Solaris Tribute Dilema
It all started last December when the sleeve that came back was so long I couldn't see my fingers. They did some corrections and still not right as this time it is so tigth my pinky is going numb. The sleeve went back a third time and once again wrong. So they decide to remake the sleeve. The second sleeve comes in and within a week I could tell it was not right. It slid down too much and bunched just above my elbow, and this is with an outter jacket. I could also fit my whole other hand in the hand area as well as the top that was sliding down. Laundering as per lable recommendations did not help. Oh and the nice little pattern that creates the channels for the fluid to travel is not present, not even an indication I had the sleeve on even after wearing it all night. So I go back because the sleeve is useless and the fitter tells me well not every one gets the channels - wrong always have in the past, why not now, because the measurements are wrong. I tell her this and then she says well not eveyone can wear a sleeve and maybe you are one who needs to wrap, once again sorry I have been wearing this sleeve long enough to have three others that have been replaced about every 18 months or so. Now why would this all of a sudden stop working for me, once again because the measurements are wrong. Mind you when said sleeve has been "under construction" I have been wearing the previous sleeve and get the channels and my arm does well in this sleeve but it has seen better days and is loosing it's shape so it could do better, hence the reason for a new sleeve. So the fitter goes on to check the sleeve (leaving marks as she pulls and pinches) and measures to see how much the sleeve needs to be altered and then informs me this is my one time no charge adjustment on this sleeve. I argue the point that the sleeve was never right in the first place an not I will not except that someone is making a mistake between the fitter and manufacture because there is little to no change in my arm at each measurement and that I weill have to give up my one time no charge adjustment. She then blames the manufacture and says they are changing the fitter's measurements and even indicating it on the return paper work. She calls the manufacture and contines to give me the same story about the one time no charge adjustment. So at this time I am upset and ask for her to return the sleeve and request a refund which she says she can't do. At this time I am upset and do not want her to continue. I get up to leave and then ask for the owners contact information. I call the other location and the owner calls me back and gives me a sab story about me not letting them continue the fitting. I explain to her no this is wrong because I refuse to except the one time no charge adjustment. We exchange words and she can't justify any thing she is saying. So she says well it sounds like this sleeve is usless to you and she offers to fix the sleeve by having Solaris come out and measure and she will get back with me. Oh and she offers for me to be able to go to another company and have them take care of this at their expense. My comment to her was that her company messed this up so they needed to fix this. I was not going to have to be the one in the end to have to be inconvienced. Well she gets back with me and wouldn't you know Solaris can't make it. Even better she goes on to say Solaris says they are one of their best fitters, like I am going to believe this one. But she will however have another fitter remeasure for the adjustment on the sleeve and if it does not work out she will then remeasure for an entire new sleeve. I call today and since I could not make it on Labor Day (out of town) and it was between then or today and they can not fit me in today, since Monday's seem to be the day they wanted to do this I said next Monday would work out too. But this was not available so it will be this Wednesday with a different fitter. I am happy about the different fitter but I could sense that the company is now not happy with me and she had some what of an attitude about the situation, whic she will have to just get over. I am just upset and frustrated in the fact that the only thing that has changed is the fitter, so this has to be the reason why the sleeves are messed up. By the way my day sleeve was messed up as well (not as muc) but it was my fault for not returning for this one as I was having surgery.
Now I wanted to add that I went to the Step Up website to check out pictures of proper fitting of sleeves. What I find are pictures with either skinny or straight arms. I don't know about others but I use my arms so I need pictures of arms that are bent. I am also not a thin person so my sleeve will fit different then a thin person with or without LE.. They also mention adheisve to help a sleeve stay up. This made no sense because I remember I had mentioned that a fitter had in the past told me I could use rubbing alcohol on the silicone ban on the top of the sleeve if it started to wear out to sort of refresh it to help keep my sleeve up. Then I found it on their site (misquoted) and said that sleeves that do not stay means the sleeve is not a proper fit. As far as the adheisve goes I did this one time and had a reaction that resulted in cellulitis. Once was enough and I have never used it again. The site to have a PT check the fit of the sleeve. I did the PT thing several times with many sessions between two different practices and I am done with that. They can't do any more for me that I can't do for myself. Besides one of the practices does not even ever recommend any sleeve, day or night.
Comments
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Jennifer, I'm so sorry to hear you're having such incredibly frustrating experiences. You've had garments that worked for you in the past, so you know what to expect, and of course, you should expect and insist on a garment that fits and works.
