I have worn compression stockings for years.

I order them online from For Your Legs and buy Jobst brand.

If this is the first time you have worn them I suggest you go to a medical supply store and get fitted by a professional.

I am not sure cotton ones would provide the compression needed to do the job.

FYI I am a retired RN.

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I don't think of cotton as having the elasticity needed for compression stockings. Yes, your professionals at the medical supply store will be able to help.

My mother wore them for years....a real pain to put on but she managed. They made her legs and feet feel so much better.

DH just got some for use on the plane so his ankles didn't swell and it worked well. The Doc prescribed jobst and we went to a medical supply store where they fit him and showed him how to put them on. You don't just yank them on like a regular sock.

Annie...as for yanking compressions on lol....that brings me to my Aunts story. For years she was supposed to be wearing compression, so she went to the local pharmacy and picked them up on the cheap..13$ a pair...they went on easily almost yank-able...it was a long time before she realized she was buying *support* socks and not *compression* stockings. There is a difference. Once she got the compressions she was measured and fitted (Jobst) she returned them complaining they didn't fit and the fabric wouldn't stretch to put them on...lol...I taught her the rubber glove trick which made it easier...and it was explained to her that compressions are not supposed to stretch out like support socks.

Another tip for wearing compressions....they need to be put on in the morning before getting up and walking around.

Hand wash them only using a very mild detergent. .don't wring or twist..lay flat to dry. They take a very long time to dry so you should have more than one pair.

And be careful about lotions or powders you put on your legs..ask your compression provider which ones can be used as some lotions break down the compression shortening the life span.

Mamapinky-

The compression I am supposed to get is 20 -30 and I can get 3 styles- knee-high, thigh or pantyhose. I will check this out but I don't know how it will work for me since I can't stand to wear any socks. I go barefoot in the house and Teva sandals the rest of the time.

My husband has been wearing Sigvaris compression stockings for a couple decades. The first few years it was the full length hose. I honestly don't know how he managed, but he did. Now he wears the knee-highs. He even wears them with shorts. You do what you have to do.

Pump toad (I love your name sooo cute) my daughter Amiee started wearing compression at age 2 hers had to be panty hose style as her buttocks are involved...omg what a pain it was getting these on a squarming 2yo. If the knee highs will benefit you that's what I would take lol...did the doctor say if you can have the toeless ones? Because they do also come in toeless.

Amiee only wore them for a few months as she had developed an infection in a varicose vein (not caused from compression ) and the pain was tremendous...once she went back in them she developed stomach pain so bad she was screaming..rush to er at children's hospital Pittsburgh where they found too much blood was being pushed into the bad vasculature in her pelvis darn near causing a rupture...that ended her compression.

ETA...I suppose they won't be cool, but than on the other side of the coin they may bring you relief from whatever you need to wear them for...and you get the night to air out. Really I hope you arnt uncomfortable in them nor hot.

Pump, you've been prescribed these stockings for a reason. You're going to have to change your ways about what you wear on your feet or don't waste your money.

Whatever you do.....don't get the panty hose style! You will be quite shocked at how tight these things are, which makes them hard to don.

I just wear what our store sells: Life Brand. :) They're terribly hard to get on. A few weeks ago, I struggled so much I threw them on the floor and put on my socks and went to work. lol I have an appointment with a vein specialist in a month. I'm hoping he will strip the veins. A few in my knee have actually hardened in the last two or three months which makes kneeling on one knee at work painful. And I got a huge swelling spot that turned a purplish colour just above that knee. When my GP saw that, he sent a referral directly to the vein specialist. I can't afford the shots that dissolve the veins. A woman I work with spent $1000.00 PER LEG to get hers done and because she doesn't like the compression stockings, most of her veins are coming back. My dad had his legs stripped 40 years ago and his legs still look fantastic. He's 85!

Diagnosed with varicose veins bout 6 or 7 years ago, I was prescribed compression stockings, got two pair Sigvaris at drug-store related homecare store, about $40. but immediate discount of about $10. using their store loyalty card, which usually offers only points ... and they threw in a pair of the latex(?) gloves to help adjust them, which helps a lot. They're getting very old and bedraggled, now ... but the socks are still going strong.

A few months later got a third pair, which are a bit tighter ... and included a second pair of gloves (still in box).

A couple of years ago they called to ask how the socks were doing ... seemed O.K. - how do I knew when not? They slide. Mine didn't ... later took them in for confirmation, and they still don't.

To remove them, I push index or middle fingers down slightly to each side of middle of back of leg, push sock down to three or four inches above ankles, push that top down over heel, with top up to near toes, then use two fingers as before to push the rest of the sock still on the leg down over the heel, then take the top and pull the sock off of the foot - inside out.

Then wash them in slightly warm water, with mild dish soap, nightly on removal. Lots of pressing down and squeezing.

Then rinse well in slightly warm water, with much squeezing. I have a dryer in the bathroom, that I can drape all three pair over the flat top.

In the morning, put socks on shortly after leaving bed, push hand down into sock, pull heel up some over hand, push toe portion into the hole, grab with thumb and fingers, try to spread the foot as much as possible, then grab heel to pull sock part way off of my arm. It would be easy to then pull the sock up over the foot, but I take hold of the back of the sock again about 3" above the heel, remove the arm, then put thumbs into the foot portion on either side of the heel, pull it up over the foot. Sometimes one hasn't judged well, and the seams on either side of the heel aren't even, so some manipulation with the glove gets things straightened out.

Then pull the top up slowly, with the thumbs about a third of the way from back to side of leg, and rock back and forth gently to try to distribute the relative pressure exerted by the sock evenly around the leg.

Those three pair of socks have provided good service, almost daily, for about 7 years ... so I'm not complaining.

This loquacious guy has just been informed that he has three minutes left to get out of here ... so..

... 'bye, all.

ole joyfuelled

I had some varicose veins removed from my legs, twice (two separate procedures on different veins, not the same ones twice), and had to wear compression stockings for several weeks afterwards, both times. I got the thigh high sigvaris open toe ones and I didn't find them uncomfortable or overly warm. They were the "cotton" ones (actually a mixture of cotton, nylon, and spandex, per the label), 30-40 mm Hg. I actually found them sort of comfortable... I do think I'd always get open toe stockings vs closed toe, if given a choice. There's a product called "It Stays." It is a roll on adhesive and I used it so my thigh high stockings wouldn't roll down. It works well. Anyway, I'd really recommend thigh high, as my doctor said the knee high ones don't really do anything. The pantyhose compression stockings...i had some and it was awful, just awful. Trying to get those things down to use the toilet...ugh. Then, getting them back up afterwards... I really wouldn't recommend the pantyhose!

Thanks everyone. Joyfulguy- that sounds like a lot of work getting off and on but I appreciate the tips. Has anyone tried the devise that is advertised on TV ?

mine are custom made for me.... i order mine with the toes out. they measure them to fit.

Best to let your doctor dictate which style is best for your particular needs. My husband started wearing the thigh high with straps that wrapped around his waist. After a number of years the doctor switched him to knee highs. He buys Sigvaris at a prosthetics store and is remeasured every time he gets a new prescription. He washes them every night in cold water and Woolite and hangs them to dry on a bathtub clothesline. He has a number of pairs that are rotated on a daily basis.