Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) Discussion Board

These would be a good option for people who respond to compression and have it only in feet, ankles and calves

http://www.zensah.com/women/women-socks ... socks.html

Oh - they have compression sleeves, too. Might work for the arms, knees, or thighs!

http://www.zensah.com/women/women-accessories/

My sleep doctor wanted me to try the compression that they use in the hospitals. It's connected to a machine that pulses the compression. At the time I was loosing my insurance, so I didn't try it.

Wouldn't hat be about the same as using a tens machine? (only compress instead of puss out)

It's not really the same, but the result might be the same. The TENS unit emits electrical pulses and the other squeezes the leg, making pressure, alternating legs. It moves the circulation along. It's what they use to prevent blood clots, just like compression socks. I've been out of the hospital for a few years. I don't know if they still use them regularly.

that's what I didn't explain my question well. I've never seen the hospital one--I could see that helping some folks.

Many people like wearing the hospital grade stockings - works for them for some reason. Some men even wear support pantyhose. Same with the stretchy bandages (name brand Ace here in the US). Some people like heavy blankets. I think these are all doing something similar for the people who respond to this.

We are all so different, the thought of wearing compression socks makes me cringe. Good for those that it works for.

Polar Bear wrote:We are all so different, the thought of wearing compression socks makes me cringe. Good for those that it works for.

I am with you! We've talked of there being a few different variants. One of them clearly benefits from tight things - wraps, stockings, and the like.

I know that I dislike that - in fact, for years, I said that pantyhose, tights, and things like that caused my symptoms. Funny story...I may have told it before....

So, I'm on my way home from work. I worked in the downtown Chicago "Loop" and took the 6 PM train home each night. I had to wear suits to work - pantyhose, dress shoes, etc. I knew that if I was tired, the pantyhose would cause symptoms on the 50 minute train ride. I'd sit in the upper berth, in a corner. Few people sat up there unless it was packed and few could see me. I did this in case I needed a way out of my pantyhose .

One night, symptoms struck. I shimmied out of my pantyhose and my underwear (some pantyhose wearers wear underwear over the pantyhose - the underwear sort of helps keep them up). A la Brittney Spears, lol, except no one was around and I wasn't flashing . I stuffed the wad of pantyhose and underwear into my purse. Ah, relief. I made it home and was happy to change clothes and remove the rest of the offending business wear.

My boyfriend stopped by later on. As some point, he asked me for something that was in my purse. Hey, I said, it's in my purse, go ahead and get it.

Yeah....you know what happened next. He opens my purse and pulls out this was of girly underbits, stares at them, then stares at me. He didn't really know about WED/RLS - it wasn't bad then and I could get rid of it easily. Not sure, to this day, if he believed me.

good story.

I'm somewhere in-between regarding compression. When I get home from work or anywhere, the first thing I do is tear off my clothes and put on sweats. I manage ok during the day when I'm doing things, but in my own home I cannot stand to have restrictive clothing on. I also can't be held in anyone's arms, lying or sitting, except rarely, and I'd love to know what allows it then.

Yet, I do so love the feel of tight, soft, thick wool socks.. of a tensor bandage around my foot, ankle, and lower calf ... of a warm hand firmly squeezing the upper side of my ankle...of heavy blankets on my feet in bed... I have wool socks that I cut the toe out of so I could get that feeling without my feet getting hot (it doesn't work very well). I wear leg warmers under my jeans, not as a fashion statement but so I can feel the edges of my ankles and legs, not quite compression (though I wish it were) but at least definition.

I also have wrist warmers - wool mitts without the hand part, just the thumb, that are tight enough to create a bit of compression on the wrist. Even in the summer, my ankles and wrists can feel deathly cold in the bone.

I have often thought of buying one of those pneumatic leg-compression devices from amazon (if I were rich and if I could try one first. They range from 300 to 3000 $ iirc). But I'm not rich and I cannot be sure it would work. If I was sure, though.....