New type of LE Garment

After my recent DIEP stage II surgery, my PS wants me in compression 24/7, covering the entire trunk. I have a few Under Armor shirts I've been using for flying, as I have mild truncal (on the side under the armpit) and upper arm LE. But the Under Armor shirts do not play nice with much of my wardrobe, as the neckline (whether V or rounded) is too high for many of my clothes, and the squish factor on the boobs is uncomfortable, with or without a bra. 

So, I searched for more compression options.  Here is one I found, and I just love it, and I wonder if it might be a stand-in for a light LE compression T shirt some are looking for: http://www.timeformecatalog.com/cgi-bin/timeforme/cate_id/apfsha/prod/95559/item_detail.html?keywords=&srcmode=&sortbyprice= 

The shirt has a waffle-type weave that is supposed to 'micromassage'.  It is not a 'wave' pattern like the Arm Care. However, the compression of the shirt is quite good, and I find it is giving me more support than the Under Armors.  The shirt is made in Italy and on the box it is labeled as a 'Medical Device Class 1'.  I have no clue what that means!

I do not imagine that this item substitutes for a true LE arm sleeve, but as a full-shirt option, it is much more comfortable than Under Armor and has room built in for the boobs. No compression there, but plenty to meet my under-armpit and arm needs. The biggest disappointment is the price: $89.  This catalog also sells some much less expensive compression shirts with scoop necks.  I tried one and I do like it, but it's not as compressive as the one I linked to.

I tried to paste in a photo from the website, but no luck.

I have a sleeve and gauntlet coming soon for flying and exercise, so I'll be revising my flying approach, but for light compression, this t-shirt may be of interest to others.

Carol

Carol, could you tell me about the sizing of the long sleeve top? Before my bilateral mast, I wore a size small shirt or tee, and I definitely do now with my implants removed. However, shape wear is trickly, and sometimes I wear a medium. Does the long sleeve top run small?

Carol, 

I have LE on the side of my breast and in my breast, and when I fly or get a flair, I use the Under Armour T's, and even the lower V neck, you're right, they can stick out.

This one though, I am afraid would not work on my boobs! I looked at the large pic, and it looks like there may not be boob compression. Does it give you support there? Thanks for the pointer... 

Carol, Okay so if I got it in Small vs Medium, sounds like it may do the trick, and I also have that spot on the side of my chest under my arm pit!!! I think that may be a universal "bad" spot for LE. Like it's trying to get suked up in the arm pit and pooling under instead!!!

I was just thinking today that Under Armour should make a compresison T without SEAMs!! So this way, i could wear it the correct side out, and not worry about the seams. I wonder if they have any clue how many of us LE people use their shirts.  

Binney, what a great idea to get in touch with Under Armor!  We could ask them to make a scoop neck--one that doesn't hug the back of the neck so closely that it's guaranteed to show under virtually any other garment.  And then there's the logo: practically a headlight!  Perhaps they could locate that elsewhere in a special edition shirt.

Springtime, let us know if you send an email to the company.  Then it could be worthwhile to have others of us follow up with 'me too' emails, just to add weight to the suggestion.

Carol

Hello everyone, I have been reading your posts with interest as a noob trying to develop a good LE wardrobe. I bought some Under Armour shirts but I am also supposed to wear foam block thingies (I am sure they have a better name) under each arm...so I wear an UA shirt, with foam blocks over that, and a bra over that. I did not have reconstruction and finding a bra that hits in the right places without rubbing is tough (the UA helps with chafing). I have been running in this getup, but can't imagine doing this forever. Has anyone tried triatholon compression suits (unis) for sports/workouts? I'm wondering if i can forego the blocks and bra (really p o'ed that I'm still stuck wearing a bra with no boobs) and invest in a good sports compression suit. Realize I need to run this by my therapist but just curious if anyone was doing this...thanks!

Springtime, in the top right-hand corner of this page, in tiny print, is a link to click on that says "email." If you click on it, it opens a page with a contact form on it:

http://www.underarmour.com/shop/us/en/customer-service

If you're on Facebook or Twitter you can also check out those sites for posting.

Hope that works!
Binney

Here is the response from Under Armour!

Done!!!  Becky

Done!!  Here's what I wrote (I'm a writer...it's long...):

"Hello, I know you are hearing from a few women about this, but I thought I would chime in with some additional perspectives for you. 

I have truncal lymphedema -- a common side effect of breast cancer treatments. One recent study estimates the number of women with breast-cancer related lymphedema to be about 800,000 in the United States today. Not all women with lymphedema benefit from wearing compression shirts, and I do not have an estimate of the number of truncal lymphedema cases, but I can tell you that every woman I know who uses compression shirts to help control truncal swelling has more than one of them.

I own four Under Armour shirts, for example; two with a lighter fabric that I use when exercising, one heavy and very long one for outdoor sports, and a V-neck that I use for compression when flying on airplanes.  I also own some other shaper-type T-shirts that provide less compression than your product, but that offer the advantage of giving me a scoop neckline or a V neckline that differs from your product in that it does not hug the neck and show through much of my wardrobe.

My dream Under Armour shirts would all have no internal seams, and they would offer me a choice of necklines that are not visible under a variety of clothing. The logo (as much as we love you for making these shirts) would be placed near the hem of the shirt, as currently the logo shines like a beacon where it often peeks through other, professional clothing.  I would also love to be able to buy these shirts in a variety of fabric weights, sleeve lengths, and colors.

The women who are writing to you know each other via a wonderful online breast cancer support community called breastcancer.org.  If you spend a few moments reading some of the discussion threads in the lymphedema forum, you will get to know some of us.  Out of curiousity, I used the website's search tool to get a simple count of the number of mentions of the term Under Armour (I also included Under Armor...we often seem to spell it wrong): 240 times!  That's a small indicator of the number of discussions about strategies to find compression garments that meet our lymphedema needs and also fit the bill for garments that look good, are easy to care for, can be worn with a variety of wardrobe items, and sell for a reasonable price. 

We do have options, but they are generally either expensive medical garments or not-quite-right shape-wear. Medical compression wear is extremely pricey and generally requires a prescription, adding to the cost and practical difficulty of acquiring it. Shapewear exists in abundance, but it usually comes with one shortcoming or another:  armhole cut too low, offering no compression just under the arm or straps that are too thin and put too much pressure on the shoulder, cutting off our lymph flow, or other functional problems.

To sum, women with breast cancer related lymphedema, including me, are ready to purchase more of your terrific product, with just a few design changes.  Many thanks for your consideration of our need."

Hi Everyone,

I have just been looking at this site and the sleeve looks wonderful. I am curious though as to the measurments. There is no mention about the length of your arm.

I am very tall and my sleeves are always too short.

Has anyone had issues regarding the length of these sleeves.

Also i live in Australia and cannot see that they send OS... has anyone any ideas about this. I have sent an e mail regarding these 2 issues but thought i would ask you girls first.

Many thanks.

I learn so much from you ladies. 

Kerrie, are you referring to the LymphedemaSleeveCompany sleeves? If so, they were developed in Italy, so the US is "overseas" to them. Don't know if they're in Australia yet, but if not perhaps you could stir up some interest and get some local suppliers to request it.

Let us know what you discover!
Binney

Sounds promising!

Binney, thank you so much for the time you put into the UA document. Time well spent, we all hope!