****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I have a collagen mutation called ehlers-danlos syndrome that causes a defect in how my cells stick together to form tissues. I have joint hypermobility that can cause a lot of pain and discomfort. I also have autonomic nervous system issues, and this leads to something called POTS (postural orthodontic tachycardia syndrome). My symptoms right now are mainly tied to how much my blood vessels expand past how much they normally should. This causes my blood to pool in my extremities instead of returning to my heart. My body then gets rushed with adrenaline to get my heart to beat faster, with the intention of getting my blood to move. This causes my vessels to expand further, and get even LESS blood to my heart. My lungs and brain then get even less blood supplies to them, and my blood pressure drops even further. I end up with low blood pressure and a racing heart, which causes anxiety, digestive issues, lightheadedness and sometimes fainting, and fatigue. This whole phenomenon is called POTS and dysautonomia, and can be remedied with electrolyte balance, water hydration (hydration requires electrolytes and water), and prescriptions. I take blood pressure regulators and tons of other medications to help keep this in check, and they do help quite a bit. However, compression helps me A LOT for my joint pain/swelling and my blood pooling. When my symptoms are flaring up, I feel instant relief when I put on compression. It’s a huge relief to be able to wear something that can help me as much as my prescriptions do. Zensah was specifically recommended to me by my medical counselor, who sees hundreds of EDS patients and has EDS herself. I was advised that compression is only its most effective after it’s washed, so I have to wash all of my compression every time I wear it. For this reason, I have multiple pairs of each set (including my leggings). For leggings, it’s pretty standard to wash them every wear. However, things like gloves and arm sleeves may not seem as important to wash every time, so I wanted to specify that. I really like these leggings, and I wish I could get them in plain black with no decorative panels or colors. I do have a larger butt, so it dips down on my backside. For some reason, the blue/turquoise pair I have doesn’t do it as badly as my pink pair does. I am a size 2 short in jeans, but I can only wear high waisted ones (for size reference, I buy all of my jeans at American eagle). The high waist on these makes it so I can wear a small, and get that tight compression I need. I also have a ton of zensah socks and basically every other compression garment they sell, and have had a good experience with all of them. I would seriously die of happiness if I could get a donation of compression to pass out to other people with POTS that are part of my support group. A lot of them don’t have the financial support that I do, and can’t work or go to school. They have to live on disability (once they get it, IF they can get it; which is difficult because EDS is so misunderstood by doctors who don’t specifically specialize in it) and don’t have the means to get things like compression to help give them relief that could possibly help them get back into productive society. It’s really heartbreaking. I buy up as much as I can when the prices are pretty low on amazon, and ship it to their houses if they need it or want to try it.
