This is driving me nuts! Edema....

[Katielyn]

Hey everyone!

My question is this. I have had 3 Doppler's, a basic heart test, I have had 3 Podiatrists look at my foot and nothing comes up. Here's what I suffer from:

Chronic low back pain and I mean PAIN at times everyday
have had kidney stones-left side
rotator cuff pain-left side
neck pain/ear pressure-left side


Problem:

I have ankle swelling at times. Not real bad at all, but bad enough where you can tell a difference in my two ankles. If I cross my feet under a desk, you can see an indention of where the other foot was. If stretch my legs out and and put my right foot on top of the left leg, you can see the indention there too. Now, my left foot may puff up now and then but most of the time the foot is okay, it's the ankle. I have had a shin injury that I don't think ever healed properly and the ball of my right foot sometimes hurts when I walk on it (not that often though) I was told that I had a possible hairline crack in the ball under my big toe on that foot, but who really knows. I have had nerve pain on my right foot at times to where they had to put me in one of those boots because I couldn't put a shoe on, but, that's been a long time ago.

I worry because I feel like something is really wrong that no one is seeing or maybe I have seen the wrong Dr's. Any thoughts? Thanks to everyone!

[ibake&pray]

What my therapist told me is that my lymph system wasn't draining right. If your lymphatic system isn't draining, then you get swelling in your ankles that isn't being removed. My PT was training in lymphatic draining. The lymph system operates like a series of locks and dams. It pushes the fluids up your legs. Then it shsuts the gates behind and pushes it farther up the leg, shuts the gate behind...kind of like the suez canal. If your system isn't working right, the fluid isn't being removed and it is pooling in the lower part of your leg..hence the swelling that you see in your leg.

Have you been checked for blood clots? If so, I don't know what else to say except that you need to not cross your legs. Keep your feet elavated. Get up and walk several times a day. When you sleep keep your legs elavated....

[Katielyn]

Originally Posted by ibake&pray

What my therapist told me is that my lymph system wasn't draining right. If your lymphatic system isn't draining, then you get swelling in your ankles that isn't being removed. My PT was training in lymphatic draining. The lymph system operates like a series of locks and dams. It pushes the fluids up your legs. Then it shsuts the gates behind and pushes it farther up the leg, shuts the gate behind...kind of like the suez canal. If your system isn't working right, the fluid isn't being removed and it is pooling in the lower part of your leg..hence the swelling that you see in your leg.

Have you been checked for blood clots? If so, I don't know what else to say except that you need to not cross your legs. Keep your feet elavated. Get up and walk several times a day. When you sleep keep your legs elavated....

I was under the impression that the Doppler test is a test that checks for clots...am I wrong on that? I have had 3 of those tests and all checked out ok. On what you were talking about, did your Dr. tell you what causes it? How do they get it to drain properly?

[texan1771]

Ok I can speak on this subject because I was JUST released form the hospitial 1/31/08 after a 11 day stint for cellulitis and a MASSIVE DVT(Blood clot) in my left thigh,the DVT is a chronic one that I have had for 3 months or longer,I was just put on coumadin for that but BOTH legs were swollen,and the DVT leg had the cellulitis in it.

Ok,the doppler is a test to check for blood clots,it is a good test for that,so if it came back ok than that part,is ok dont worry!!! So you have to go to the next questions
1) Do you sit alot? if so make SURE you keep your legs stretched out as much as possiable,you see if your sitting regular like knees bent in the normal sitting postion your arteries on the backside of your knees become pinched and the bloodflow is sorta pinched off,your legs kinda feel numb and tingling,dont they? well the fluids began building up and your feet and legs swell up!!! plain and simple so make a conscience effort to keep the stretch out so your knees dont pinch off,does that make sense?

I am also overweight that makes the problem worse,but that isnt a overnight task to take care of so I just watch how I am sitting,I stay on the computer alot so I really have to watch it!!!

My Dr. also scoulded me for having my feet crossed at the ankles so take note of that also he said I know you ladies like to cross your legs but that adds to the problem so uncross them !!!! lol this is something you will also have to work on...

And FINALLY elevate your legs as much as possiable!!!! That is a big factor also while I am in bed,I double my boddy pillow in half and have a bunch of pillows I do that for as long as possiable,I am not a back sleeper so when I am reading I have them elevated,when I get ready to sleep I give up and when I am watching TV I use the couch pillows to prop my puppies up!!!!

Please let me know if any of this helps might take a while if they are real swollen a few days possiably,but dont give up!!!

Hope this helps,Ginger

[Katielyn]

Originally Posted by texan1771

Ok I can speak on this subject because I was JUST released form the hospitial 1/31/08 after a 11 day stint for cellulitis and a MASSIVE DVT(Blood clot) in my left thigh,the DVT is a chronic one that I have had for 3 months or longer,I was just put on coumadin for that but BOTH legs were swollen,and the DVT leg had the cellulitis in it.

Ok,the doppler is a test to check for blood clots,it is a good test for that,so if it came back ok than that part,is ok dont worry!!! So you have to go to the next questions
1) Do you sit alot? if so make SURE you keep your legs stretched out as much as possiable,you see if your sitting regular like knees bent in the normal sitting postion your arteries on the backside of your knees become pinched and the bloodflow is sorta pinched off,your legs kinda feel numb and tingling,dont they? well the fluids began building up and your feet and legs swell up!!! plain and simple so make a conscience effort to keep the stretch out so your knees dont pinch off,does that make sense?

I am also overweight that makes the problem worse,but that isnt a overnight task to take care of so I just watch how I am sitting,I stay on the computer alot so I really have to watch it!!!

My Dr. also scoulded me for having my feet crossed at the ankles so take note of that also he said I know you ladies like to cross your legs but that adds to the problem so uncross them !!!! lol this is something you will also have to work on...

And FINALLY elevate your legs as much as possiable!!!! That is a big factor also while I am in bed,I double my boddy pillow in half and have a bunch of pillows I do that for as long as possiable,I am not a back sleeper so when I am reading I have them elevated,when I get ready to sleep I give up and when I am watching TV I use the couch pillows to prop my puppies up!!!!

Please let me know if any of this helps might take a while if they are real swollen a few days possiably,but dont give up!!!

Hope this helps,Ginger

Hi Ginger and thanks so much for your post! I guess I am just so frustrated at this point because, I just didn't realize that this may just be a part of aging...everyone's different. Yes, the dopplers all came back fine. Yes, I do sit with my legs and ankles crossed but like I said, I can do that with the other foot and it's fine...at least it looks way better than the other one, ya know? Yeah, I have noticed that after sitting for awhile, my leg/s do go to sleep..I hate that. I didn't know 40's would do that to a person! It just makes it hard because I only wear shoes that you slide into. Mostly crocs. I miss wearing those nice looking shoes! I love to wear somewhat of a heal shoe and that's even a problem. I will say, that it SEEMED like this all stemmed from when my husband would give me intense foot rubs because it actually would feel really good. It was then one day, I woke up and I couldn't put a shoe on that foot. eventually it went away but, not sure what caused it. I also have pain at the ball of the foot from time to time when I walk on it a certain way and I can not get that area massaged at all because it will set off the pain. I hope you are doing better though!!! Keep us posted on how you are doing!! Take care!