Keeping blasted stockings up! HELP

[Welshexile]

OK all fellow Hughes Survivors.......after a lovely 10yr break I've now got to wear the dreaded stockings again.....now having gained plenty of steroid weight my legs do resemble tree trunks and I just can't keep the damn things up when I'm upright....gravity takes over, they roll down my thigh and cut off circulation in leg....I'm spending the whole day looking like a teenage boy with my hands down me trousers pulling them up! - anyone got any suggestions???????

[GinaD]

Back in the olden days our grandmothers worse these contraptions (forget their name -- the name shrouded in brain fog) which were, essentially, a thin elastic waist band with garter- thingees attached to front and back which could be attached to those horrid stockings.

When I was going through my DVT time back in the mid 80s my grandmother had only recently gone into a nursing home and my mom rescued one of these contraptions for my use. I dont see how I could have maintained my sanity through the 2 years I wore those detested things without it. My sympathies.

"Garter belt?" Was that the name for it?

So, try googeling "garter belt" and see what you find.

[MaryF Administrator in reply to GinaD]

suspenders.. and they go ping at regular intervals. You would have thought somebody would have invented some that stayed put by now! Sorry about your troubles with them. I hope you have a sense of humour! Mary F x

[Welshexile]

hahahahahaha thanks ladies, I feel a trip to M&S coming on

[MaryF Administrator in reply to Welshexile]

Good I hoped you would say that. I used to get sniggered at, at college as I used to use them for very long and woolly socks... got fed up with hitching them up all the time! My secret was out in no time! Mary F

[Welshexile]

Cheers MaryF, I feel a whole load of sniggers coming if this gorgeous weather keeps up as I shall be in my shorts with one stocking and a suspender belt......what a cracking look

[MaryF Administrator in reply to Welshexile]

I am afraid it HAS to be this! youtube.com/watch?v=FqOh4z2...(Not working as expected?)

Mary F x

[Welshexile in reply to MaryF]

am currently rolling around floor laughing......which is not helping to keep stupid stockings up!!!!!!!

x

[janekins]

Hi Welshexile

Enough of all this giggling you lot!!!! I'm going to give a serious answer!!!

I have had to wear surgical stockings for years now. I have a suspender belt to hold them up! I've even cut the suspender belt straps that attach to the stockings and resewn them to make them really short so that they keep the stockings up better, especially as I have short legs! As you say, there's nothing worse than stockings rolled tightly round your knees!!!

In the summer, if its really hot, I take the stockings off and might wear shorts for a few hours until my legs start aching again. Or I wear a longer lightweight skirt as I realyy hate the stockings being visible.

Hope this helps. I haven't found any better way of keeping the stockings up yet but maybe someone has some other idea we could try.

Jane

[MaryF Administrator in reply to janekins]

Oh and there was me about to consult some ladies who have some very strong ones which definitely appear to work! I had even found a demonstration video! MaryF x

[janekins in reply to MaryF]

Come on then! Give us all a laugh!!!

[MaryF Administrator in reply to janekins]

Well I did think, perhaps we could all consult these ladies, they seen to have a very robust approach to holding their's up:

youtube.com/watch?v=lK0gYi1...(Not working as expected?)

Mary F x

[Welshexile in reply to MaryF]

oh look that's me on the left!!!!!!! ROFL xxxx

[MaryF Administrator in reply to Welshexile]

Oh yes... THERE YOU ARE etc, I love see such an interesting snap shot of your geographical area, well done! Mary F x

[janekins in reply to MaryF]

And me doing cartwheels!!!! x

[MaryF Administrator in reply to janekins]

Oh yes, I must get practising again! x

[Sarita]

Hi there, late answer but hope it might help, in the winter when I had to wear them. Compression stockings go on first, then ontop pull on some normal hold ups, the elestic band at the top of the bought opaque hold ups can be positioned to also fix in place the fabric tops of the compression ones. It worked very well for me and gave me some freedom from the suspender belt that I didnt like wearing. Sara xx

[Welshexile]

thanks janekins and sarita for the handy helpful hints, much appreciated. I think the shortened suspender belt maybe the way forward, don't think I could handle another pair of tights on top!!

MaryF I really, really want to see the demo video lol!!!!

xx

[janekins in reply to Welshexile]

I realised this morning that its only the front straps that I cut and made shorter, not the back ones!!

Hope that helps

Jane

[Helene]

Hi all,

I wear compression stockings class2 (the ones you usually get in hospital is class1), but I have them as TIGHTS. I have them in black and I dare anyone to see a difference between mine and a normal pair of thick tights once I have them on! Putting them on is just as difficult as compression stockings though…but the compression part only goes up to top of your thigh, the rest is just normal – although sometimes I wish there could be a bit of compression over my stomach too, to hold in here and there

I get my tights on prescription, my pharmacist buys them from a company called daylong.co.uk, and if you have problems getting your GP to prescribe them, you can buy them online yourself (they come in different prices, depending on your compression need and your body size).

For really hot summers I have knee high stockings, but I only use them when the thermometer creeps towards 30 degrees and we haven’t had much of that lately here in the UK!

Oh, maybe I should also say why I wear these; I have had numerous DVTs (and one PE), and I now suffer from post thrombotic syndrome. Compression stockings/tights relive some of the pain I get in my calves and might also prevent future DVTs.

The tights can also be worn by men, even tall men, I am a woman, but I am 5’9”, and use trousers 33-34” long and I found ONE type of tights from Daylong that was long enough for me. It also happened to be their most expensive, but since I get it on prescription it didn’t really matter to me So ditch your stockings and switch to tights, I did and have never looked back!!

Take care,

Helene

[Welshexile]

Wow, thanks Helene, I'd never heard of the tights option but will chat to my GP when I next manage to get an appointment!

Cheers

Amanda