Hand and finger swelling

cinnamonsmiles

I have noticed that at times, my fingers feel so darn swollen and it feels like they are huge and hard to bend. It does go away. I have not kept track of how often, what time of day, and how long it lasts. 

I am wondering if it's LE. My LE therapist never ordered gauntlets for me and I know at least one time happened after I had worn my LE sleeve.

I have been looking at guantlets online. Do I need to know what size I need for the hand? How does it work for ordering a set? Can you need one size for the arm and one for the hand? What do  you do for finger swelling?

I would like to be armed with info before I call that LE therapist since she is not forthcomig with information to help me. 

KS1

The board gurus should be along soon, and hopefully will correct me if I am wrong, but here is my understanding  

 If you have had any hand swelling, you should always wear at least a gauntlet with a sleeve.  Gloves are much more expensive than gauntlets, but if you have ever had finger swelling, you should wear a glove with fingers rather than a gauntlet.  

Many people wear a different sized sleeve  than glove or gauntlet.  Of the off-the-shelf gloves, folks on the board seem to especially like the Medi 95 (not Mediven) and Farrow's microfine glove.  If your therapist does the measurements, you can order them online.   Brightlifedirect.com has an excellent return policy (30 days, no questions asked) and good prices.  At least some of the folks who answer the phone are fitters and the one I dealt with (Nancy) literally pulled gloves out of packages and measured finger lengths.

Here's the link to the Medi 95 class 1 ($128):

http://www.brightlifedirect.com/LYMPHEDEMA-PRODUCTS-Gloves-and-Gauntlets/c133_135/p1963/Medi-95-Glove-30-40mmHg-w/Compressive-Fingers/product_info.html

Here's the link to the Farrow ($86) 

http://www.brightlifedirect.com/LYMPHEDEMA-PRODUCTS-Gloves-and-Gauntlets/c133_135/p2385/Farrow-Microfine-Compression-Glove-20-30mmHg/product_info.html 

 Gloves are tough to fit, and many people end up having to go with custom gloves which can be very expensive.  I've tried probably more than a half dozen different kinds of custom gloves, and my favorite are Juzo expert (both silver and standard) and my least favorite are Jobst elvarex classic.  

If I were you, I would NOT wear the sleeve until you get some hand protection.

 KS1

cinnamonsmiles

I sure wish the was a certified, trustable LE therapist in my area. IF anyone knows of any in Wausau, WI, let me know1

Binney4

Cinnamon, closest I can come so far are these two in Green Bay: @font-face { font-family: "Times New Roman"; }@font-face { font-family: "Verdana"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }table.MsoNormalTable { font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }

Marcia Arndt, OTR/L, CLT
St. Vincent Hospital, Outpatient Rehabilitation,  Tel: 920-431-3301

Ashlei Figas, DPT, CLT
St. Vincent Hospital, Acute Care Rehab,  Tel: 920-431-3196

 

I know that's not handy, but even a couple of visits with a better therapist will put you on the right track and make it easier to figure out what you need. Call and talk to them before setting any appointments, and be sure they're people you can talk to and who are on the same page as you are. I'm asking around for others in Green Bay and EauClaire, and I'll let you know what I find.
Be well!
Binney

 

Binney4

Okay, here are two more, and stupidly enough I can't remember if they're in EauClaire or Green Bay. Sorry about that! Give them a call anyway, yes?

Name: Darcy Rosen
Phone: 715-838-6306
Profession: PT

Name: Kelly Bonner
Phone: 715-838-6196
Profession: OTR/L

Hugs!
Binney, who's not all that familiar with WI!

Binney4

cinnamonsmiles, I sent you a PM

vlnrph

Cinnamon, I lived in Wausau for 15 years and had a benign biopsy performed by Dr Sally Mattingly in 1999. I should google her and see if she's retired yet. All my recent experience has been in SE Wisconsin however.

Used to drive to Green Bay to get my violin worked on and take a little Door County vacation while over there! Our son spent 4 weeks in neonatal intensive care in Marshfield after he was born 2 months premature - wonder if they have any lymphology specialists?

purple32

Binney

sent me to a site with isotoners that are working very well for me .  Sorry I cannot recall the link.

cinnamonsmiles

I believe Dr. Sally Mattingly is still practicing in Wausau. I know as of a few years ago, she was really hard to get into. I really don't need her as a surgeon or in charge of my post breast cancer care. I would rather go with someone in the network my family doctor is in. 

There are no certified lymphedema therapists in Marshfield, WI. This surprises me with the large conglomerate of Marshfield clinic there. Sure they may have LE therapists there, but I am finding in this area its a crap shoot whether you get someone decent or not. The two non-certified ones I have seen have been sub-par. 

GottaloveNED

Cinnamon, just saw this... I'll p.m. You the name of my therapist in Antigo... Not LANA certified but I like her.

vlnrph

Hey, Antigo's a little closer to Wausau than Green Bay! I used to do relief work at the Langlade Hospital years ago and once saw a bear in the middle of Hwy 52 driving over there one weekend...

Binney4

Wait a minute, vlnrph--you saw a bear driving down the middle of Hwy 52 on its way to Antigo? I sure hope you reported it!

Cinnamon, can you get to Antigo? That would be awesome! (Watch out for the bears, though...)
Binney

vlnrph

Yeah, that bear probably didn't even have a driver's license (sorry, I usually edit myself better than that!)

Thanks to Botty for sharing her experience.  

dassi52

isotoner (mild compression) at activeforever.com or elderstore.com. You only can get a pair. Around $20. Tell me if you like them.