Compression pants alleviating POTS

[Cipher]

I stumbled upon this Reddit thread today regarding compression pants alleviating POTS:

https://www.reddit.com/r/POTS/comments/dujtxf

He used Roadbox Men's Compression Pants according to the thread.

 

[Pearshaped]

I would also try a abdominal binder-it does help me somewhat in comparsion to compression stockings alone.

 

[JES]

I think compression can be of great help if you have parasympathetic dominant POTS, where the problem is too much vasodilation and compression sort of forces the blood to move further up. In hyperadrenergic POTS, vessels are already constricted and blood volume is reduced, so compression won't bring as much benefits. At least that's my observations.

 

[ryan31337]

There are other issues with compression wear. The effect from compression sports wear mentioned by the OP is marginal, to get clear physiological benefit you need to have significantly more compression as offered by medical compression garments. These can be really quite uncomfortable at the best of times, worse so if you have neuropathy or live in a hot place.

 

[lagarto]

I have used (medical) compression tights for about ten years total - it's the best! Sadly it's not safe to sleep in it, so I had to give it up when I got too sick to change clothes morning and night. Other than that, it's annoying, but absolutely worth it. Looking forward to the day I'm well enough to start using it again.

 

[Sushi]

There are other issues with compression wear. The effect from compression sports wear mentioned by the OP is marginal, to get clear physiological benefit you need to have significantly more compression as offered by medical compression garments. These can be really quite uncomfortable at the best of times, worse so if you have neuropathy or live in a hot place.

I agree—the compression is not enough for many of us. I do wear them at my cardio rehab program, but I also wear much stronger compression knee socks underneath.

I have used (medical) compression tights for about ten years total - it's the best! Sadly it's not safe to sleep in it, so I had to give it up when I got too sick to change clothes morning and night. Other than that, it's annoying, but absolutely worth it. Looking forward to the day I'm well enough to start using it again.

I have used both tights and knee socks with an abdominal binder—I actually prefer the tight knee socks (with or without the binder) for the ease of getting in and out of them. I couldn’t manage without them.

 

[lagarto]

I can't with knee socks, they just end up as a twist around my ankles. But that's true for any knee socks. And my sock heels always end up on top of my foot. What do I even DO to make that happen? I sure don't know. I'm glad some people can use them, though, and that it's not the socks themselves.

 

[Sushi]

I can't with knee socks, they just end up as a twist around my ankles. But that's true for any knee socks. And my sock heels always end up on top of my foot. What do I even DO to make that happen? I sure don't know. I'm glad some people can use them, though, and that it's not the socks themselves.

Are they high enough compression? We all need different levels but my 25-30 level of compression never move or sag or twist—they stay right in place. The place I buy them from
https://www.brightlifedirect.com/?g...kWYiOI5Arw1V0IowjcVGDqk9KIEUimI8aAl3YEALw_wcB will consult with you on the phone and they also let you return anything that doesn’t work. I buy their house brand, Allegro, due to price.

 

[lagarto]

I've used lighter compression too, but this was class 2, same as my tights. Which should be 20-30.

House brand compression wear - what a happy concept! Bookmarking this for when I can use compression wear again. Where I live we can only get the expensive stuff for some reason.

 

[Sushi]

House brand compression wear - what a happy concept! Bookmarking this for when I can use compression wear again. Where I live we can only get the expensive stuff for some reason.

The ones I get are about $18 - $20 and never seem to wear out!

 

[Rufous McKinney]

Love my compression socks- I ordered accidentally and my feet CRAVE them.

Love my knee compression socks- they feel really good.

I have one tight pair of thick- leggings and love those...so this whole compression wearing is somehow feels good.

I think it helps my lymph system..which has considerable issues.

 

[Sushi]

Love my knee compression socks- they feel really good.

Yes, good ones feel good! Sort of like they are massaging the legs and preventing blood from pooling there. They make some colorful ones now too so you can express yourself!

 

[Rufous McKinney]

They make some colorful ones now too so you can express yourself!

I got black- at least those look a bit chique.

