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dam those stockings!

Posted , 6 users are following.

Lallydye1
Lallydye1

Fellow Hippies.  I am recovering very well I am 19 days post op but I have one probelm.  I keep getting angry brusies that erupt around the top of my compression stocking on my operated side.  This can become painful.  I contacted the hospital who said this was a normal response to the surgery but I think this is being caused by my stockings.  Has anyone had a similar problem? I am only 5'1" and I think the stockings are too long. Any advice?

3 likes, 19 replies

19 Replies

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  • Rocketman_SG6UK
    Rocketman_SG6UK Lallydye1

    Posted

    The TEDs must not be rolled at the top, that can cause pain.  I used to get it at nighttime, when they tended to form rolls at the top.

    Bruising at the top of the leg is common too, I had it the first time, probably due to the force they have to use to dislocate your original hip joint. Some people have even reported getting hand-print shaped bruises !

    Graham - 🚀💃

    • Lallydye1
      Lallydye1 Rocketman_SG6UK

      Posted

      Thanks Graham, luckily I have no bruises at the top of my leg. Sounds wierd. I am glad I wasnt awake to witness that.

      Alison :-)

    • Rocketman_SG6UK
      Rocketman_SG6UK Lallydye1

      Posted

      I was awake - both times - quite an experience !!!

      So I've had two lots of TED stockings and two recoveries since the end of last October.  Not much fun knowing what was to come.

      I had bruising the first time, but not the second.

      Graham - 🚀💃

  • HipsDontLie
    HipsDontLie Lallydye1

    Posted

    congrats on day 19th!

    If they are rolled at the top ask them to pull them down. They shouldn't roll out, sounds very painful, and we don't need more pains at this point.

    Keep on it. I'm only 3 days old!!

    • Lallydye1
      Lallydye1 HipsDontLie

      Posted

      Thanks Shakira I will keep them pulled down a bit.  Like the name :-) Day 3 seems like an age ago now :-)

      Alison x

  • lyn1951
    lyn1951 Lallydye1

    Posted

    While you are on blood thinners you will bruise very easliy, my husband is on blood thinners for heart condition, and he only has to have the slightest bump and he has a great big bruise, Dr tells me its normal.

    Put the stockings up until they are on the boney part of your knee joint, just below your kneecap at the front, and almost into the fold of your knee at the back, but not rolling over when you move, then damp your hands, or your helper can do it, and smoothe the stocking down your leg, no folds or wrinkles, but that doesn't mean it can't be eased on your leg.

  • AnnieK
    AnnieK Lallydye1

    Posted

    Are you talking about TED hose or compression stockings? I have just learned (7 months post-op!) that they are not the same thing. It is my understanding that TED hose are for people who are mostly non-ambulatory, and compression socks are for those who are ambulatory. TED hose supposedly help reduce the risk of blood clots in the legs by giving pressure on the lower part of the leg, with the most compression at the calf muscle. As you lie in bed, blood is most likely to pool in the calf, and possibly cause clots. Compression socks are meant to keep blood from pooling around the ankles.

    In either case, fit is critical. It sounds like yours are WAY too long and too tight at the top. They don't even need to be tight up around your knee. In my humble opinion, I think you should take them off until you can get someone to obtain a bigger size for you. You could even cut off the top of the current pair while waiting for a new pair. Your hose are causing problems instead of preventing them. You could keep your legs elevated or level with your body as much as you can while waiting for the new pair. I was told that I did not need to wear them at night when I returned home from the hospital. 

  • Lallydye1
    Lallydye1

    Posted

    Thanks everyone! Mine are really knee high socks so I think they are compression socks and not TEDs. I will try rolling them down a bit and try to stop them rolling around my knee. I think when I put my regular tights on top  this drags the socks up too high and then they roll down. Putting tights on is so hard though. My sock putter oner device is no use and the grabber is tricky to use. Bah!
    • Rocketman_SG6UK
      Rocketman_SG6UK Lallydye1

      Posted

      Compression socks are ankle length with no toe-hole, TEDs as supplied in UK are knee length (stop just under the knee) or thigh length, with a hole at each end and come with specific fitting instructions (commonly discarded) telling the user not to allow the tops to roll up.  They must be sized to fit the person, in both length and calf circumference.

      Mine came with a slippery nylon bag (NeoSlip - see picture) to allow much easier fitting, removal of thebag is through the toe-hole.  With  the 90 degree rule, it is impossible to put them on by yourself.  I did manage to get them off though with use of the long handled shoehorn.

      Graham - 🚀💃

    • AnnieK
      AnnieK Lallydye1

      Posted

      I found that my sock aid only works with very big, stretchy socks. Wouldn't work for compression socks at all. Hope you have someone to put them on for you, as you would be breaking the 90 degree rule putting them on yourself.
    • Rocketman_SG6UK
      Rocketman_SG6UK AnnieK

      Posted

      For compression stockings you need one of these ... called a NeoSlip.

      Very slippery nylon, I was given it with myTEDs.

      then pull it out of the 'toe hole' in the TEDs to get it off.

      Graham - 🚀💃

    • AnnieK
      AnnieK Rocketman_SG6UK

      Posted

      I had that, because, believe me, my husband and sister would never have been able to get them on me without it. What I meant was that it is impossible to get them on, even with the NeoSlip, by yourself. My instructions were to take them off every night and put them on again in the morning. So for two weeks I had to have help getting them on and off. 
    • Lallydye1
      Lallydye1 AnnieK

      Posted

      Hi Annie (that's my daughter name too) my hubby takes them off and puts them on when I shower in the evening.  He works full time and is up early so I am normally sleeping in the morning.  I put my own tights/socks on top in the morning which is tricky. Still only 3 weeks to go.......
    • Rocketman_SG6UK
      Rocketman_SG6UK AnnieK

      Posted

      Oh yes, I couldn't get my TED on my operated leg, but I could get it on the other leg by myself !

      I was never told to take them off, other than for showering .... 

    • Lallydye1
      Lallydye1 Rocketman_SG6UK

      Posted

      Yes I was told the same.  I cant put hem on myself.  However one victory today I realised that when using the sock aid to put my regular socks/tights on I had been using it the wrong way round!! Doh!
    • AnnieK
      AnnieK Rocketman_SG6UK

      Posted

      I am trying to imagine how you could get the TED on the unoperated leg by yourself without breaking the 90 degree rule. You must be very flexible!
    • Rocketman_SG6UK
      Rocketman_SG6UK AnnieK

      Posted

      Yes I am .......... my wife always laughed at me putting socks on before all this - I could do it standing up, she said I looked rather like a stork !

      I have even found a way to get my socks on myself now without the sock-aid.  I put my knee on the bed behind me, and bend at the knee, bringing my heel up to my bum - then I just reach around and pop the sock on - I think I should have been a contortionist.

      Graham - 🚀💃

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