Less is More? Maybe not

Since meeting my new orthopedic specialist I've been trying to follow his advice. I've cut out most fried food (potato chips still get me occasionally), started taking fish oil, began doing closed chain exercises such as squats, stopped running and switched to a bike. The only piece of advice I am having a hard time with at the moment is the brace. I can't find one that works.
When this all started I was told that I may have to wear a knee brace during activities for the rest of my life. Planning on living to 130 (jk) I think that's a long damn time so I want to find a brace that fits under my clothes and supports my knee. Once my kneecap had healed I was happy to start wearing a Breg Shortrunner neoprene knee brace. At first it was great, I could run and walk again without feeling like someone was slowly letting the air out of my tire (aka knee). Then summer came and the horrible idea that is neoprene in warm weather slapped me in the face. As soon as the temperature rose I started developing hives, even after washing the brace by hand daily. On top of that my calf would become swollen within a mile, causing my foot to start to fall asleep. It was beyond frustrating trying to run like that. I stopped wearing it but used the straps it had to wrap around my thigh and calf as a sort of half-measure (with a lot of hope). That worked okay, but my knee pain increased as my running became more consistent and I still had my "dead foot" issue, even without the full brace.
I explained all this to my new doctor and he gave such a disgusted face when I said the brace was neoprene I had to laugh. Unfortunately his solution, a more fabric-like brace comes with super-revolutionary side hinges that are a type of plastic (designed to be molded) and not metal. My insurance company apparently does not like hinges made of anything but metal so unless I can pony up the money for this new brace, I'm out of luck.
So began my search for a cheaper alternative. After too many hours on amazon I found a very economical version-and I could buy one at Walmart of all places. It did not come with hinges, but really, I don't think I need them per say. I don't do a lot of side pivoting (at least not now that I'm off trail running for the time being), so I bought this little elastic knee support for the grand total of $13 and prayed it would help take the hitch out of my step at the end of each day.
When I tried it on it felt fine, a bit snug but otherwise it fit as it was supposed to. It didn't take long though for the top of the support to start rolling down (even though I had bought the correct size and it was a very short brace, just covering the knee) and after only a few hours of wearing it my calf started to feel too snug. I took it off in the office washroom to find the fabric imprinted on my now swollen knee. Ugh. Back to the drawing board. I am starting to wonder if a brace even exists that won't cut off the circulation to my calf? The search continues.