I'm also sorry if you didn't find the images or advice on step-up, speak-out as helpful as you had hoped. I know for certain that the photos are of patients, for patients, and as for skinny vs. larger arm photos, I guess that's just a function of the women who volunteered their arms for photos to help us see what a well-fitting garment looks like. I'm no expert on fitting, so I can't add anything about garments that won't stay up (all I know is that I have one sleeve like that and it's useless to me, so whether the 'fit' is right or not, it's not working for me). And it's horrible if a sleeve adhesive caused a reaction that turned into cellulitis, but adhesive does work for many patients and is one tool in the garment toolbox that clearly does work for many. The amazing women who created step-up, speak-out all have LE like the rest of us, and they are sticklers for accurate, evidenced-based information, plus practical advice based on real-life experiences of women with LE. So I hope we can give them the benefit of the doubt when advice on the site isn't a perfect fit for every one of our LE--one thing about LE for sure, is that it's never exactly the same for everyone.
Solaris would probably not be happy knowing a fitter is ordering their sleeves using bad measurements, and causing the kind of frustration you are experiencing. Have you considered calling the company to ask for help? Especially since you've had a successful Tribute in the past, but have just worn it to the replacement point, they should understand that you are not imagining the problem and that they need to deal with a poorly trained fitter.
The amount you wrote tells us that you are really, really frustrated. We can sure all understand that!!!! All of us have been there over one LE issue or another!! I hope you have some better results soon--hoping Solaris helps you, and that you somehow find better LE therapy help--a practice that doesn't believe in sleeves? That just drops my jaw.
Carol
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Jennifer, Solaris would be furious--they are incredibly customer oriented.
I strongly suggest you contact them--the owner of the company is Kathy Weatherly kathy.weatherly@solarismed.com
They list all their emails and phone numbers on the site:
http://solarismed.com/about/our-staff
Solaris has a guarantee that their garment will fit, and they will remake it until it fits.
I would copy your post and send it to Kathy and Stephanie Gamble and I think you'll get some action.
I have 2 Tributes, and each had to be sent back for a new sleeve. They may get it wrong the first time, but then they fix it.
Hang in there.
You know, we never put night garments up on SUSO and the photos were taken of women who wear garments, and just happen to be that size.
Kira
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Jennifer - I want to echo what Kira said: talk to the folks at Solaris directly. You've had 3 Tributes before that worked, so you are a known (and loyal!) Tribute customer. KS1
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Jennifer e-mail them immediate Kira is so right---U really do get help when u talk to the main place. I've done that with so many things along the way ad have gotten good results and I uaually cc it to the next in line in the headquarters. Especially since u know what to expect, this has been going on to long for u to have this discomfort and frustration, so write (or call) the headquarters and state u'r problem and hopeully they will make it all fine for u. Good Luck BTW how much did u'r cost and where (location) is it made? TY
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Thank you everyone for your replies. I just forwarded the message to the top two people listed at Solaris. I plan on calling them tomorrow as well. The fitter told me that the company will not even talk to patients. I think this is another strick against the fitter if they are such a patient/people company. Every time I think about the whole situation it makes me want to cry and scream.
By the way I was referring to day sleeves and the adhesive and pictures.I would love to find a fitter in my area that I could depend on. The previous owner of this place sold the business and well every thing changed then.
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Jennifer, just an idea - if your old Tribute still fits but is rusting-out, can't they make another using the old measurements? I do that with my Juzo sleeves now.
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Jennifer, yikes!
Really anxious to hear what they said when you talked to them. Hopefully they can use the previous pattern that worked for you. They lost one of my patterns, but I don't think that's usual, so there's a good chance they'll still have yours in their system.Sending you a PM,
Binney -
I hope that they get back to you very soon Jennifer & follow through to get your Sleeve right.
