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31j20b3

(275 posts)
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 01:33 PM Yesterday

Question to folks using compression socks...

My feet get very cold after hours in compression socks which to all the way over my toes. And by cold I mean my infrared thermometer can't measure below 90F and it gives up trying to get a temp on my feet.

I do need compression socks. I went a couple days without, and although my feet remained warm ~97+ F I noticed my ankles getting swollen.
I'm just wondering if people have had good luck moving blood and fluids up against gravity with compression socks with no foot.

Thanks

11 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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lonely bird

(3,159 posts)
1. I wear them
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 01:36 PM
Yesterday

When I travel long distances either by car or plane.

I learned the hard way that you do not sleep with them on. They caused some real pain.

31j20b3

(275 posts)
5. I don;t sleep with them on, but I have worn cotton crew socks to help with cold feet
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 01:48 PM
Yesterday

I'd like to find the sweet spot relative to type of compression socks and duration of having them on my feet.

A couple of months ago I was really alarmed about the advance of "tingling" up my shins, and it made me paranoid about moving into the club of diabetics having to have their feet cut off.

I''m following my doc's advice, on exercise and weight managment but also reaching out into B-vitamin therapy as I've had other vitamin deficiencies, particularly bad was my D3.

The outcome of following her suggestions for months was hair began to grow on my legs below my knee They've been naked of hair for a decade.
The vitamin B therapy is too recent to know what it is really doing, but I have suffered from piriformes syndrome where the piriformes muscle rubes on the sciatic nerve to produce pain in the Butt and Hip. I have no idea which vitamin may be helping but I"ve had no episodes of crippling pain in my butt and hip in over a month and it used to get me on short walls (grocery shopping, walking 100 ft to my tool shed, and walking 400 feet up a very modest hill to my mailbox.



uppityperson

(116,056 posts)
2. I know people who wear warm socks over compression ones
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 01:38 PM
Yesterday

to keep their feet warm. I'm not diabetic but did foot care for years.

31j20b3

(275 posts)
6. Yes, that's what I do in the day, and I wear cotton crew socks to bed
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 01:50 PM
Yesterday

Thanks for your response

dweller

(29,080 posts)
3. Try a different compression sock
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 01:44 PM
Yesterday

Some are thinner and not as tight , I couldn’t wear the copper fit ones - way too tight
Found some for overnight on Amazon , just cover from above ankle to mid foot , no toes or calves


✌🏻

31j20b3

(275 posts)
7. Thanks, I use compression socks prescribed by the V.A. they have feet
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 01:53 PM
Yesterday

but during the day my feet often feel squeezed side to side, and after about 10 hours in them my feet get very cold in the late afternoon.

I"m going to ask my primary care about the effectiveness of "toe less" compression socks. I think they are a problem for me

littlemissmartypants

(36,033 posts)
4. I gave up on them. They hurt me more than they helped. ...
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 01:47 PM
Yesterday

I take Lasix for my autoimmune related lymphedema. There are also occupational therapists who specialize in lymphedema management. I highly recommend trying that, too.

I hope that helps. ❤️

...There are certain conditions where people with diabetes should not wear compression. If you have been diagnosed with severe arterial insufficiency, a diabetic compression sock may not be the right treatment for you.

Ask your doctor if you are uncertain if you suffer from arterial insufficiency and if you are unsure if wearing diabetic stockings would be safe in your case.
Snip...
https://www.sigvaris.com/en-us/expertise/medical/diabetes

31j20b3

(275 posts)
8. Thanks... I don't know if my problem is severe. I started wearing them after an event
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 02:05 PM
Yesterday

while rototilling in my garden, which is big by suburban standards because I donate veggies as part of Veggies for Vets

I had no pain after I quit working that day, but I took off my shoes and socks (because I change because of sweaty feet), and my right foot was purple! Calls to the V.A. didn't get help, and I lay down and elevated my foot about 18 inches using a cardboard box. The purple went away in minutes. That resulted in a half dozen or so visits to different clinics in the Milw V.A. hospital.

I've worn the socks everyday since, and I don't get purple foot anymore. However, when I don't wear them, I get swelling in a vein that crosses the top of my right foot (swollen vein tracks left to right). Consequently, I've never questioned if the socks helped me, but in the past few months I"ve had a lot of discomfort with cold feet, even when temps are in the 70's and 80s.

I can't argue with the potential value of presenting it to my doc. But then my doc is new, and new to me also. So in some respects I'm starting over because she want to make sure she does "everything' and doesn;t rely on previous doc.

MY doc of 10 years got kicked out of the Milw clinics to a rural clinic. Not because he was a bad doc. He was an internal med specialist and, he is also a prof at the Wisconsin College of Medicine, but I think more because he is filapino and sadly the place does have patients with race issues. Thank-you Trump administration.

littlemissmartypants

(36,033 posts)
10. It seems like the arterial insufficiency issue may be something to ask your doctor about.
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 02:10 PM
Yesterday

I hope you get things settled. ❤️

EverHopeful

(742 posts)
9. I've been happy with ones that don't fully cover the feet
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 02:09 PM
Yesterday

(they end just before the toes) and come up to just below the knee. The instructions that came with them said to only wear them for 12 hours at a time and not to sleep in them. My Doctor didn't offer any other advice when I told her I was using them but I don't have diabetes, I use them for mild lymphedema.

31j20b3

(275 posts)
11. Thanks. I put mine on about 5 AM and I take them off at about 5:30 pm
Sun Jul 12, 2026, 02:17 PM
Yesterday

The instructions that came with them said to wear them around 12 hours and that's more or less what I've done

If having a pair that reached to the top of my metatarsals rather going to my toes would let blood flow to my forefoot improve I'd do it in a minute. Cold feet has been a sleeping problem for me. I"d like to sleep and not wake in the middle of the night with cold feet

But, maybe things are the best they can be. That would be a drag, but I know I've got a chronic problem and blood flow and peripheral neuropathy is along that same path.

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