Flexitouch sizing advice needed

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maryro60
maryro60 Member Posts: 2
edited November 2020 in Lymphedema

Hi all,

I am a new user writing for my mother, who is 60 years old and was diagnosed with breast cancer last year. She had chemo, then her left breast and the attached lymph nodes in the axillary completely removed. She has now recovered well, but is starting to develop lymphedema in the left arm. I had read on this forum that many of you are using Flexitouch pump system. Unfortunately, my mother lives in Europe and this product or anything equivalent is not available there. I live in the US but I cannot afford the full price without insurance, so I am thinking of purchasing it second-hand for her.

Could you please help me with some guidance in terms of sizing? I was not able to find any details on their website. She has the following measurements chest - 45", waist - 42", hips - 49", arm length - 25", probably around a US size 22.

What size garmets should I look for? I know that Flexitouch has sizes 1-4 for the chest and options like long vs. short arm and regular, short or long trunk. Any advice would be highly appreciated.

Thank you very much!

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  • ThreeTree
    ThreeTree Member Posts: 709
    edited November 2020

    Mary - I never got the pump, but I did talk to a sales rep about one, and if I remember correctly, the company does sell some refurbished ones at a discount. You might want to talk to them, as they would know about sizes, etc. and might have discounted ones that you could purchase. Just a thought. Good luck with this.

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited November 2020

    Great suggestion to call the company regarding sizing and refurbished machines. If you haven’t already, we suggest you use the Search box and put in Flexitouch, to find others using the system. Has your mom started with any massage? Hang in there and keep us posted.

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  • maryro60
    maryro60 Member Posts: 2
    edited November 2020

    Thank you very much for the replies. A refurbished product is a great idea. Unfortunately the company can help only based on a prescription from a US doctor since it is a US based company only. Since she is not living in the US and cannot travel due to the pandemic, that is quite a challenge. I was not able to find a doctor who can do a virtual consult and provide a prescription for an international patient, but if you have any suggestions on that front, I can open a new topic.

    There are only a few centers in my country that do therapy for lymphedema and none in my hometown, so that makes it hard during these challenging times. But she is doing self-massage and I am planning to purchase a compression sleeve for her. Thank you again for the help!

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  • BlueGirlRedState
    BlueGirlRedState Member Posts: 1,031
    edited November 2020

    maryo60 -I just started using the flextouch yesterday. I was using a different system prior to that for just the arm, I'm guessing that the lymphatic therapist made the size recomendation. A "sales" rep did come to my house and "demo" it as well as having me try on the combo arm/chest garment. Also the garments seem like they allow a lot of room for variability in size. Mine include one garmet for the affected arm and chest, also a pair of "shorts". The pressure is preset before shipped out. Mine does not say what that is, so I will call and ask. I also want to find out if it is " normal" that it feels much more gentle than the "biocompression" model for the arm. The Tactile company that makes these is in Minnasota, and might have suggestions for how to get an Rx if you do not live in the US. Their number 866-435-3948. It does not come with a case to store it in, so I am going to go look for one.

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