There are devices to help you do this -- basically a cylinder on a string. You pull the sock on the bottom of the cylinder, use the string to pull it up, then open the two halves to remove it after the sock's in place. Also, diabetic socks are less constricting and have less or no elastic, which makes them easier to pull on a swollen foot/ankle. :-) And a clothes hanger helps to get underwear on. (I'd pretend I was in a rodeo, trying to "lasso" my foot with the leg hole by throwing it. It made it more fun, and less annoying.)