Solaris Sleeve Update and New (New) Fitter Observations

Jennifer1295

So the (old) fitter calls and says my sleeve is in. I make the appointment to go the next day. Get there and we try it on and it actually feels good. Fitter tells me I have to call them earlly this week to let them know if it is working for me. I commented that I have two weeks to break it in per say. She says yes two weeks from the date they ship it, sounds odd to me because this means the fitter can hold the sleeve until the very last minute. Shipping is not my responsibility nor is the delivery especially when in the past they could not schedule for several days. So any way I wear it night one and it felt odd in the thumb region, like it's tingling and cold and with friction marks in between the fingers. The sleeve also didn't seem to want to stay all the way up, but I m thinking well I have not been able to wear a new night sleeve for a while, so I take it off and put it back on thinking it may have shifted or perhaps I put it on and didn't get my thumb positioned correct and didn't get it straight at the top. Night two I wear it and my thumb is having the same reaction and this time the top on the sleeve seems to be a little too loose. So I take it off again to reposition the sleeve again. Night three I wake up once again and the thumb is doing the same thing and the top of the sleeve has slid down yet again. The feeling in my thumb is causing me to wake up at night so I am not sleeping all night. I also notice that day one the pattern on my arm is what is good but not exactly what I should be seeing and it it is less and less as each night goes by. I do not know if this is because the foam is more dense this time over last time or if it is because the sleeve is too loose/short. So I am thinking okay I guess I won't be needing the two week break in period any way as the sleeve is still not right and needs to go back.

Okay so today I have an appointment with a new fitter so I thought I will just take both my new night sleeve and the old night sleeve that I was wearing since this all began 9/10 months ago. So we do measurements for the new day sleeve and discuss my day sleeve. I showed the fitter the day sleeve I recieved from the old fitter just in June of this year. I put the sleeve on and she saw how short the top was and how it puckered at the top. I told her I knew it was too short and we discussed how they told me to just pull it up or use adhesive which I went on to tell her not after it caused a break in my skin and cellulitis in the past. I told her that the last couple sleeves from this fitter was not controlling the reduction in my arm after I put them on each morning. Went on to tell her I thought my day sleeves used to be firmer (not as stretchy fabric) and how I had mentioned this to the old fitter and they were adament that I had been wearing the same type sleeve even though I disagreed. That my problem area between my wrist and elbow seem to get pockets of fluid there as the day went on. So the new fitter shared about how some of her patients don't do well in the stretchier fabric and need the firmed fabric (the one I had in the past), which is what she will order for me. This fitter was more in tune with me then the last one. She listened to me, shared her experiences and how after patients are wearing sleeves for a while they know how the sleeves will affect their arm. So I went on to show her my new night sleeve and she was concerned about the thumb area as well as the top which is too short and too loose. I showed her my old night sleeve and she comments how this length is the right length and the thumb area is cut the right length (below the thumb nuckle, which is what works for me). I did not ask this fitter to get involved in the night sleeve as I think since the old fitter has been paid by my insurance company they should have to coreect the problems caused by their measuring. I also wanted a second opinion from someone with nothing to gain from it. So I need to call the old fitter to be remeasured yet again and have the sleeve remade because it is too short in length, too loose at the top, too long for the thumb region and a concern about the foam. Now I have been working with Solaris as well with this and I am thinking about sharing the information about what the new fitter saw with my new sleeve as well. I love a well fitting Solaris sleeve and do not want to seem like a complaining patient but they need to see exactly what's going on with fitters of their products. I also need a sleeve that fits well and does what it is supposed to do.