Alan is wearing support hose.
 

Hi, just a quick question.

Alan has the Cam Walker boot thing. It goes all the way up almost to his knee. He walks very well with it. It came with these pads but there is still rubbing and the doctor made a point of telling me "watch his leg, check for rubbing and look for this, blah blah". I can't remember but the pads are for the shin and for the top of his foot.

But the darn thing was still rubbing, so Alan went out this morning and purchased Futuro Support Hose. The back of the box said he need a size large.

He came home and when I took these things out they looked like what girdles are made of. Very tight if you ask me. I said, why on earth did you buy these (he doesn't have any swolllen anything), he simply bought them so he wouldn't feel the rubbing of the boot.

He put one sock on , then put the boot on and he says "Oh this feels great, no rubbing". I just thought to myself "what if they cut off his circulation". I mean, I checked and he's fine and he is not numb on his leg, just the foot and near the ankle but not the leg, he has all feeling in his leg, so I have to think "well, he feels fine, he says they make the blood go into his feet so his neuropathy might benefit".

I mean, am I nuts here to be worried??? I have a friend who is diabetic with foot ulcers and he was told to buy these socks and he hates them. They go all the way up like panty hose and he says "these are so tight", but he has to wear them. But the ones Alan got (he only wears one), goes to his knee. It's black and he says they are fine. And he doesn't feel any rubbing.

When he comes home tomorrow morning, is there something I should be checking for on his leg to see if these things are too tight. I am clueless here.

I just wanted your opinion. Thanks to anyone who finds these support hose helpful.

Melody

A quick response
 

Melody,
Ask the podiatrist or your PCP about the support hose. Depending on the type they can exert different pressures and if they are too tight they can affect circulation. The Drs should be able to tell you what pressure they feel Alan needs. Normally the elasticity is graduated so that the hose are tighter (more pressure) at the ankle and become less elastic up the shins, calves, and to the knee. Makes sense because the pressure should be greatest farthest away from the heart to squeeze the blood vessels and return it through the veins.
I've worn the knee-highs (Tedhose) and found them to be helpful for me. Only problem I saw was that over time they can wear the hair off your legs but with PN I may have traded one cause for another.
Hope Alan get much benefit from them but do check with the Drs to be safe.

good thoughts to you

Alkymst

Well, he says he is only wearing them because of the shoe boot thing. He sees the podiatrist on Wednesday.

I told him "Alan, tonight when you are at work, if you feel the slightest bit uncomfortable, just take a knife and cut them at the top so they won't cut off your circulation." He said "I'm not stupid, you know" lol

I checked, and while there are marks when you lift the elastic from right below the knee, the elastic band is wide, it's not that constricting and I guess I'm just being a wifey worry wart tonight.

He just left for work. I read him exactly what you said the support hose does. How it is a little tighter at the ankle and goes up a bit looser. I then took out the other one (he is only wearing one because of the shoe boot thing). I showed him how the stocking is tighter at the ankle and as it goes up the leg, it is less tight so blood flow goes toward the heart. You see, Alan thought it was the opposite. That the compression hose would squeeze his leg and the blood would be drawn into the foot and it would help with his PN (aside from helping with the rubbing). I told him "watch how your PN is tonight", "if it gets any worse and your pins and needles are killing you, then you take off the support hose and change into your diabetic socks".

He took a pair of diabetic socks with him. Thank god he listens.

And thank God for you.

Melody

Mel
 

If i ever heal the burn and wound clinci are having mine measured inch
by inch,from toe to knee on both legs and when there done they
sent the mess. to a place in Germany. They are then made up and i am
to get ready for a massive heart attack,because of cost. Oh dear, Sue

Melody, I tried those things one time, it felt like someone put a flame thrower to my legs

Is the walker boot fitting im properly? I ask because when I had my air boot at first it wasn't and was very uncomfortable. The doc had to show me how to adjust it especially when my foot/ankle would swell. As for support hose I wore those for edema and they are so uncomfortable. Maybe call a med supply shop to see if they have any ideas for something else if that hose isn't working for the walker boot.

Mel,
Tell him to wear both and buy a pair of black pumps to go with 'em :D


My son wears "TEDS" when he's out of bed in the wheelchair- prevents clots.
Not too tight, comfortable. any drug store should have them with the support hose. Knee high (or higher). Have a stitched hole at the underside between the toes & pad of the foot.
Tell Alan to try those too.