I would have been very upset & frustrated with the fitter. People should not be pushing their mistakes onto others
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Thanks again for all the support ladies. I did most of my communications through email. Kathy Weatherly was very upset about how I have been treated by the fitter. She put me in touch with Jianne Wade, Director of Design. She had me do a 15 minute test with the sleeve on my arm and then to take pictures of my arm after taking it off. I went one step further to show her the sleeve on my arm, the sleeve with the outter jacket on my arm and the the sleeve after wearing it for 15 minutes as she requested. So there is no question I am wearing the sleeve correctly and the sleeve is no working for me as it is too big. She had looked up all of my measurements for the past three sleeves, the new sleeve that is too big is 4 - 5 cm larger then the rest of the sleeves in the forearm where I am having most of the problems. She said my arm has maintained the same measurements in the areas of question for each of the sleeves up until this sleeve. She asked me to take her phone number and cell phone number with me back to the fitter to have them make me a new sleeve, they originally wanted to do a one time adjustment of the sleeve and call it quits blaming it on Solaris. I said no and left. So the owner was supposed to be there today with the fitter but she was not. The fitter measured rather quickly and had a trainee in the room whith her. Odd but she said nothing to the trainee about what she was doing or why. I asked her for a copy of my measurements and had asked her to compare the ones they made the current sleeve with. She was apprehensive about giving me a copy of the measurements but did and said the difference was only 1 cm smaller in the forearm and 1/2 cm smaller in the upper arm. I told her no this was wrong because it is not enough to make a difference in my arm and the sleeve would come back wrong once again. I had given her the copies/pasted email and said that I was working with Solaris on getting a sleeve that fit properly and that our contact was Jianne and they were to call her and work with her on this. Well I don't know if they would have or not because she was not going to do it while I was there. I pointed out that they wanted her to call while I was there so she did come out and my daughter said she did make a call but left a message. Any way my daughter came with me as she was watching my grand daughter for me in the waiting room. Once we got to the car she told me they were talking about me and once they saw her they got quiet so she couldn't hear them. So I called Jianne and got a hold of her and explained the experience to her just in case. She is concerned about the measurements too. I told her I asked for a copy of the measurements and how they were appreshensive about it and she said if the patient asked they are their measurements and should be given to them. So I told her making a sleeve to these measurements would put me back to square one with a useless sleeve and this has been going on since December 2011. She agreed and said whe was going to dicuss this with them more because yes they did call but when she called them back she got their voice mail. There were three fitters in the office. I was the only patient there and the office does not close for lunch so not sure why the voice mail. Any way Jianne said if they could not get the sleeve right we could try a new fitter but some fitters will not work with a patient if they did not start the process. Although I do need new day sleeves as this could be incentive for them to work with me on the night sleeve first. Not sure how it works because I have not paid any thing for the sleeve (copay) but my insurance company has paid their share. So I think my next step is to check with the insurance company to see if they can charge back or take payment away for this company if they do not delivery a sleeve that is useable. I am also planning on contacting the owner and letting her know of the conversation her staff was having when they thought no one was listening. That is just so unprofessional. So regardless if the sleeve fits or not I do not plan on having this company do any more sleeves (day or night) for me. Anyone know of any good fitters in Maryland - lol? Seriously though.....
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Jennifer, it may not feel like you're making enough progress, but reading your post, I want to cheer for how you have stayed on top of this, stood up for yourself, and pushed back where you need to. Keep it up...you have such strong arguments in your favor!
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Jennifer, Solaris has these youtube videos about how to measure--I did it with my husband, and the trickiest part was figuring out which wrist crease they meant, as I have two wrinkles at the wrist--you start on the inside of the hand and palm, then switch to the outside.
I laid on a bed and had my husband measure me three days in a row, and there was some variation, but overall it was okay, and Solaris compared it with the measurements on file
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4OkHj-VS-4
It looks so easy, with these big spots on the arm, and it's harder, but for your own knowledge, see if your daughter or another family member can get your measurements and you can compare them. You can usually download the order guide, and fill it in.
There's a lot of medical jargon here: distal=the most distant, proximal=the closest point to the shoulder.
http://solarismed.com/products/tribute
The order forms may be in there, but ask Kathy.
I had an issue with my second Solaris and Kathy pulled my first measurements and compared them.
Hang in there, we're totally behind you and so is Solaris.
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Kira,
Thank you for the links. I noticed on the you-tube video that the woman is lying down. When measrued at the fitter (currrent place with new owner and new fitters) I have never laid down. Matter of fact the garmets that I have had problems with (day and night) I have been standing or sitting with my arm extended out. Also I am used to them marking my arm and this last (new) fitter did not even mark my arm, although she did hold her place on my arm, moved the tape measure and then started from the last area measured. I guess it could work this way. I do recall in the past with the old fitter (owner) didn't have me lay down but she did have me rest my arm on the exam table. I wonder if any of this is contributing to the messed up measurement. I might just email Solaris and let them know how my measurements were taken. Even if it doesn't help I guess it can't hurt.
On another note the fitter (new) that measured my arm Tuesday called me today and said she was talking with Solaris (the person I have been in contact with) and they have discussed my case and she is faxing over my measurements and of course sending the old sleeve back. I guess this is progress. Time will tell. In the mean time I have been looking for a new fitter and getting another RX from my oncologist to get measured for new day time sleeves and if need be have my night sleeve redone by another fitter.
