Advice needed from active women

Have you been diagnosed with lymphedema already? If I am understanding you right and he/she is telling you to wear compression for prevention, I will say that, unless I am missing something, your 'specialist' is totally wrong in that recommendation. (I will say more if that is the case).

I don't have LE and was initially told to wear sleeves for all aerobic exercise. Over several months of visits with the LE PT, we have agreed that I can engage in some aerobics and other exercise but need to be vigilant about monitoring for any signs of incipient LE. This means I always have sleeves and gauntlets with me when I go to the gym in case I need to put them on. So far I haven't needed to.

I haven't really found much research (and none of what I've found seems that well-constructed) on prevention. It seems to me that the recommendations for prevention are simply the lower-level recommendations for people who already have LE. I haven't seen a good study showing that these actually prevent LE, however.

I don't have a preference on good sleeves. I just make sure I am getting one fitted by someone who knows what they are doing. Jobst has always worked for me

I wear a juzo sleeve, and have no signs of lymphedema. My PT said standard of care is to wear compression at all times. I only wear mine for rock climbing and long weight sessions right now.

I'm a competitive cyclist. I ride between 400-600 miles a month, raced for about 15 years, stopped for a couple years, then took it up again last year. I had bc about 9 years ago and developed lymphedema in my left arm. I was so depressed about having to wear the sleeve when I rode, but then I decided giving up cycling would be worse, and this is now the condition of doing something I love. So, what i do is wear the Juzo sleeves, on both arms, even the arm that's OK. I wear black ones during the winter or cool weather, and people assume they're arm warmers. In the warm weather I wear white ones on both arms. A lot of cyclists now wear "sunguards," which are white sleeves that protect against the sun, and people tend to assume that's what I'm doing. I've had people tell me it's too cool or too hot or whatever to wear them, or ask me if they're sunguards, then I tell them I have a condition in my arm and I need compression. That usually ends the questions. In the heat it's uncomfortable, but I make myself forget it, and now I'm used to it.

Wrapping never helped me. My arm stays the same size (knock wood). So I don't know if the compression is doing me any good, if I could go without it, or if my lymphedema hasn't progressed because I'm diligent about wearing the compression . . . I do know that when I've tried to ride without the sleeve a couple times, I didn't like the way my arm jiggled. It was like I could feel the fluid and it creeped me out. So in a weird way I like the sleeve now.

I also wear the sleeve when I fly and when I lift at the gym. At the gym I wear the black one, just on the arm that needs it.

I'll say, and this is just a general gripe, the sleeves aren't heavy enough to add any warmth in the winter, and in the summer, they're too tightly knit to be cool. So they're not really arm warmers and not really sunguards. But oh well!

I had 5 nodes removed and 7 weeks of radiation. I have not had any swelling I do wear compression when flying but have not used it when cycling, doing aerobics or strength training and was told I probably would not need to.

I am very aware of my body and would certainly start using compression if I noticed any new sensations after a workout. So far I've only used Jobst products but like Curediva's designs.

The uppermost measurement on my left arm is 1cm larger than my right. All the other measurements ore 0.5-1.0cm larger on my right(I'm right handed). I also have pain from time to time in my left arm, between my bicep & tricep. I wear my sleeve when I get this pain or if I notice my ring fitting tight(it's usually loose,always afraid it will fall off). I don't wear my sleeve to work out. I swim, run, bike, lift weights, pilates, weighted or iron yoga, eliptical & hiking. None of these activities are problematic for me.

As for the brand, mine are Medi-even. It was the only one small enough. They resized their sleeves & now they are too big

. I'm very protective of my sleeves & don't want to wear them out.

Most of my problems are with truncal edema. Which I usually compress with a snug sports bra when I work out. This worked well until I fell and broke 2 ribs iceskating. I can't get into a sports bra & I'm not suppose to compress with wraps because it will prevent me from taking deep breaths. Swelling in my chest is to be expected right now & I'm hopeful I can get into a sports bra soon