AffloVest Review and Update
Sadly the time has come and my AffloVest trial is over. I'm definitely bummed to see it leave. I thought about holding it hostage, but then remembered they know where I live. Dang it!
There's so much I want to share about my experience, so this may be long. I apologize in advance.
I was fortunate that my trial lasted for 7 weeks! Woohoo! We were able to extend it some because it was my hope that I was going to get to keep it. But, insurance/life had a different plan.
The AffloVest was a game changer for me. In the past, I've usually either set up camp in my living room or home office to do my treatment. During that 30 minute window, I'd also do my Hypertonic Saline treatment and entertain myself by watching tv or getting some work done at my desk...like I am doing know with typing this blog.
BUT with the AffloVest I could go about my business around the house. I've done laundry, cooked dinner, walked the dogs in the backyard, vacuumed the house, fixed my hair, put on make-up, just to name a few things. At our cabin, I wasn't confined to my recliner at our house, I was able to go enjoy watching football with the rest of the family! I was able to be included in things and not have to excuse myself to go sit by myself for 30 minutes. While this may not seem like a big deal to some, it is big for me. I like to be where the rest of the family is and have missed treatments before because I didn't want to miss out. And with the AffloVest, I didn't miss anything!
I took my AffloVest on 2 girls trips and a long visit to our place in WV. Most of the time, I traveled with it in the rolling duffle bag it came with. But I did stick it in my suitcase on another trip. I did not attempt to fly with it. I wasn't checking my bag on the quick trip I took so I didn't have room in my carry on. I'd like to get some tips from others that have experience flying with one beforehand too! I just envisioned myself being detained because it looks like I had a bomb vest in my bag. I know, dramatic.
In that 7 weeks, I only missed 2 days. And that was while I was gone to Indiana for a long weekend. I actually got up at 5:30am to do a treatment before I went out of town on Friday, then missed Saturday and Sunday, but made up for it on Monday when I got back home. I'd say that's probably my best run of compliance, especially with several trips in there!
So, let's get down to my official AffloVest review.
Parts - It's just the vest itself and power cord to charge it, plus a rolling duffle bag for traveling. I kept my vest hanging on a sturdy hanger in the closet while it wasn't in use.
Settings - It has 3 settings which I used for 10 minutes each. The first was Percussion where the vest vibrates a few seconds then stops for a second or two, which continues for the 10 minutes. The second is Vibration where it continuously vibrates for that segment. The third is Drainage where it vibrates between the 4 zones - it alternates what zone vibrates and moves around, sometimes it's just 1 zone but may be 2, 3 or all 4.
Technology - Everything is controlled with a handy dandy remote control attached to the vest. It's easy to switch between the 3 settings or adjust your timers, etc. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to work it. Once you have it set the way you want, you simply hit the power button then the Go button and it does all the transitioning on its own. And it's easy to adjust the intensity between Low, Medium and High should you want to change in the middle of the session.
Comfort - the fabric is comfortable. The vest has buttons near the shoulders so you can make the vest bigger...I did find that the fabric would rub into my collar bone/neck a little...I'd just have to adjust it a few times and it would be fine. The weight of wearing the vest isn't bad at all - it feels heavier when you hold it, but once it's on, no big deal.
The shaking - being that it isn't air pulsing through the vest, its a different experience. Instead there are little motors inside the vest that create the vibration. I didn't feel the squeezing that I've felt with others vests, and my boobs weren't getting squished and irritated.
Noise - thankfully it is not near as loud!!! The loudest part for me was on the Vibration segment which I had set on high. And still I didn't have to turn up the TV to the max. On the drainage segment (I used medium), it was hardly noticeable to others that it was on. My husband was the happiest with the noise aspect...LOL.
Overall, I am sold on the AffloVest!! I did find myself coughing when I started using it, so it was shaking something around.
Pros:
- Portability - YOU CAN GO ANYWHERE!!!
- No hoses to get tangled
- Easy to use and program
- Less parts to travel with
Cons:
- It can fit in a suitcase, but it still takes up a good amount of space. I'd love it to be a flimsy as a vest that fills with air, but obviously all the mechanics wouldn't fit into that.
- It's still a 15 pound piece of medical equipment.
- It's not washable. So, if you spill anything on it or get it dirty, you can only spot clean it.
Hopefully this will help others if they are thinking about a new vest. I have not tried the Monarch, which I may do, not 100% sure at the moment, so I don't have apples and apples to compare. And for those wondering, I charged my vest every 3-4 days and that was using it once a day for 30 minutes.
We started the process with insurance to make the AffloVest mine. I wanted to know what the cost to buy it would be, but the insurance didn't want to do a one time lump purchase. We did with my SmartVest, so who knows. Basically, they were willing to do a lease to own agreement over 12 months. In that 12 months, they would cover 100% once my deductible was met. But being that I would start the lease at the end of 2019 I'd have to pay the deductible balance of 2019 then in Jan 2020, I'd have to pay the deductible again. That seems kinds stupid to me, so I decided to wait to start the 12 months in January.
All was going well with that plan until I found out my insurance would be changing, effective December 1st. My husband's company is switching providers. That threw a big wrench in the plan as the medical equipment company that the trial was under is out-of-network with my new provider. Oy vey!
So, the plan is that I will work with my AffloVest rep to try and get the vest through an in-network provider in January. But of course, I'll have to start the whole approval process over again with insurance. So, we'll see what happens. I am determined to make it mine!! I really loved the freedom it gave me!! I definitely am fortunate to have my SmartVest still and can use that as I always have.
Will keep ya posted as we move forward with figuring it all out!