(He'd prolly look real nice in a pair of black pumps,
.........at the gym.) :winky::):cool:

Oh Bob:

I just replied to another thread you were on. You are a hoot.

Alan just came home and we got the shoe boot thing off.

You should have seen us last night, trying to get him dressed to go to work. To put this contraption over the pants part of his security guard uniform, well it was a no -go. Then he took off his pants, then slipped them up, and stepped into the shoe boot thing. Then we hooked him up, then we found the pads that you have to put inside the shoe (to prevent rubbing). Then he had to take the darn thing off again. Took us 30 minutes just to get him dressed to go to work (and this is 10 p.m) He works the midnight to 8.

I did tell him to let me know if these horrible support hose bothered him. He actually felt fine.

So he gets off the bus this morning, he feels fine. He said "honestly, there's no problem with these support hose." And he walks with this shoe boot contraption, like I have never seen him walk. It puts no pressure whatsoever on the ulcer.

So we go to Dunkin Donuts for our "date". We come home, and he starts to take off the support hose. I hate these socks. They are so tight. But I checked his leg for marks, bruising anything, all was fine.

Then he says quietly "Melody, if it makes you happy, I'll wear something else tonight instead of these socks". I said "Thank you Lord".

I will look into the TEDS (I have no idea what these are) but if they loose I'll buy them.

What if I take some moleskin, and put it as a padding where the shoe wraps around his leg. That should make it not rub, right??

Thanks for the laugh about him in high heels. What a pretty picture that would make.

Melody

My experience
 

Melody,
I wear pants almost exclusively. When I had to wear the Cam Walker Boot thing. I would put on knee high socks, the kind that go under boots. Then I put my foot in the boot (with my pants inside it too). I would take the front crease of my pants, pull it out and then fold it over to the inside of my leg and then wrap the padded part of the boot over the pants with them inside the padding. Then I strapped the boot on. I wore this thing for 5 months this way. You have to blouse the pants slightly above the boot in order to give yourself room to bend your knees.

Billye

Billye:

Alan is a security guard two nights a week. Because he has to wear this contraption, he doesn't want anyone to see it on him. That's why the uniform pants have to go OVER the boot. They hide the boot. The only thing that sticks out from under the bottom of the pants is the bottom of the shoe boot and it looks likes Alan is wearing a sandal.

Last night when Alan showed up for guard duty, the supervisor happened to be there. Alan kept thinking "what if he looks down and sees I'm wearing one regulation uniform shoe, and my other shoe is the Shoe Boot thing"

But that didn't happen. The guy didn't notice Alan's feet.

But I get you on the knee-hi thing. I went to check out the TEDS at my local drug store. They were right near the support hose.

I opened the box and they looked exactly like a pair of knee-hi's (maybe with a little more compression to them). And they cost $27.99. I don't think so.

So I walked over to the Big/Tall Man shop that is not to far from my house. There are two of them within two blocks of each other.

I walk into the first one and I say "Okay, here's what I need, I need a tall pair of men's socks, stretchy like diabetic socks, but reaching to the knee". The guy says "I have exactly what you need" and he produces the longest pair of socks I have ever seen. They looked like they would fit a basketball player. I examined them and there was no stretch to them. They were just long men's dress socks and they did not have the stretchability of diabetic socks. So I simply said "Okay, let me make this simple, you know diabetic socks??, well I want really long diabetic socks, up to the knee".

The guy says "oh, they don't make those!!!" and I said "why not, don't the companies know that 6'8 inch people who have diabetes will need really long diabetic socks"??? The guy laughed and said "well, if they make them, I don't sell them". Then he told me to go to the store two blocks away. Another guy followed me there because he was looking for some long socks also.

So we go into the second Tall/Big Men's store, and I begin my search for a pair of super long diabetic socks. The guy says "They don't make them".

So I leave and I find myself in front of a fabric store. A lightbulb goes off in my head and I say "I don't need socks, I need some felt that I can place on Alan's shin, so there will be no rubbing".

So I go in, pay $2.00 for this nice comfortable piece of felt. Tonight, Alan will cut it to fit his boot and all will be accomplished.

And he will never wear those compression things again.

PROBLEM SOLVED!!! Yes indeed

lol

Melody