But, I really don’t have the energy to go through my entire story right now. So, I’ll start with this, I was recently diagnosed with autonomic disfunction and suspected POTS.
Except for a trip to the store with my mom, I’ve slept almost all weekend. The shopping trip was very unpleasant, I wasn’t wearing compression socks & felt very dizzy very quickly into the trip. I had to take a break and sit in the shoe section for a while. People kept looking at me funny. I was eventually able to get back up and keep moving, about halfway through the rest of the trip I started getting more used to the sick feeling. I wondered, is this how I always felt before I started wearing compression socks?
I took my temp when when I got home, 100.1, not a fever but not normal either. I also got the compression socks my mom picked up (my others were dirty) and put then on. I immediately felt better. I realized that when my doctor said to always wear compression socks, she meant literally. Even for short trips, I should always keep them on.
I’ve been trying to figure out whether or not it’s safe to lie down in them? Most websites say no, one says it’s fine. I’m not up to the recommended compression level for POTS yet. It’s a long story, but I previously owned 2 pairs which are way below the minimum recommendation, one pair which is the next level up and have 3 more pairs of that level arriving later this week.
I’d noticed swelling in my knees above the compression socks and was if I should get something for my knees too. While researching, I discovered I’m actually supposed to wear waist high compression tights. Ugh, this sucks. These things are expensive. I need to buy the tights right now, but I just spent my money on the socks I have less use for. (I’m imagining that I can use socks at home when I’m mostly in bed, it’s a lot more of a problem to wake up and put on compression tights for a quick trip to the bathroom than it would be to just grab some socks).
I cant really afford both though.
How am I even supposed to always wash these either? By hand? In the sink? I barely have the energy to shove my regular laundry in the washing machine. How am I supposed to stand at a sink and hand wash something with hot water? Every night?
It seems silly, but standing can make me feel very sick & hot water makes it worse. The safest option is for me to own 7-8 pairs and throw them in with my regular wash, but at ~$55 for a pair of tights, I really can’t afford it.
They recommend that if you own 2 pairs, you need to replace them every 3-6 months. Does this just apply to owning that quantity? If I own twice the number of pairs can I keep them for twice as long?