Just for kicks, here is the review I gave my SmartVest when I got it back in 2014. Here
There's so much I want to share about my experience, so this may be long. I apologize in advance.
I was fortunate that my trial lasted for 7 weeks! Woohoo! We were able to extend it some because it was my hope that I was going to get to keep it. But, insurance/life had a different plan.
The AffloVest was a game changer for me. In the past, I've usually either set up camp in my living room or home office to do my treatment. During that 30 minute window, I'd also do my Hypertonic Saline treatment and entertain myself by watching tv or getting some work done at my desk...like I am doing know with typing this blog.
BUT with the AffloVest I could go about my business around the house. I've done laundry, cooked dinner, walked the dogs in the backyard, vacuumed the house, fixed my hair, put on make-up, just to name a few things. At our cabin, I wasn't confined to my recliner at our house, I was able to go enjoy watching football with the rest of the family! I was able to be included in things and not have to excuse myself to go sit by myself for 30 minutes. While this may not seem like a big deal to some, it is big for me. I like to be where the rest of the family is and have missed treatments before because I didn't want to miss out. And with the AffloVest, I didn't miss anything!
I took my AffloVest on 2 girls trips and a long visit to our place in WV. Most of the time, I traveled with it in the rolling duffle bag it came with. But I did stick it in my suitcase on another trip. I did not attempt to fly with it. I wasn't checking my bag on the quick trip I took so I didn't have room in my carry on. I'd like to get some tips from others that have experience flying with one beforehand too! I just envisioned myself being detained because it looks like I had a bomb vest in my bag. I know, dramatic.
In that 7 weeks, I only missed 2 days. And that was while I was gone to Indiana for a long weekend. I actually got up at 5:30am to do a treatment before I went out of town on Friday, then missed Saturday and Sunday, but made up for it on Monday when I got back home. I'd say that's probably my best run of compliance, especially with several trips in there!
So, let's get down to my official AffloVest review.
Parts - It's just the vest itself and power cord to charge it, plus a rolling duffle bag for traveling. I kept my vest hanging on a sturdy hanger in the closet while it wasn't in use.
Settings - It has 3 settings which I used for 10 minutes each. The first was Percussion where the vest vibrates a few seconds then stops for a second or two, which continues for the 10 minutes. The second is Vibration where it continuously vibrates for that segment. The third is Drainage where it vibrates between the 4 zones - it alternates what zone vibrates and moves around, sometimes it's just 1 zone but may be 2, 3 or all 4.
Technology - Everything is controlled with a handy dandy remote control attached to the vest. It's easy to switch between the 3 settings or adjust your timers, etc. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to work it. Once you have it set the way you want, you simply hit the power button then the Go button and it does all the transitioning on its own. And it's easy to adjust the intensity between Low, Medium and High should you want to change in the middle of the session.
Comfort - the fabric is comfortable. The vest has buttons near the shoulders so you can make the vest bigger...I did find that the fabric would rub into my collar bone/neck a little...I'd just have to adjust it a few times and it would be fine. The weight of wearing the vest isn't bad at all - it feels heavier when you hold it, but once it's on, no big deal.
The shaking - being that it isn't air pulsing through the vest, its a different experience. Instead there are little motors inside the vest that create the vibration. I didn't feel the squeezing that I've felt with others vests, and my boobs weren't getting squished and irritated.
Noise - thankfully it is not near as loud!!! The loudest part for me was on the Vibration segment which I had set on high. And still I didn't have to turn up the TV to the max. On the drainage segment (I used medium), it was hardly noticeable to others that it was on. My husband was the happiest with the noise aspect...LOL.
Overall, I am sold on the AffloVest!! I did find myself coughing when I started using it, so it was shaking something around.
Pros:
- Portability - YOU CAN GO ANYWHERE!!!
- No hoses to get tangled
- Easy to use and program
- Less parts to travel with
Cons:
- It can fit in a suitcase, but it still takes up a good amount of space. I'd love it to be a flimsy as a vest that fills with air, but obviously all the mechanics wouldn't fit into that.
- It's still a 15 pound piece of medical equipment.
- It's not washable. So, if you spill anything on it or get it dirty, you can only spot clean it.
Hopefully this will help others if they are thinking about a new vest. I have not tried the Monarch, which I may do, not 100% sure at the moment, so I don't have apples and apples to compare. And for those wondering, I charged my vest every 3-4 days and that was using it once a day for 30 minutes.
We started the process with insurance to make the AffloVest mine. I wanted to know what the cost to buy it would be, but the insurance didn't want to do a one time lump purchase. We did with my SmartVest, so who knows. Basically, they were willing to do a lease to own agreement over 12 months. In that 12 months, they would cover 100% once my deductible was met. But being that I would start the lease at the end of 2019 I'd have to pay the deductible balance of 2019 then in Jan 2020, I'd have to pay the deductible again. That seems kinds stupid to me, so I decided to wait to start the 12 months in January.
All was going well with that plan until I found out my insurance would be changing, effective December 1st. My husband's company is switching providers. That threw a big wrench in the plan as the medical equipment company that the trial was under is out-of-network with my new provider. Oy vey!
So, the plan is that I will work with my AffloVest rep to try and get the vest through an in-network provider in January. But of course, I'll have to start the whole approval process over again with insurance. So, we'll see what happens. I am determined to make it mine!! I really loved the freedom it gave me!! I definitely am fortunate to have my SmartVest still and can use that as I always have.
Will keep ya posted as we move forward with figuring it all out!
Just for kicks, here is the review I gave my SmartVest when I got it back in 2014. Here
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