ordering custom garments is a good way to go, but you do need a good fitter to do the measuring. It doesn't sound like your present therapist has much to offer by way of measuring and fitting--is there a DME supplier nearby that might have someone trained to do it?
Here's information about fitting compression garments that might help you to judge the fit and feel more easily.
http://www.stepup-speakout.org/proper_fitting_of_l...Please keep us posted! Gentle hugs,
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LazyLillie I always wore Mediven sleeves (Medi 95 long). The discontinued them and replaced them with the Harmony. I have the same issue. Too loose at the wrist and I am wearing the smallest size they carry.
I have one more set of the Medi 95 then I am switching to the Juzo…have already been fitted. I bought the last pair of Medi 95 so in the spring I will be able to order the others. I did find I had to go up a compression because the Juzo wasn't as tight. This was the recommendation of the fitter. She knew her stuff.
The first year I also wore the medi 95 glove (not gauntlet). The off-the-shelf fit me well. After 1 year my MD said my fingers don't seem to swell and told me to try without. I've been fine but I still have my gloves just in case there is an issue in the future.
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Thanks Binney and Lago!
Binney, I think my therapist knows how to measure just that she don't have much to offer! Like Lago, I'm already wearing the smallest size for the Mediven sleeve...sigh.
Lago, what compression level do you wear for Mediven sleeves and the Juzo sleeves? Which model do you get for Juzo?
I looked through the Juzo website, seems like I can't just order it myself? Can't seem to locate the measurement guide as well...
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lazylizzie I am curently wearing Arm Sleeve Medi 95 | Beige | II | 20-30 mmHg | Long. I don't know what the I will be wearing with the Juzo. She just wrote it down. The place I was fitted is not close to wear I live. Since my arm hasn't change in years she said she would just mail it to me when I needed to get new ones. If it doesn't fit properly I will have to go in.
I'm not sure which style in Juzo so not sure of the compression. My doctor has 20-30mmHG on my prescription.
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Thank you Lago! I will email Juzo for recommendation then..hopefully not too much hassle to get it.
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Eh may I ask if I buy a separate glove, it has to be the same compression as my sleeve right? Will there be over-compression at the wrist area? Anything to take note of?
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The glove should overlap the sleeve. I never had any issue with over compression. If your garments fit properly you shouldn't have issues. You will have to send them measurements.
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Thanks Lago.
I have emailed Juzo but no response from them
Do any of you know of sites that help customers place orders for customized garments? I see that lymphedemaproducts has such service..but want to have more options. Thanks everyone!!0 -
i have been struggling to get my LE under control since august when i was halfway through my chemo. Now I am halfway through radiation. It seems whenever i wear my sleeve with my gloove my hand puffs up even more. it is almost like there is too much compression. I tried a mdivan harmony one piece sleeve/gauntlet and my hand and fingers swelled even more. Will be seeing my PT in two days to discuss nexIt options, Any ideas other than custom one piece glove and a sleeve. I am very petite and it seems like the class 1 20-30mmhg is too strong of compression.I am waiting for insurance approval for a night time garment but need to find a gove/sleeve that works for me for daytime use. Any suggestions are appreated.
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Hi runnergirl26, can't help you much here as I'm going through lots of problems trying to get a sleeve that fits me. I will be going for radiotherapy on Thursday and not having a sleeve to wear worries me a lot.
You may want to refer to http://www.stepup-speakout.org/sleeves_gauntlets_for_lymphedema.htm if you have not for more information on LE sleeves/gloves.
There is also a class 0 (15-20mmHg) sleeves if you want lower compression. Just curious, how is the fitting of the Medivan Harmony sleeve for you? Are you wearing CCL 1 for this? CCL 1 is pretty low compression.
Hope we find some relief soon..
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Runnergirl I had a similar problem. Using kinesiotape on my hand calmed it down. I also got a custom one piece sleeve and glove and if I wear it over the tape it works even better. Will try separate post to post a picture of taping.
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see if this works
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runnergirl26 I wonder if Mediven is too big for you. I can't wear them, even the smallest size. The compression actually isn't tight enough on my lower arm. I would think that could cause the problem you are having.
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Trying again to post picture:
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Kareenie. Do u have a pic of the other side. I would like to see where those tapes end at the base of the fingers. Thx for posting. Very educational.
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yes the harmoney medivan sleeve was a class1 and the smallest size they had, it seemed too big at the wrist.
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Have any of you used Solaris ExoStrong??? My therapist picked this one for me....it is OK...but very Hot....Liz
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runnergirl26 size II seems to be the smallest size.
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Runnergirl,
Wanted to share I've had troubles with finding the right compression too, so you're certainly not alone. Too tight and I swell worse than if I'm wearing nothing.
Glove wise, I've had the most luck with non-rx imak arthritis gloves and farrow. I got a custom glove and it was terrible. Way too tight for me and my body despite correct measurements.
Sleeve wise, my favorite for controlling swelling was the Solaris 15-20, but the double layer at the wrist for some reason gives me wrist pain/tendinitis, so I can't wear it anymore. I've also had okish luck with lymphedivas, and juzos softs but they have to be the "max" sleeve (even though I don't have a max size arm), or they make my arm feel cold and I swell up on my inner arm between just below the elastic and my elbow. The wrists of these seem tight enough but not too tight. The solidea also comes in a lower compression, which I was psyched about, and I've heard some people like them, but again the wrist seam (even bulkier than the Solaris) was weird for me.
What I'm trying next is a custom jobst that my fitter says works well for some of her other compression sensitive patients. Binney also suggested gottfried, and that'll be my next stop if the jobst is a no-go. My fitter has never done that brand before, so we're trying the jobst first.
I've been working to find a something that works for me since last October. It's really terribly frustrating that this is so difficult. Hope you find something that works soon!
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Thanks lago for posting the chart
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I have the Mediven Harmony in size I. Maybe medi USA don't carry it though.
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Lazylizzie, what are the measurements for size I. I wonder if that's the size I need. Guess they assume that Americans are big people compared to people in Singapore… but US is such a mixture of cultures we have it all. I'm sure there is a mix in Singapore too.
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Hi Lago, here's the size chart taken from mediUK: http://www.mediuk.co.uk/index.php?eID=tx_nawsecuredl&u=0&file=uploads/media/Size_chart_PR_02.pdf&t=1416722499&hash=aa5a2bf63fd5aa6db111d8778ddef97948c04634
Yes we have different ethnic races in Singapore, but the majority of us are small build. And that's frustrating when it comes to LE garments, I can't fit even the smallest size of the ready-made ones. I understand your pain but at least you have several brands to choose from unlike here in Singapore! Just wondering what is your wrist size?
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My wrist on the LE side measures 15
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My arm measured 15. I'll have to check the rest of my arm later to see if the smaller size will fit. Not sure about the upper arm but it might.
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