Looking for some info on "Compression Socks"

Stuart Ablett

Member
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Tokyo Japan
Well, I bumped my leg, the bad one, again the other day, just broke the skin, within moments, I had it cleaned and covered with a bandage, but still a few days, later, the ugly white goop of infection :doh: :bang:

I went t the dermatologist today, I had a new lady doctor, and she was quite concerned that the redness had never gone away in my leg after nearly a year. I got some new meds, and some cream to put on the cut, she was not very concerned about that, it was small and not very deep, but after my last experience, I was not taking any chances.

I wanted to get a prescription from her for some of these compression sock things, custom made ones, as she agrees the problem with my leg is poor circulation, but she did not know about a "Prescription Custom Made Compression Sock" she had never heard of that. I suggested that she send me to a cardiologist or someone who does know about it. :rolleyes: She suggested that I just buy a pair of the compression socks at the drug store, well I tried that before, the biggest size they have here is like a size 8, I'm a size 10, not going to work.

I go to see her again next Monday, if she does NOT have any info about the cardiologist, I'm just going to go find one myself, and get some sort of help, as it is obvious to me that the dermatologist is only of use to heal the infection but not the cause of the infection, the poor circulation.

Now to the point of my post, I need to buy some of these compression socks, I really want them like yesterday, so I'm going to order them online, does anyone have a recommendation for me? Online shop and or brand and model?

I ask, as there are a ton of product out there, and some of the prices are radically different, for what looks like the same kind of product, but from different companies.

For example....

Juzo Basic 4201AD Ribbed Sock 20-30 mmHg $32 a pair

Core-Spun by TheraFirm 20-30 mmHg Knee High $33 a pair

Juzo Soft 2001 Knee High 20-30 mmHg $57 a a pair

Jobst for Men Knee High (20-30 mmHg) $60 a pair

Jobst Relief Knee High - Closed Toe (20-30 mmHg) $28 a pair

I would guess that the quality or the durability of the socks comes at a price, but I'd love to hear from anyone with any experience with these types of product, whatever the brand is, and remember, they have to ship overseas.

Thanks in advance for the help!

Stu
 
I have no experience with item like that.
But, I suggest you search for diabetic supplies. I'll betcha just what you need will pop up.
Be prepared for a shocker on prices.

Most of these are for that application Frank as well as others.

They have some that are just for diabetics, but they are slightly different than what I want.
 
Stu,

Before you take any suggestions do your research and don't take my word or anyones else's word for gospel including your doctors. You must take an active role in your own health and do the research and make your own conclusions about what is best for your own health.

Are you a diabetic? If not you are way to young to be having these issues. I don't want it to seem that I am trying to lecture you. I am just concerned about your health.

I understand the concept of pressure stockings and I am not sure whom has the best. But I do want to talk about a few other things that might help your situation.

First I understand that it is easier said than done, but loose weight. I lost 80lbs going on 6 years ago which was probably the best health benefit that I have ever done. It improved my blood lipped profile better than any medication could ever do. I will be 43 in about 3 month's and I feel like I am 16 again.

I am believer in proper dietary supplementation and I take both Omega 3's and Red yeast rice. I would suggest taking mega doses of good quality omega 3 supplements. I am a big believer in this. It has done miracles for my 83 year old father. It has much the same effects that Plavix has on blood without the nasty side effects. It is also great for just general inflammation. I understand that in the Japanese culture fish is a way of life but you could not eat enough fish to see all the benefits of large doses of Omega 3 supplements.

Another supplement that has its roots in the far east is Red Yeast Rice. This is a natural statin that does not tend to build up to toxic levels in the liver like the synthetic counterparts. This will help lower LDL levels.

Next thing to consider is if you have other severe circulation issues I would check into intravenous chelation therapy. I know this is a very controversial treatment. I did a paper in college on it and with the research that I did on it I feel it is legitimate as long as you do not have any kind of kidney disease. There is a ton of information on the Internet about it. Everything from scams to questionable research etc. Its hard to figure out whom to believe, so go do some homework.

Good Luck and Good Health

Alan
 
Alan, thanks for the info, I'm NOT diabetic, but my father is, and if I don't take steps to avoid it, I will be.

I have lost about 26 lbs since March 2008, but I've got a lot more to go, I've changed my eating habits a lot and I'm also feeling a lot better than I have in a VERY long time. I started the "Eat Right 4 Your Blood Type" approach, (I'll not call it a 'Diet' as it is a whole lot more than that) and being an A-, I've become a mostly vegetarian, only small amounts of chicken and some fish. I take B12, B6, Ginko and Vitamin C now daily, and these have really improved my daily life, I used to have chronic joint pain, since I started the supplements and got off the red meat, the joint pain is gone, just simply not there anymore :thumb:

Next thing for me is to get off of wheat, my mother is a Celica, and while I tested negative for it, a while back, I notice a big difference if I eat a fair bit of bread etc, compared to when I stick to just rice, at least I'm in a good place to base my diet on rice and tofu! :D

Frank, I know what you mean about health food stores etc, we have them here too, and the same types of people populate them here. I go there only for some things that the regular supermarket does not carry, like buckwheat flour (I make a mean buckwheat pancake!) or Amaranth, which is a very healthy alternative to wheat. It has no gluten and some amino acids that most grains lack.

Cheers!
 
Stu,
I'm hoping you can get some answers from the doctor. My neighbor has been dealing with venous ulcers for a number of years. He has even had surgery.:( He does wear the compression socks and it has helped.
I think you do need to be seeing a cardiologist or a phlebologist (vein doc). The dermatologist is literally putting a band-aid on the problem.
I really hope you can get this cleared up. I know my neighbor has been struggling with his condition.

