A good place to look is medical supply stores.
CF, try for ones that are up to the knee. Many doctors still prescribe TED hose which are only appropriate for those lying in bed. They are uncomfortable and the compression is not designed for those walking around. Hose for those walking around are typically knee high.
will she wear any of these? http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=12975196&fg=Gender&ff=PAD&fv=DSG_Gender%2FWomen%27s&fd=Women%27s&size=48&
Maybe part of the problem is putting them on? My FIL has the ones that go up to his knees. MIL’s arthritic fingers have difficulty, so when we visit we assist and put them on him.
Knowing about the orthostatic hypotension, many things she can do to deal with this - gripping something with both hands when standing up (like a walker) so if she gets dizzy or is ready to pass out she can go down to sitting again w/o falling. Needs to follow the plan to minimize this with the help of the stockings. Do not want her to fall and have a concussion, a broken hip, etc. Is it also tied with low blood sugar?
Mom has had orthostatic hypotension her whole life, so she is savvy about how to deal with it. But it’s getting worse now. I doubt that low blood sugar is involved, but very likely dehydration is a partial culprit.
I had hoped to find that knee-highs would help, but the one piece of research I found online tested knee-highs rigorously and found no benefit whatsoever. The knee-highs they tested were only mildly compressive, though. Possibly more compressive knee-highs would work. There doesn’t seem to be much peer-reviewed research on compression stockings.
The paper I read does, however, make me believe that the compression socks worn by athletes are of no benefit.
Yes proper hydration is key, although if one has to travel more to the bathroom…ugh. Getting older and dealing with these health issues kinda sucks, but one has to do what one has to do…
I have extremely low blood pressure and I do think that while the stockings can help, your Mom can likely do better if she is able to be conscious of the condition, what happens, what helps, etc. Can she keep very hydrated (yes, more trips to the bathroom!), be sure to sit up and stand up slowly, progressively, etc.? I have to be very aware when doing things like yoga, when I change my body position, I need to be aware of taking things slowly.
Suggestion on yoga is great - yoga although it seems like a simple suggestion, can be amazing. Just find the right kind of yoga. I know some seniors enjoy ‘hot yoga’ for example. Staying active is good, but one has to know and accept their physical limitations,
Try this company for awesome, stylish compression socks: http://vimvigr.com/collections/womens-collection
I got a pair for air travel, and will buy more.
Those socks are adorable, but they are the lowest level of compression, which does nothing for orthostatic hypotension.
A couple of years ago my mother needed compression stockings to reduce her edema, and after trying various ones I finally settled on Sigvaris.
They cost more-- $49.99 for one pair of knee highs-- but they fit her very well, looked good, were comfortable and did the job. There are donning aids that actually make the compression stockings relatively easy to get on and off-- look on YouTube for videos of how these work.
@CTmom2018 – Is this the one you’re talking about? My mom used to use this device, and it worked great for her. Tight ted hose really are very difficult to get on without some kind of help.
CTmom, thanks! That’s just what Mom needs.
I just did a quick literature search. So far, I have found no studies showing that compression stockings are useful for orthostatic hypotension, thigh or calf. They mention something about abdominal binders which sound terribly uncomfortable.
When my moms oxygen levels were low, and this happened often during routine checks, the nurses would ask my mom to take a couple deep breaths- and always my moms O2 readings improved. I don’t know if this would help with ortho static hypotension, ( don’t want your loved wants to get dizzy from breathing,) but it may help?
That wasn’t the specific donning aid Mom had-- hers was a sleeve made of parachute fabric-- very slippery. It’s folded together into a conical shape with velcro that is not very grippy.
The sleeve is donned first, the stocking put over it part of the way up the leg (slides on easily due to slipperiness of fabric), then the tab on the sleeve is pulled to release the velcro so the sleeve opens up, and the sleeve is pulled off from the top. Then grippy rubber gloves (I just used gardening gloves) are used to adjust the stocking /spread it around so it isn’t bunched up.
Textured rubber gloves are really the best way to smooth out the stockings-- you don’t want there to be any areas of high pressure. And you don’t want to pinch the stocking to shift it around, as you could rip it.
There’s another kind of donning aid made by Sigvaris, called the Doff ‘n’ Donner.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNrfXd_XH8Y.
I haven’t tried this one myself. A PT friend says they can be a little tricky to use-- I imagine it would take a bit of practice.
I don’t know how many people who need the stockings can really bend over as much as the aids require. And then you have to get them off (my mother wasn’t supposed to wear them more than a few hours at a time.) Someone needs to just invent something much easier to get on and off.
My dad’s compression stockings (paid for out of pocket, $300/pr, fitted by someone who who came to the house who was recommended by the venous surgeon) had a zipper. But they were supposed to be washed by hand with Ivory soap.
I"d wash by hand anything that I spent $300 on! Yowza, that’s a lot of money for what is basically a pair of socks.
Think of them as medical devices?