Ariaden
01-31-2007, 05:58 PM
hello everyone. i have a question about circulation. i'm a caregiver and the lady i'm working for is 82 years old, and has type 1 diabetes. she has very poor circulation and can't excersize and has big red spots around her ankles and her feet and legs are always soo swolen. i hate to see her suffer so much so i'm going to try and find anything i can that will help. i massage her legs every day for 30 minutes to increase the blood circulation. it helps for a while but the redness will come right back. she takes water pills for them but it's just not enough. she can't really walk around that much so i was wondering is there is any kind of exercise bike or pedal thingie that she can use? they bought htis one thing that was just pedals to a bike but it was too high for her. is there anything that would be low to the ground and wouldn't be too much work at all? just enough to get her legs goin? or maybe some kind of herbal tea? or something that she can add to her diet to increase the blood flow? i'm very worried that she might loose her feet that's why i'm trying everything i can to keep those suckers on!
tfkeel
01-31-2007, 09:36 PM
I don't know much about exercise equipment, but laying a couple of foam pillows beneath her feet and against a back-stop would provide a short-travel "pumping" arrangement which would be easy to "pedal". She could even do this while lying down if you arrange it for her.
May I suggest that if she already doesn't limit her carbs, there is a natural diuretic effect of this. Also, oxygen is a good natural diuretic. It might, if her doctor would prescribe it, help her in a lot of ways. I don't know how her saturation levels are. Of course, limiting salt in her diet would be good, too, as salt makes the body retain fluid.
May your efforts to care for her be blessed.
Harry
02-01-2007, 01:06 AM
In addition to the previous suggestions -- get a form type pillow and elevate her leg so it is above her heart.
God Bless
HannahAnn
02-01-2007, 02:07 PM
I have an inexpensive device which is just two pedals that are put flat on the ground. The person simply pushes up and down on them from a sitting position. This kind of device is available in most health cataglogues. Anything that would get her to move her legs should be helpful. And you might ask her doctor if there is any medication that could help.
Thank you for being so caring!