Wes
 
I wear a Futuro brand one on my right leg. I am 6'2", 270# and have the bad veins. I got a size large, around $17 at Wallgreens. Once the farm is sold I plan on going in for the surgery. One more thing I inherited along with the bad eyes and heart murmer. If you can't find them any place else, I could send them to you. They would fit in a flat rate envelope. Good luck and watch for blood poisoning.
 
Well, we found the "Japanese Society of Phlebology" website, and finally we found some VERY good info online here, we even figured out how to say "Phlebology" in Japanese :thumb: and we found out how to say the problem I'm having "venous leg ulcers" is "Uttai Sei Kiyou".

I've printed out a number of pages from the net in Japanese, and I'm going to demand that the dermatologist write me an introduction letter to the Phlebologist, because if she doesn't, I'll have to pay a $50 fee :eek: :(

Now, knowing the terminology, we searched on the web, and could not find any larger stockings in my size, so I ordered from the US.

Thanks to everyone for the info, it helped!

Cheers!
 
Hi Stu, you might remember that my wife has the same problem on one leg that you have, except that she hasn't had any lesions thus far. She has been to 4 different Drs. and the current one, (who seems to have the most knowledge on treatment for this problem), has changed her medication and creme and the hardness and redness in the area has improved somewhat. He had her change the compression hose she had been using for quite a while,(40 mmhg), and told her to get the 80mmhg, and according to him, the 20 - 30 mmhg aren't strong enough to work for this application. They have to be special ordered and cost $90 to $100 PER PAIR. She had him order her some Thigh highs this time, but they came in with NO TOES in them and she hates them, so will have to order another pair with Toes when she gets back from her workshops the 20 th of this month. If she were here, I could find out where she has to order hers from when she doesn't get them from the Dr, but I do not know. I just know that NONE of the local medical supply houses carry them in stock, and the pharmacies only carry the 20-30 mmhg hose, (if they stock them at all).

If you haven't found a good source by the time she gets back, I can get the info for you.
 
Norman, I orders some......

62901 AW Ulcer 62901 Treatment Zipper Stocking 30-40 mmHg

Jobst Ulcercare Stockings 114457 Jobst Ulcercare Replacement Liners (3 per box 10 mmHg)

Jobst For Men 30-40 mmHg Support Socks closed toe

Subtotal 130.23
Shipping 24.95
Tax 0.00
Total 155.18

According to the website, the zippered ones are very much easier to put on and off when you have a bandage on a healing ulcer.

I think the shipping to Japan is really reasonable :thumb:

Cheers!
 
A change in plans.....

We have decided to forgo even dealing with the dermatologist anymore about the Venous Ulcer causes, I've found a specialist not far, maybe a 20 minute drive by scooter, that has a TON of info on this very problem on their webpage, Emiko sent them an e-mail and we are going to call tomorrow (Saturday) to see if I can get in for an appointment.

I'm honestly quite angry with the dermatologists, they have wasted a year and a half of my life with band aide treatment, never looking past the end of their noses to see if there was any other problem. For example, the latest skin doctor told me the redness on my leg surrounding the ulcer was due to a bacterial infection, that is why it was red, but now I understand it is red because of the "Chronic Venous Insufficiency" that I'm suffering from. To back up her "Bacterial Infection" idea, she had me go for a blood test, my C-reactive Protein (CRP) numbers were almost normal. For the amount of inflammation and redness, the numbers should have been MUCH higher, she should have known that, but she did not. :doh:

Even when asked to see a cardiologist, she was not really open to the idea, and only grudgingly agreed to "Look into it" :bang:

So I'm hopefully bound for a specialist tomorrow, or maybe Monday.
:wave:
 
Stu,
Good luck with finding the right caregiver. I've been wearing the Jobst stocking for a couple of years and although pricey they last for a long time if you treat them right. I bought several pairs and rotate them and that prolongs their life.
 
After getting hip replacement surgery in March I came home from the hospital with a pair. About a month later on a regular podiatrist visit I was still getting some post surgery swelling from the knee down and she wrote me a scrip for a "medium compression" sock. She said the ones the hospital uses are a mild compression. I think I wore the medium ones maybe twice then swithed back to the mild ones until the swelling pretty much stopped a few weeks later. The medium restricted blood flow enough that they were painful. So watch which ones you get.
 
A friend of mine owns an orthopedic shop where among many other things they sell different types of those socks.

For people like you that do not fit within the "standard" ones they have them tailor made at about the same price as the others.

She (or yourself in this case) takes the measures at several specific points of your leg; ankle, below the knee, and some others that I don't remember and in a week time she gets them.

If you're interested I will get a friend's discount for you. I can send you a leaflet she has to help you take those measures.
 
Last week I went to the specialist at the Tokyo Vein Clinic, right away I could tell this guy knew what was going on, he did a Sonogram of my legs while I was standing and got me to cough etc to show where the blood is back flowing and causing the problems, he was also able to confirm that the blood flow problem is not the result of "deep vein thrombosis" which is a great relief.

He was able to give me some compression stockings that day, in my size (stupid dermatologist, had no solution for me for nearly TWO YEARS!) and I'm happy to report that we have already seen a difference in how my legs look, they are much more just a pink color now, not the angry red that they were.

The doctor figures that in two weeks we will see a lot of improvement.

What is really frustrating is that he said the vascular surgeon at the hospital that I saw the dermatologist at is VERY good, and could have solved this for me easily a LONG time ago.

Oh well, I am on the mend now.

Thanks to everyone for the help.

Cheers!

Stu
 
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