 

[Gingergrrl]

Are they high enough compression? We all need different levels but my 25-30 level of compression never move or sag or twist—they stay right in place.

I just replied in your cardiac rehab thread but was wondering if you (or others in this thread) could tell me what "mid-range" compression correlates to (number wise)? My doctor recommended mid-range compression stockings for me to try but he wasn't sure what number that would be for me. I have two pairs of compression socks that I bought several years ago but I have no idea if they are "mid-range" or even what numbers they are. They are tight but I assume that is good?

 

[Tella]

I just replied in your cardiac rehab thread but was wondering if you (or others in this thread) could tell me what "mid-range" compression correlates to (number wise)? My doctor recommended mid-range compression stockings for me to try but he wasn't sure what number that would be for me. I have two pairs of compression socks that I bought several years ago but I have no idea if they are "mid-range" or even what numbers they are. They are tight but I assume that is good?

Bump

 

[Pearshaped]

"mid-range" compression stockings are 25-30 mmHg.
IDK how it is in the US,
here in Europe we have compression stockings level 1,2 and 3.
Level 1 is 18-21mmHg.
Level 2 is 25-30 mmHg.
Level 3 is above 30mmHg
I was told to choose level 2,since level 3 is too exhausting to put on for most patients unless they have a helper.

 

[Timaca]

This explains compression levels: https://www.brightlifedirect.com/pa...JCpMzJ_JQk8ndQKilejkhsRX-Nfj_YLoaArvyEALw_wcB

 

[JasonUT]

I think compression can be of great help if you have parasympathetic dominant POTS, where the problem is too much vasodilation and compression sort of forces the blood to move further up. In hyperadrenergic POTS, vessels are already constricted and blood volume is reduced, so compression won't bring as much benefits. At least that's my observations.

Very interesting information on hyperadrenergic POTS. My doctor is highly suspicious that I have hyperadrenergic POTS. Can you please point me to articles and research so I can educate myself in the nuances of Hyperadrenergic POTS? Thanks.

 

[Aspen]

I’ve been trying compression tights for about 6 weeks now with mixed results, so it’s making me wonder if I have hyperadrenergic POTS too, @JasonUT, or maybe it’s just that I have such low energy levels that it doesn’t make that much difference to control the POTS anyway. I’m bedbound right now so I’ve only tried them 4 or 5 times for short periods. I have a 20-30 mmHg waist-high stocking, but I think I’ll try the 30-40 eventually too out of curiousity.

I‘m sure I’ve posted a version of this story on another thread already, haha, but I guess I’m just going to keep posting about it til I figure it out a little better. The first time I had them on - put on by the sales people at my local medical supply store when I bought them - I experienced an AMAZINGLY clear-headed feeling and my HR stabilized immediately, it was such a relief. But it didn’t last long and I ended up with an adrenaline surge and awful racing HR/high BP after about 30 mins. Took me 3 weeks to recover from that crash. The next couple of times I wore them, I was able to sit propped upright in bed with stable HR and BP for about 2 hours before becoming fatigued and taking them off, which is remarkable because usually I can’t prop myself up even a little bit without getting POTS... I even eat lying prone with the plate balanced on my chest, much to the delight of my dog who sits patiently beside my bed in anticipation that I’m going to share with her, heehee. I tried them again today because I had to be up doing something in the house, and again I felt decent for about 20 mins before having an adrenaline surge and racing HR, and I’m still feeling rather discombobulated a few hours later. So the poor results do seem to match with times when I’ve been up and exceeding my energy envelope.

I had to give it up when I got too sick to change clothes morning and night.

@lagarto, wondering if you had a similar experience when you needed to transition out of wearing them? I’m probably just going to keep experimenting very slowly with the tights over the next few months and see what else happens. I sure do miss being up, but by now I kinda feel like I’m chasing that first high from the first time I wore the tights and the feeling is just out of reach.

 

[Violeta]

Yes, good ones feel good! Sort of like they are massaging the legs and preventing blood from pooling there. They make some colorful ones now too so you can express yourself!

Sushi, have you found a good brand of compression shorts or pants?