Medical beige has competition

A while back, in fact it was April 2010, I blogged about how medical beige is such a dreary color and does not match any skin tone. At that point I was told to wear my lymphedema sleeves at all times. I did until I found that I was getting a tan line on my wrist from it and decided my arm was feeling better. Then I didn't wear it much for a while. In February 2011 I joined a gym and shortly after realized I really should wear my sleeve when working out.

These days I wear  my sleeve when I work out. If I wear a wrist watch or bracelet, no matter how loose, for a day or two, I need to wear my sleeve for a week or so. If I carry anything semi heavy or just awkwardly, I wear my sleeve. So I have been wearing it a lot. I have many more sleeves now so I always have clean ones - in medical beige that doesn't match anything.

But then (insert drum roll) Lymphedivas discovered my blog! Happiness reigns. They sent me a sleeve to try in the design of my choosing. I had looked at their sleeves a couple of years ago and thought they were pretty and expensive and not very practical. But then I had to make a decision on what kind of sleeve I wanted. First there is the issue of color palette - something too strong would clash with too many outfits. Next was pattern - I do not like stripes, I do not want something that looks like a tattoo. There were too many to choose from! I spent a long time on their site. Finally I narroed it down to a few:

Blooming Betty was a contender - very pretty floral.

C4YW Pink was also a possibility - light pink with some texture to it.

There were a bunch of Damask patterned ones I liked.

Featherie was a strong contender as well.

Finally after going back and forth for an hour or more (yes really), I picked:

Midnight Lace - because everything looks a little better with lace.


In the box with my new sleeve and gauntlet (for my hand), was a pink nail file, a pen, a card offering me 10% off my next purchase, donning instructions (harder than you think), and it was all nicely wrapped up in tissue paper in a box. In contrast to the medical beige ones which show up in a manila envelope in a little squished box.

I did wear my new sleeve and gauntlet for a while on Saturday. I think it feels  little longer than my medical sleeves but the compression felt fine. The gauntlet is a bit shorter  from Lymphedivas - it ends at my knuckles instead of having finger holes for all five fingers.

I will wear it some more before I make any decisions. Its prettier than the others and seems to do its job. And it should be covered on my insurance - I would just need to submit a claim to the insurance company and get reimbursed I think. But since there is too much medical beige in my life, a little lace is a vast improvement.