Does anyone where compression stockings?

The first thing I asked my doctor was about wearing these and she said that I didn't need it, but I read so much about how everyone who has had a DVT wears them to help prevent further ones. Does anyone here know what to think about that? I will gladly wear them if it helps.

Hi Shana,

Some of my doctors actually strongly recommended I wear those. I gave them a good try and I can just speak for myself, but I got a case of claustrophobia in them...they are also difficult to keep on in hot weather. So I haven't been good about keeping them on.....

For sure, can't hurt wearing them. So if you want to try them, go ahead. Especially when you have to sit for long times like long car rides or on an airplane.

Let me know how that works out for you.
Also, they now have these stockings in all kinds of fancy colors and designs and they are available online. I don't remember the sites right now but if you do a web search they are easy to find.

Hope all is well with you

Thank you Angela, I just found it weird that I asked my doctor if I should wear them and she said I didn't need them.....but every site I go to says to wear them and it helps, so I was a little confused. Can you get fitted for them without going to your doctor?

Also, have you been to your doctor's appt yet? How are you?

Hi Shana,

Yes, you can get fitted without going to a doctor. If you want, you could find a medical supply store in your area and have them help you. Typically, the ones you find there aren't very pretty and look, well, medical.

You could go online and they have very detailed instructions on how to choose your size, what kind to get and how to put them on and how to care for them. But its really a lot less complicated than it sounds.

Thank you for asking, I am doing well. My doctor is happy with my progress as long as I do what he says...:)

How are you doing? Getting used to the routine?

Yes, I completely changed my diet (which I was in process of anyway when this happened), I basically do the DASH way of eating, getting my fruits, grains, protein, etc., 2,000 calories a day to help me loose some weight, I go to the gym and walk 45 minutes every day and I feel great except for the nausea in the morning now from the Coumadin (the clinic said that will go away), and the occasional minor headaches at night, that are also gone the the morning thank goodness :)

Hey! let me ask you another question if you don't mind since you had a PE also, my leg feels actually pretty good now, but my chest, well, it feels OK but sometimes it is uncomfortable on the other side of my chest than where the PE was,left vs. right, but I don't feel alarmed just bothered, and my breast veins seem to be more sensitive or pronounced at times...I think of course it is the PE doing it's magic on my chest, so I'm going today to get a more comfortable sports type bra and see if that helps - but did you experience this? Or if anyone else knows who may read this, it that normal? I think I just need more support :)

So Angela, did your doctor say anything about what you can do if you get off Coumadin? I'm glad you're doing well :) This is a great forum for all of us to have someone to talk to :) Write back when you can!

Hi Shana,(and others if you read it)

Ask any question you like! I will probably not have answers to some (or many) of them but I am glad to share whatever I do know or have experienced.

And yes, during the healing process I kept having chest pains of all sorts and was told that was all normal. Of course, my case wasn't exactly normal, since the doctors suspected I had breast cancer and I was undergoing several tests and a biopsy for each side.....luckily it was only cycsts that simply popped...

As for me getting off the coumadin, my doctor told me that's not going to happen for me in this life time. I have factor V Leyden (but only heterozygous) and in addition I have more of a factor 8 - in fact a whole lot more - than normal. I am not so sure about this factor 8, since all I could find on the internet was that if you don't have it you are a hemophiliac.

So that, combined with the fact that when I was off the coumadin for 2 months I went through total misery and was told I had clots on a microscopic level....plus the fact my D-dimer was fairly high still when they took me off the coumadin - convinced my current doctor to have me stay in it for good.

I am not complaining - since I've been back on it I fell actually a whole lot better. Weird, huh?

So all I can say is hang in there, life does go on and is what we make of it.:)

Thanks again Angela, you are always a help :) Today my INR went to 2.4 which is where the doctors wanted me, so now I'm a on a path of some normalcy with all this, the nausea is normal they say and it doesn't last anyway, it goes away within the hour after I wake up, so....maybe that will eventually go away too.

I'm glad you're better and your breast were OK, such a scary thing. I got a support tank top yesterday and I feel much better than I did, so maybe that's all I needed, but it's nice to know other people had chest pains too.

Hopefully within the next few years there will be a new medicine you can take instead of Coumadin, but until then I'm glad we all have it, like you said, it is saving our lives!

And strange as it is, this whole thing has made me look at my health in a much different way and I am extremely pro-active now with what I eat and walking two miles a day, so if I can overcome this, I'll be healthier for it :)

Take care Angela, have a nice weekend...talk to you again soon!

S

Hope you had a great weekend!

I was hoping for some medication sometime in the near future that wouldn't make you bleed so easily....but my doctor brought me back to planet earth. He said that it is the nature of blood thinners to prevent clotting, so no matter what you take, you'll always be more prone to bleeding after injury....

(I am in Martial ARts, so for me to not sparr and do some of the things we do, was a big blow, but meanwhile I realized that I am no less a Martial Artist even with the limitations I now have - I just focus on basics and katas and such things....)

and yes, me too, I am taking my health a lot more seriously, as well I should at my age of almost 50....

