Coal Buster

My wife, who sold compression stockings for a medical supplier, says that people with DVT's were often sent to her place to buy 20-30's by their doctors. Good brands were Mediven, Sigvaris, Juzo. It's important to get a good fit and if you need the 30-40 size you must be measured. If you know your size, Mediped at Walmart are adequate but won't last as long as the quality brands. (She adds; "Talk to your doctor") I wear them when I work out. My legs just feel better.

JanMM

I wore athletic compression socks from Reebok and then compression calf sleeves for about a year following a biking accident that left my shin bruised and contused. Comfortable and don't interfere with riding.
Don't know how medical-grade stockings would be.

Machka 

They're very tight.

They're hard to get on, and once on, for the first few minutes you wonder how you can walk in the things. But then they feel OK ... for walking, standing, and sitting. However, they are very hot and with the tightness, I'm not sure I'd want to do more than a short casual ride in them.

JanMM

Yes, in my RN work, I've put them on other people more than a few times - it can be a major effort.

Dudelsack 

I wear Juzo 20-30mmHg most days because I'm on my feet a lot and had an episode of superficial thrombosis that was painful enough.

One day day I took my bike in and showed up for a club ride after work. I had forgotten my bike socks, so I just wore my Juzos. It was as if I had leprosy, syphlus and halitosis. No one would get near me, and little kids along the route laughed at me.

It sure looked weird. It was also a short ride, so I don't know if it made my legs feel any better.

mapeiboy

I also wear 20-30mmHg all the time . I wear them outside the house only in the winter months with long pants on . I also wear them on bike ride in spring and fall when in long tights . I do not wear them in shorts on or off the bike in the summer because I fear to get laugh at by stranger . I feel your pain , Dudelsack .

JanMM

There are some who espouse compression stockings as a performance enhancer. I occasionally see a cyclist or two (have seen men and women) at a club ride wearing them. My guess has been those folks are not wearing them in relation to medical problems. Appeared to be athletic socks as opposed to medical.

mjh365

Yes... DVT since 03/ 2012. I was back on bike by mid May. I will likely have this the rest of my life, so it's something I deal with daily. My femoral vein was clotted it's entire length as well as three others all in my upper leg. You will ride again so don't worry about that. Take care of yourself and come back when you're ready.

Speak to your Dr. about Xarelto, no blood tests, and/ or food restrictions. Good luck and speedy recovery. Good info here..... https://patientblog.clotconnect.org

EncinitasRider

When it comes to DVTs or any venous disease you really have to defer to your doctor. Treatment options can be anything from a lazer to foam sclerotherapy to surgery. And there are also post-treatment factors that will determine the recovery time. Do you actually wear your compression stockings or not? If you're in Southern California you could see the San Diego Vein Institute, I know Dr. Cheng has cyclists as patients.

Tusky

Air Canada passenger suffers 'h?rrible ache' after being caught in cramped seat learn c?mments

skidder

Just noticed this thread came back up, so here's a follow-up on my original post. I've been on warfarin the past 2.5 years and its handled the clots quite nicely to the point I rarely notice the problem. I'll probably be on it (or Xarelto) the rest of my life since the original 'clots' in my lower leg won't disappear (its somewhat like a 'scar' that won't go away). I never wore compression socks. Also got tested for the genetic abnormalities and I have 2 of the 3 types that increase your odds for clots. None of my siblings has ever had clotting problems, and we couldn't find any history of clot problems in my extended family, so that kind of mystifies my doctor. Best part is I'm back on the bicycles. Riding up to 30 miles per day, hope to get in occasional longer rides this summer/fall. Only downside is no hiking/mtn climbing, which I'd kind of back-off of in the last decade anyway. Doctor doesn't want me to do any of it since the downhill hiking puts enormous impact stress forces on joints/muscles/cardio-system components that could cause clotting. I may try some short hikes, but nothing like I used to do. Cheers

JanMM

Thanks for the update - good to hear things are going well. More folks than most would imagine are out and about on long-term anticoagulants for treatment/prevention of DVT's and other clotting problems.

1Shifter

I didn't read through this entire thread so Ill apologize if this was mentioned.If you have a recurring problem with clots or DVT you may want to ask for a blood test to determine if you have a condition called Factor V Leiden. It's hereditary and is not common but it's something to consider. Good luck.

loneviking61

Odd, I have both Factor 5 Leiden and MTHFR but my doc has never said to cut out the hiking--downhill or up. I've never
clotted as a result of hiking either. Still biking too. The only time recently that I've thrown clots was a year ago on Xeralto. That stuff just doesn't work for me.

K2dahlia

Just a PSA: My very fit husband (age 68), history of DVT in calf 15 years ago, felt unusually winded on a recent gravel bike ride. The next day he felt wiped out, so concluded he must be coming down with something. The following day he felt a lot better but developed a cough and a stitch in his side. Yes, you guessed it: severe PE on both sides. Very scary! He is doing remarkably well after vascular surgery and 2 days in the ICU, and even rode the indoor trainer a bit on day 7. Will be on Xeralto indefinitely. In hindsight he should not have downplayed symptoms. Best Xmas present ever to have him back home and healthy!

Calsun

I had blood clots from injury twice in my teen years from extreme cross country running. Blood thinners allow them both to break free after a few weeks and no issues after that.

With DVT I would want ultrasound or other method to verify that they are gone. Support hose are a cheap way to minimize problems, especially on long airplane flights (where I get an aisle seat so I can walk the length of the plane during the flight.

3940dxer

I have an odd blood clot story. After a flight from So Cal to the east coast I noticed a lump on my right calf and felt some pain while walking. I didn't think much of it, though it got a little worse over the next few days.

After I flew back to L.A. the lump was bigger and it started to concern me. My weekly group ride was that night and I went. After I got home from the ride the lump was almost gone and I felt much better. Over the next few days I forgot about it until a doctor's appointment for something else came up. During the visit I told the doctor what had happened, to his great alarm. He immediately sent me for an MRI and then had me go to the emergency room. The upshot of all this was that indeed I had had a DVT and it had cleared on its own.

My regular doctor got wind of all this and asked me to see her. She was satisfied that the DVT had cleared and I was not in danger but scolded me for not doing anything about it and suggested that going for that ride could have been disastrous. So there was a lot of dumb luck involved.

The post script to this story is that soon after, I learned that a well known peer in my industry had died of a DVT on his leg, and that it happened at the same time that I had mine. This made me feel even more like I'd dodged a bullet.

I don't recommend going for a bike ride if you discover a DVT and in retrospect it was surely quite foolish, but in my case the activity cleared it out somehow.

Calsun

Dehydration also plays a role with thickening of the blood. Sitting in an aircraft for hours with the lack of moisture in the air can be a deadly combination. With the TSA not allowing water bottles through the security check points it has become more of a problem and it is not wise to drink the water from the faucets in the airplane. We take empty water bottles into the restrooms at the departure airport to have plenty of water to drink on the plane.