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Hi Jennifer, i just saw all your posts. So sorry you are going thur all this hassle. It sounds like you are handling it well. I am not sure my solaris fits correctly either. BUT not like yours. Mine makes marks, but not much. I called solaris also and they refused to talk to me also. I had to go back to my original fitter. I truly belive my glove is a little large and not tight enough. But I was told to come back in 6 months for recheck. SHE swears it fits me. I can fit my fingers down inside or up. ? doesn't that mean it's not tight enough? Should you be able to bent your arm wearing it?
Anyway, i wish you well and hope it works out for you.
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Jennifer, you know, my fitter just had me lay my arm on the table. This Tribute where we did it at home, I was working directly with Solaris, so I didn't get the fitter involved with the whole thing. She had recently measured me for a glove, but no arm measurements. I did ask her to send the hand measurements.
I'm thinking back to when the fitter measured me for night garments in the past, and I can NOT remember if she marked me....We did the marks at home. And, I had one of the special measuring tapes that makes a circle--there's a cut out at the end, like a big ring sizer--I felt that was more reliable than laying a tape on my arm.
My husband is a dentist--you'd think he'd be a reliable measurer, but the measurements varied. We did it for three days in a row until I thought we had a reasonable attempt to send in.
When I took my LE therapist class, they had a woman from Jobst give us a fitting lecture, and there are all sorts of "tricks"--like if a wrist is 14 cm, they automatically add some width. And a good fitter knows her product and makes those adjustments.
The garment we measured at home came out all wrong by the way, and I saw the head of Solaris at a meeting, and she had agreed to check out the garment, and the second she looked at it, she said it was wrong, and she grabbed a LE therapist and we quickly redid the hand drawing and she had it made again. The arm measurements were fine...The hand was all wrong.
She did have me put it on, and it was obvious the arm fit fine. I had flown to the meeting and my arm didn't like it, so just few minutes in the garment left marks on my arm...
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Ericamary, I have answered your PM's.
Also maybe the ladies here that wear the Solaris night sleeve could share how they know their sleeves fit well too.
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I love my night sleeve and I do have the indents from the lines on the sleeve. my le therapist said if I dont havet he marks then it is so big or not fitting correctly.
Sure hope you get this all figured out
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Hi Jennifer,
I am so sorry that you are having so much trouble with your night sleeve. As you know it can be so frustrating .
I have worn the Solaris night sleeve and jacket for about a year. The fitter who is in my insurance company network had never fitted anyone for a Solaris before so I was really worried. She followed the directions and paper graphics they gave her. I was on the floor when she measured me and she used a marker to make dots for the places she had to measure. Solaris called her to have her re-measure my wrist because they could tell it was off. I was surprised and pleased when it arrived, fit, and has been doing the job for me. I need the extra compression of the jacket but am assuming that the sleeve itself fits.
I do have very prominant markings from my wrist to the top of the sleeve on my arm when I take it off in the morning. I have found it is important to be sure to wash it once a week and dry it in the dryer as recommended. It loosens up and gets out of shape if I am a day or so late with the washing. Someone asked about bending I believe....I can bend my arm with the sleeve on.
I guess I should feel very fortunate that my experience went so smoothly especially since my fitter had no previous experience with the product.
I am getting ready to order my new one and have lost weight which has helped my swelling go down. I am sure that my measurements will be different so I have my fingers crossed that all goes as smoothly this time. My LE Therapist was a big help also measuring and having her measurements available to the fitter to compare with hers. She also looked at the sleeve once I got it to see if she thought it fit correctly.
I do so hope that you can get this resolved and that the sleeve works for you.
Best wishes,
Cori
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Allison & Cori, Thank you for posting about the fitting of your sleeves. This is exactly my case too. I know how my sleeve is supposed to fit and feel when it works. For this fitter to tell me other wise just made no sense. I don't see a LE therapist any more because one did not like any sleeves at all. They just wanted patients to wrap in short stretch bandages. They also did not use pads and foam. Looking back I think they hindered my progress. After 9 months I mentioned to my oncologist and he suggested moving to the hospital for PT. So I learned from the actual hospital out patient LE therapist. This is also where I met my first fitter (the good one).
Laundering the sleeves is so important because we can see the changing pattern when the sleeve becomes loose from wear. I love a freshly laundered well fitting sleeve, it feels so nice and snug (not tight) but sort of like hugging my arm. Who knew that something like this would be the higlhlight of the end of my day when I put my sleeve on for the night - lol.
I think it is important for all of us to know how these sleeves fit and how our arms should look before we put on our night sleeve and after we take it off. Seems like there are a few of us on the message boards that are having fitter issues. This is just so wrong and these fitters should be better trained and take more time with us in the begining instead of putting us through all of this after the fact.
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