One of the first things that was recommend to us by our doctor when we were first diagnosed with an autonomic condition called POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) was to wear compression leggings (or tights). Due to POTS, our blood vessels do not contract in our legs the way they should so blood tends to pool there which can make a lot of people dizzy, have high heart rates, low blood pressure, and in a lot of cases, faint when standing upright. Wearing compression pants (or as we call them compression leggings) helps push the blood back up to those vital places (aka your head and your heart!) and makes it harder for the blood to pool.

We tend to wear leggings a LOT. One, because they are just extremely comfortable and a great option when you don’t feel like wearing “real” clothes and two, because they actually help us feel better. So it’s basically a win-win if you ask us.

The good thing is that leggings are way more in fashion now than when we were first diagnosed and it’s pretty easy and convenient to find pairs that are compression worthy.

Kate: I actually have a pair of prescription strength compression pants that I got when I was at the Mayo Clinic that are extremely high grade that I don’t wear very often. Because of their strength, they’re a huge pain to get on and off. There are some medical strength tights and leggings that we do love wearing like Rejuva, but we also find that we can wear non-prescription pairs from stores (as well as long as they’re the right fabric and size).

We made a list of some of our favorite, easy to find compression leggings that we wear frequently (that you can get without prescription). Most that we mentioned are considered compression – some are ones that we find worked just as well when bought in the right size. As a rule of thumb when shopping for a pair of leggings that we are using for a compression, we purposely like to go down a size so that they are tighter than usual (but not too tight that they are uncomfortable). We also find that a legging that is a little thicker in fabric tends to work better for a compression fit.

Here we go – compression leggings!

 2XU

WOMEN’S 2XU MID-RISE COMPRESSION TIGHTS $99.95

These leggings were the first brand that was recommended to us by our cardiologist due to their amazing compression and rave reviews from his other patients. They are basically meant for serious runners (which we couldn’t be further from) but they have compression technology in their fabric which makes them also very ideal for POTS patients. These are a great pair of leggings if you are in need of a full strength compression pant. They are a little bit harder to disguise  than your average black legging because they have a sportier look, but they look cute for running errands and pretending you’re a triathlete.

lulu lemon

All The Right Places Pant II $128.00

Lulu Lemon leggings are definitely pricier than your average legging, however, we find that the value in this brand are really worth it. We have pairs that are still in perfect shape that we have purchased years ago & they bounce back after every wash. Most of our more expensive leggings are black so they are versatile & we can get the most use out of them. These are probably one of our favorite and most used pair of leggings – you won’t have any regrets when it comes to buying these.

ALO

HIGH-WAIST AIRBRUSH LEGGING – FACET $102

We found these to fit very similar to the Lulu Lemon Wonder Under leggings (a different style the ones mentioned above). While these aren’t technically compression grade, we found that because of the thick fabric and stretchiness, if we went down in size they worked perfectly for what we needed.

Kate- I got a pair of these as a birthday present and absolutely loved them. They’re a tiny bit thicker than my traditional Lulu Lemon’s which I loved. They’re perfect for traveling – and I just roll the leg up or down depending on the length I want (I like to pull them down over my heals when I’m on a plane or just hanging at home). In my opinion these run bigger so I went down two sizes for a tighter fit.

Old Navy

High-Rise Elevate Compression Leggings  $29.99We find that Old Navy always runs extra big so keep that in mind when shopping for these leggings. Like Target, these leggings are at a much lower price point which we think does come into play when quality and fit are considered. But for the price point, we were still pleasantly surprise with these leggings. Old Navy often has great online promotions and deals so keep an eye out for an even lower price than the one posted above. If it were between these and the Target options, we would choose these.

Spanx

Faux Leather Leggings $98.00
We’ve seen so many reviews and posts about these Faux Leather leggings by Spanx that we had to try a pair out – and oh my goodness these leggings seriously live up to all the hype! They are seriously AMAZING and so versatile; you can dress them up or dress down depending on where you’re going. What initially intrigued us is that Spanx is known for their body shaping that holds you in – which is perfect when you need compression. They aren’t listed as high waisted but we would 100% count these as high waisted. With over thousands of promising reviews on Nordstrom, these leggings are everything they are promised to be and more and the sheen sets them apart from the standard black legging.

Target

High-Waisted Leggings 25″ – C9 Champion $24.99 These aren’t bad and we are a huge Target fans in general, but we have found that you kind of get the you pay for when it comes to the quality of leggings. If you don’t have $100 to invest in a pair of leggings then these can be a solid alternative and you can test if you feel any beneficial differences.