Sorry MH I just noticed your thread. Now then, to set the scene, I used that jes-extender contraption for several years and it was a daily torture :rolleyes: , but I did on a few occasions manage to get to the 12 hours daily which you are supposed to aim for, about 5 hours daily would be the usual limit. Now I have the AutoExtender and although I can’t say it’s perfectly comfortable, it’s a doddle in comparison.
I stopped using it though as soon as the AutoAds arrived, but I can’t bear wearing that now at all, so I’m back to the AutoExt and finding it better than ever, I’m glad to say, in fact I have just taken it off which makes 7 hours today, not continuous of course, but the last session was about 4 hours which is the longest I’ve ever gone in one go and I could easily have gone a bit longer as it was just starting to feel niggley, but certainly not uncomfortable, apart from I was absolutely bursting for a pee!
With the AutoAds I can’t use the silicon wrap at all and that’s the problem, it just slips off straight away and Slack hasn’t given the feedback yet on the new wrap which MonkeyBar sent him to test. With the AutoExt however, I use both the strips which were included in the original order (how it could be worn without them I have no idea). I recently started to warm them up for a few minutes on the radiator (it just seemed like a good idea) and I have found this to be a real improvement as they are warm and more pliable and therefore easier to stretch which makes them more secure and I am convinced that this initial comfort has helped me to wear it for longer. Next thing I would advise is that you, what I would call ‘settle in’, for about half an hour before you crank it up a bit, otherwise there appears to be too much pressure straight away and this is when I would have to take it off after an hour or so at the most. I’m now on the second rod size and funny enough, I measured out of curiosity when I saw your thread and it would be 71/2" on the nail without discomfort and that’s a hell of a stretch for me! :eek:
Lastly and it’s early days on this, but as I said in the original thread, I found a little dab of the Monistat Soothing Gel helped with comfort, but only at first (I should really have updated my info on that), anyway, recently someone at school mentioned this new gel which they found amazingly good on painful joints and when I checked it out, it mentioned something about being good for soothing skin, so immediately I thought :-k Yes I’ll have some of that! :spin2: So far it has worked a treat and perhaps you would like to check it out for yourself @ https://www.artrosilium.co.uk and see what you think.
I hope this all makes sense and if not just let me know, I can be confusing at the best of times, but having said that, like Juri, I’m still trying to work out those instructions from MRC1114 and I’m not a patch on him obviously, because I’ve read that 4 times already and I’m still not getting it at all :noreally:
You mentioned the rubber bands didn’t appear in the description on the site, funny I thought they were, but it may have been in the AutoExt thread where they made their appearance, anyway, they hold everything together and although they might seem unsophisticated in this day and age, they sure work a treat!
I hope this helps, it’s bound to and no doubt you’ll be way ahead of me in no time at all :gulp: