Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) Support Group

Hi KJC,

Not sure the difference with the name brands, and I thought they were the same. I use Futura only because they were concvenient to buy at a local CVS.

I've worn them with khakis, and dress pants, but I wore regular dress socks over them so it didn't affect the pants, so I can't comment on that portion. Sorry.


Ace

I used the Futuros for the same reason Acerman did. I later settled on skyhighs.

Since the futuros were available only in white, I picked up a practice of wearing Gold Toe cotton executive length socks over them, so that little or none of the compression fabric meets the trousers. The Gold Toes have been durable. The fabric an elasticity is still good, more than a year and 50 washings later. I have kept after the feet with pumice stone in the shower every day, so the athlete's foot has not returned, not even with the extra sock layer.

More2B,

Coincidenally, I also bought Gold Toe socks.

You were getting athelete's foot from the Futuras? I have two pairs (4 socks) that I wear one on the left leg in the AM, do my walk, workout, and things around the house, then shower taking the sock with me while I shower to wash it, etc. I don't throw them in the regular wash - afraid they'll wind up shrinking to the point they'll fit my nephew's foot!

SkyHighs? I'll have to look into them.

Ace

I also use futura even though I have to do some fudging to get the compression I need. I've had jobst and they tend to bunch behind the knee (thigh high) and cut off the blood flow. they even did that with the kneed high. I don't have that problem with the futura.

Actually Acer, I believe that inquisitively resourceful people have an odd way of arriving at the same outcomes for a number of little things.

The athlete's foot is a matter of my having had it all my adult life for some unknown reason. I was concerned that wearing 2 sock layers, especially in the hot months, would aggravate it. However, by continuing to scrape the dead skin from the feet with pumice stone every shower, I've still kept the athlete's foot at bay. Even if scratching where it itches, don't scrape the same spot too long. It gets ugly if it bleeds while anticoagulated.

The problem that I had with Futuros was that they did not seem to last. They would stretch, develop runs, or both. I saw skyhighs linked at airhealth.org, and I ordered them from www.skyhighs.com. That link seems down now but hopefully will be back.

I have hand-washed and hang-dried compression socks as an extension of an older habit of hand-washing athletic gear. If you are looking for an enhanced hand-laundering experience, old fashioned washboards are still available in antique stores and at http://www.columbuswashboard.com/ .

Oops try sky-highs.com not skyhighs.com. I just ordered 4 more pairs which should keep me stocked another year and a half, at least. I used to order the 15-20 mm Hg as comparable to Futuro's 18 mm Hg but I figured I'd step up to the 20-30 mm Hg, given my ongoing condition.

I once read in these forums that it is advisable to wear them on both legs, even if only one showed a thrombosis. I have since found two reasons to do that. Since the socks provide some blood-pump action, wearing two balances the pressure. Also, on a long overdue followup doppler, evidence was found of chronic lower superficial vein clot damage in the "good" leg. Apparently I had been fighting off small clots before getting one that grew out of hand, so there was no "good" or unaffected leg. One is not quite as ugly as the other but that is a different matter.

Hi More2b,

I checked www.skyhighs.com, and it was up and running. Other then the TED brand, the only other one I knew of was Futuros, but then again, I'm new to this having discovered the DVT mid-May.

I'll look into the SkyHighs. I'm not sure how long I'm supposed to use the socks. I must talk to my PCP about a referral to a phlebotomist or someone more knowledgeable about a DVT.

I'm still upset about this whole thing and teh fact it could have been avoided...

Ace

Sorry, I posted that before I saw your reply about the domain name spelling differences. Both names actually takes you to the same website.

How did you get your DVT? I didn't know that you should wear them on both legs. My surgery was on the one leg, which the DVT resulted from lack of preventative measures. The other one seems fine, no pain, no swelling, etc. I've been walking a fast 1.5 miles a day with no problems, at least that I see. My bad leg still hurts occassionally, throbbing at the 3 points where my clots are, but not the other leg.


Ace

Hi Ace,
I was told to wear my stockings for two years as Post Thrombotic Syndrome (PTS) can develop any time up to then.
Saying that I had a leg scan last week, five months post diagnosis and the consultant radiologist told me that since my leg was clear I could probably stop wearing them now. I have decided to play it safe and wait another six weeks until my next appointment with my haematologist.
Wearing stockings is a small inconvenience in comparison to getting PTS, I think.

Hi Pippa,

That sounds like a good precaution to wear the stockings. I may just do that too, when I'm told it's gone.

Curious, what's the difference between a phlebotomist and a hematologist? Which should I ask my PCP to get a referral to see?

Ace