Compression Garments 101

Sleeve/glove combo.

I now have my compression garments (also known as a sleeve, glove, and gauntlet). Luckily, I have not been diagnosed with lymphedema; for now, these items are for preventative purposes.

Each garment provides graduated pressure along my hand/arm to alleviate symptoms of lymphedema (swelling, lymph fluid buildup). Below, I've pasted in some information about lymphedema. Check out Physical Therapy (PT), a past blog post with information about my lymphedema risk, overtaxing my arm, and Brianna the lymphatic system guru. Also, if you're a fellow BC survivor, please consider physical therapy/lymphatic massage and read this article.

Lymphedema may be inherited (primary) or caused by injury to the lymphatic vessels (secondary). It is most frequently seen after lymph node dissection, surgery and/or radiation therapy, in which damage to the lymphatic system is caused during the treatment of cancer, most notably breast cancer. In many patients with cancer, this condition does not develop until months or even years after therapy has concluded. Lymphedema may also be associated with accidents or certain diseases or problems that may inhibit the lymphatic system from functioning properly.
...
In women, it is most prevalent in the upper limbs after breast cancer surgery and lymph node dissection, occurring in the arm on the side of the body in which the surgery is performed.

~taken from wikipedia

Wrestling to get the sleeve on.
It's tight and needs to be placed from where the wrist bends
to the top of my arm.

Correct placement of the sleeve.

The glove.
Not too comfy, but good to have.
Especially for future airplane trips.

The gauntlet looks like the glove, except the fingers aren't individually wrapped. I approached my continuous jog the other day with more confidence by having the sleeve and glove on. Next time, I'll just wear the sleeve and see how my arm reacts to the exercise and less compression. The symptoms I feel when my arm is overtaxed are: numbness in my right arm, tingling in my right hand fingertips, heavy arm, poofy arm, or achy arm. I thought it sounded funny to have people say (before I had my surgery) that it felt like your arm is congested, but that's a pretty accurate way of describing how it feels.

image from: http://mysassysleeve.com

I haven't seen the My Sassy Sleeve up close and personal yet, but they look like a fun way to doll up the otherwise...um...plain look of lymphedema sleeves. They are sold out of a nearby lingerie place called Pampered Passions. If I get to the point where I have to wear mine for more than just "preventative" purposes, I might look into one to jazz things up.

image from: http://mysassysleeve.com