40-50 mmhg custom thigh high mediven compression stockings

[Heiferly]

My new compression stockings finally came in and I'm actually wearing them for the second day in a row if that says anything.  When I tried them on yesterday in the store, I noticed a difference immediately.  My friend even said there was more color in my cheeks--I guess all the color usually drains out as soon as I stand up and the blood heads south, hahaha!  Well, of course the woman in the store who is professionally trained put them on yesterday; with that good strong 40-50 compression and that nice, snug custom fit ... well, getting them OFF was another story entirely.  I ended up with "rug burn" on my right ankle before we caught on to a better technique to spare that agony for my left foot.  This morning it was my home health aide's turn to get them back on, the baby powder tip was pretty useless, and I can't say the process was entirely painless.  But I do think overall they're worth it.  I still can't stand up for eons without symptoms, but it's a noticeable improvement for sure, and I'll take that!

These are the ones that instead of getting an off-the-shelf size they take about 20 measurements off each of your legs and then have them custom made to your exact dimensions, even labeled which leg is which--I hope I'm not THAT asymmetrical.  At any rate, I don't know if that makes a huge difference, or if it's just the higher compression of the 40-50, but these are WORLDS better than my old compression hose.  Also, my old ones were waist high and these are thigh high, and I definitely like the freedom in terms of how much easier using the restroom is with these.  We'll see if over time I start having problems with them losing elasticity and slipping down or something and maybe I'll wish I still had the waist high ones, but so far I like these.  If they do lose elasticity, I'll just wear my skinny jeans over them to hold them up I guess.  :-p

So, in summary, I highly recommend the 40-50 custom-fitted Mediven thigh-highs.  (They're from the Mediven Plus line, if you go to  http://www.mediusa.com/products.html and click on Phlebology then Custom under that, then go over to the right and click on the box that says Plus under it, you can see the different options in that line and the description.  Just don't fall for what they say about ease in putting them on and taking them off.  That's a load of you know what.  Ha!)

[AireScottie]

It's best to peel them off like a banana, which is the way they're supposed to go on as well.  Well, I guess you roll the banana skin back up to put them on.  LOL!  Just don't grab the silicone band to peel them off.  

I got terrible rug burn all up and down my legs when I went to the higher compression, but it went away after about two weeks.  I assumed it was because I have really soft skin from EDS, but maybe everyone gets it.  I also learned that putting them on immediately after shaving you legs can be painful!

[Heiferly]

Medicaid covered the custom sizing (if I understood the woman at the medical store correctly) because it was justified by my not being the right measurements for the standard size S.  I think that had to do with the height of my legs (being only 5'3" and relatively longer in the body and shorter in the legs, my thigh-highs need to be pretty darned short) and the proportion of the diameter of my thighs relative to the diameter of my calves (I don't have a clue what was different about that, but I think they mentioned it as well).  They said essentially I'm at the very small end of a size small, and with the eccentricities of the way I'm built, that's probably why my old ones didn't work well because I don't fit properly in a regular size S.  

I don't mind being freakishly proportioned; I had my rollator walker custom-fitted to my proportions as well.  :-p

I would say for anyone wanting to get custom covered by insurance, have the shop do the bazillion measurements they would do to fit you for custom, and compare those to the measurements for standard stockings to see if your proportions are significantly off.  That's probably what justifies insurance paying for custom.  They also do each leg separately and label which stocking is for which leg, which strange as it may sound, you know most of us aren't perfectly symmetrical so it could work to your advantage if one of your legs has slightly different measurements than the other or something like that too.  

Oh, about the brush burn--it's better if we turn them inside out as we remove them and pull them off that way.  But does that make them loosen up faster?  Do you guys know from experience?  Is it better for the longevity of the stockings to try to push them off right side out instead of sort of peeling them off like a banana peel inside out from the top down?  (No clue if I'm explaining that well, but can't think how else to say it.)

[halbashes]

I'm happy the support stockings are helpful!  I've tried everything to get my stockings on, and off more easily, but it always seems to be a bit of a workout.  Even still, I find them helpful as well.  Though I am still wearing Jobst 30-40 compression.

Let us know how well they hold up after about a week.  Mines always seem to fall...  (They stayed put for about three days before they started falling every couple of hours.  Quite an annoyance.)  Was the custom sizing covered by insurance, or Medicaid at all?

Perhaps one of our members will have some thoughts to offer on avoiding the rug burn.  That certainly doesn't sound pleasant!  I've not had that problem myself, but perhaps that is because I'm using a lower compression.

[AireScottie]

Hooray!  I'm glad they're working!  The biggest thing I found to keep them from falling down is to never pull them up by the silicone band.  It stays nice and tight if you don't pull on it.  It's really tempting, because sometimes they'll slide a little during the day, and I'll want to just hike 'em back up.  My Sigvaris ones have lost a little compression over time, but they're still more compression than the 30-40s were.  Those were down to 10-15 in about a month!  Also, you can supposedly get your doc to write a pre-authorization form for the insurance company to give you more than the usual 3 per 6 months.  I'm going to try that in December when my previous 6 months are up.