All-in-one glove + sleeve questions

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KS1
KS1 Member Posts: 632
edited June 2014 in Lymphedema

Over the last 4 or 5 months, I have developed the suspicion that wearing daytime garments makes my hand LE worse.  Thinking the garments might not fit right, 3 month ago I got a new custom Juzo class 1 sleeve and 2 months ago I got a new custom Juzo class 1 glove.  Two LE therapists and a fitter say that both the glove and the sleeve  fit well. Despite this, I still get the feeling that the day garments may be hurting, rather than helping.

So I have been doing a mini "experiment."  When I am not doing "big muscle" physically challenging things, I've been alternating among wearing both sleeve + glove, wearing just a glove and wearing nothing.  My impression is that my hand looks best when I wear nothing, but my arm feels achy when I wear just a glove or wear nothing.   Although I am tempted to ditch day garments for non-strenuous days, I'm worried that, while going "naked" works best for my hand in the short run, long term it is a bad idea for my upper arm. Has anyone had a similar experience?  If so, what have you done? 

I'm wondering if the glove is creating a tourniquet.  The new glove seems to fit (unlike with most of my gloves my fingers are a wholesome color) and the cuff of the glove is loose enough that one can get a finger under it.  However, when I wear the glove (with or without sleeve; with the glove under or over the sleeve), the hem of the cuff always produces a very pronounced, deep mark that goes all around my arm, and takes hours to go away.  I've tried stretching the cuff, but it doesn't help.  Has anyone had an experience like this? 

I'm planning on getting a second custom glove and sleeve, and my LE therapist has suggested that I might do better in an all-in-one glove + sleeve as there won't be any areas of double coverage, etc.  If anyone has tried a glove+sleeve combo, I'd love to hear what you think about it. What brand did you get?  Does it help control LE better?  Is it much more inconvenient than wearing a glove that detaches from the sleeve?  KS1

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  • BMac
    BMac Member Posts: 650
    edited July 2011

    Hi, I could have written your post.  I`ve always noticed my hand is worse when I wear the sleeve...like you, it causes a tourniquet.  It`s very difficult to be compliant when it makes it worse.  Couple that with the clinic, my MLD therapist and the fitter all saying different things!

    I was at the clinic last Thursday and the PT I saw recommended going with nothing during the day to see if my hand was better.  It was, but the arm got bigger in just two days.  So I`m back to wearing my sleeve and glove and getting a puffy hand.  It does go back to normal but I wonder if it`s doing any permanent damage.

    My MLD therapist said that I had to use the term tourniquet with everyone so they know what I`m talking about.  When I mentioned this to the fitter she wrinkled her nose and said ``I don`t know why she would say THAT.``  I said to her because it`s causing my hand to get puffy and you could see an indentation all around my wrist!  It is so frustrating.

    The PT at the clinic has also suggested trying a one piece to eliminate the tourniquet effect.  I haven`t called the fitter yet...I`m still waiting for  a new glove.  The one I ordered is unwearable due to causing my fingers to turn numb in about an hour and a half.  They determined about a month ago that my measurements were still the same but we would try a lower compression.

    I can just imagine what the reaction will be if I now ask for a different sleeve.

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  • SleeveNinja
    SleeveNinja Member Posts: 178
    edited July 2011

    FWIW, BrightLife Direct makes a nice, ready-made sleeve called "Allegro," with or without attached gauntlet. It's soft (similar to Juzo Dream), reasonably priced, and has 30-day return policy.  

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  • KS1
    KS1 Member Posts: 632
    edited July 2011

    Alas, SleeveNinja, gauntlets don't work for me.

    I hate to self-bump, but my appointment is tomorrow afternoon, so if anyone has tried an all-in-one sleeve+glove, I would love to know

    1) what brand did you get?

    2) did an all-in-one do a better job than a separate glove and sleeve?

    3) was it more of a pain  to wear an all-in-one than a separate glove and sleeve?

    -- KS1 

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  • SleeveNinja
    SleeveNinja Member Posts: 178
    edited July 2011

    (ooops, sorry . . .  )

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  • Binney4
    Binney4 Member Posts: 8,609
    edited July 2011

    Ninja, have you tried the Allegro? How does it work for you? Enough compression? It the fit good all the way up?

    KS, with only one arm involved an attached glove is only minimally inconvenient, since you have the other hand free. For those of us with bilateral LE, though, it's a major nuisance, as it can't be easily removed for eating or using the bathroom or whatever. I'll tell you what I do to avoid that tourniquet effect at the wrist, though I'm not recommending it or suggesting it would work for anyone else. It's just what I worked out over time for me. When I get measured for my custom garments the fitter measures for the sleeve to go down past my wrist over the base of my hand. In other words, the sleeve doesn't end at my wrist, which is the smallest part and therefore more likely to cause me grief, but extends a little way up toward my palm. It's much more comfortable as well. The glove goes 2-3 inches past my wrist up my forearm, well over my sleeve, so it's not compressing at the wrist either. Works for me.

    Awhile back there was a long discussion about whether it actually works better to wear the sleeve OVER the glove. Lots of women tried it and many of them liked it much better for just the reason you're talking about. Again, that doesn't work for those of us who are bilateral because if you take it off to eat you can't get it back under the sleeve without taking the sleeve off too.

    Did any of that make sense?!Undecided

    Let us know what you discover,
    Binney

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  • SleeveNinja
    SleeveNinja Member Posts: 178
    edited July 2011

    Binney,  Re Allegro: Yes, I have one.  The fabric is soft and light weight -- similar to Juzo Dream in weight and texture.  A well made sleeve with no bells or whistles: basic beige, no silicone dots on top, only one compression class, 4 sizes.  It fits and stays up well.  (Actually, it fits me better than the Dream and I prefer not to have the dots.)  A thoughtful touch: a colored thread indicates the size - no bothersome tags!  I have not tried the gauntlet or the gautlet/sleeve combo.

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  • BeckySharp
    BeckySharp Member Posts: 935
    edited July 2011

    KS1-  I have a separate glove but hate to keep removing it.  I bought the food preparation gloves from Amazon and put them over the glove when doing something that might cause it to get dirty.  If doing a lot I cut out the fingertips of the glove and then don't sweat as much.  So if you go all in one you might want to get some.  Becky

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