Keep us posted as to your progress and especially when you get off the coumadin, we'll celebrate on the forum!:)

Thats a bummer no more martial arts! It's like when I had back surgery years ago, no more lifting heavy things and riding horses, etc. in fear of really hurting myself if something bad happened. I just do different things now and plan on growing old gracefully.

I set up a Myspace page and there is a new medication I found that is suppose to possibly be ready in 2008-2010 to replace coumadin that could be much better for all of us to take. I can't remember the name right now while I'm writing you but it's listed on my blog....www.myspace.com/shanah aasis, check it out. I'm meeting a lot of nice people there too like yourself who take Coumadin for one reason or another, and found many of them are so young, in their 20's, it's so sad.

Let me know what you think about the site if you go there, I'm still trying to add things and get it running, but people have been really supportive so far :)

Hi Shana yes I have looked at your MySpace and I like it very much - you put a lot of labor and love into it and I appreciate that. I just need to remember how to access my MySpace - it's been so long I don't know anymore...otherwise I would have posted there already.

It's great to have a support network. When I first had PE I didn't know this board existed...it was hard because nobody I knew even knew what a PE is and so forth.

Yes, I have internally fought the "no more sparring as long as I live" for the past year and am finally coming to peace within myself. I can do other things in the Martial Arts, but nothing that could get me hurt. My doctor was extremely adamant and passionate about that.

Also, I used to be an avid horseback rider in my youth, and was heavily into skiing, well I guess the bunny slopes would be ok, but horses - no I don't think so - they can be so uncontrollable.

I have a very busy weekend coming up - I am not sure when I can post next, but I always look forward to it. And some day soon I'll figure out that myspace stuff and message you there.

All the best,

Angela

I just started wearing the compression stockings at the recommendation of my doctor. I have the Jobts brand. Got fitted at a local pharmacy. They aren't too bad, just getting used to them

Hi Angela, I'm just now getting back to the forum myself today, been busy with so much! Thank you for going to Myspace, I'm still getting it together but I thought since no one else had started one quite like it that I would.

I use to ride horses too, and that's been out since I hurt my back. I don't mind the subtle changes in life as long as I am in fact, alive, haha, so there are many other things I can entertain myself with.

For those who read our forums, my nausea has gotten much better, I've been on Coumadin 38 days today. I tried Tums for a week and it has seemed to have done the trick. I still have mild diarrhea, Immodium worked for a few days, but it came back, but I think personally I may be getting too much vitamin C in my diet, and along with the Coumadin it may be actually causing the nausea and diarrhea, so I'm cutting back starting today to under 100mg a day to see if that works.

If there are other vegetarians out there, fruits/fiber are great but watch your intake, of course they are part of a healthy diet but with the Coumadin, if the medicine is already giving you problems, the fruits/fiber can accentuate it. At least that's my opinion.

Other than that, I'm doing OK. Good days, bad days, but I'm here and that's what counts!

Thanks for writing Angela - hope you are still doing well! and write when you can!

Shana

Hi John - I'm still not wearing them, I am to go to the clinic on this Friday and I'm going to ask them again if I can wear them. Do you wear them on both legs? Does it help the swelling? What are your thoughts so far?

Thanks for writing!

Shana

Hi Shana, I do wear them on both legs and they are pretty comfortable. They should be for the cost. I really haven't had any swelling and did not experience any prior to having my PE a couple of weeks ago which did begin as a clot in my leg. I'll be on Coumadin for at least a year and will have to wear the stockings the same. They want me to wear them for preventative measures. They recommended it so I'll listen to them.

Good Luck

John

John you peaked my interest here....you say the are comfortable....what kind to you have? the short ones or the ones that go above the knee? Just curious....I might try again...

Hi Angela. The stockings I have are Jobst brand which they recommended. Can't believe the price ($70 a pair). They go slightly above the knee but usually end up falling just below it. They also cover the whole foot. They are pretty snug but i have to admit sometimes I forget I'm actually wearing them. The true test will be in the Summer. Hope this helps.

I wore the jobst brand stockings for 6 months! They were disgusting to look at and get on each morning. My doctor said to wear them daily. I had a clot behind my knee last May '06. My doctor said if you wear the stockings your chances of swelling in the future will be minimal. They really aren't uncomfortable just ugly! I would say if your doctor says to wear them, you should. I hardly every swell now. Hope this helps!

I asked again about the stockings, and they said they are mainly for people who do not get much circulation in general, as they help to do that, and I'm quite active, so that is why I was told I didn't need them. But I am still going to get pair to have for trips, etc. I wish doctors were more consistent with their treatment...thank you Kathy for your response!

Yur doc tis on the crack.. Seriously you should get another opinion. And ask your doctor how much experience they have with dvt.

I haven't been to the forums for a while - to update things, I still got another opinion and was told I didn't have to wear stockings! They are only for when I would be taking trips driving, flying, etc. But I ignored the doctor anyway and i wear 15-20 compression on the affected leg. It makes me and the leg feel better, and I know it's not hurting me, so oh well.

What compression size does everyone else wear?

Many thanks - Shana