What is Obesity
Obesity is a condition in which the natural energy reserve, stored in the fatty tissue of humans and mammals is increased to a point where it is thought to be a significant risk fa...
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Edema problems.
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I know I've not been around, and I know I've not been a good support to any of you and I'm sorry. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things here. My health hasn't been well, and it's been all weight related as of recent.
The most recent? These sores on my legs that we're thinking are from my severe edema in my legs/ankles/feet. And I mean BAD! My calves are so swollen, my feet hardly fit in shoes, my ankles you can hardly make out, my knee caps are covered by fluid. I was on Lasix at one point but asked to be put off of it because it didn't do more then send me to the bathroom. Maybe I didn't give it enough time to work? Anyhow been on it and have an idea on how long it'd take for it to pull the fluid effectively down so it's noticable. My comfort level is so low, I can't do anything physically cuz my legs get worse when I'm up on my feet. The sores won't heal. My doctor put me on an antibiotic and did a wound culture for the lab to make sure it's not infected. But my aunt, who's an RN, who's seen this a lot, feels it could be the edema that is causing the sores to be like this. I'm slowly getting more as time goes on. I started with two, but the two get to be bigger as time goes on, and then a third one popped up, now another is starting and it looks like little bubbles are trying to pop up on my skin in the calves. They're just little bumps at this point. But then my father-in-law went and told me of a friend of his who had these blisters from edema that got a staph infection and he couldn't beat the staph and died from complication from it. Scared me into going back on the Lasix, so I'm trying to get my doctor to call me back. I never realized that edema could cause something this serious and I want no part of it. But I'm scared. And I can't find a single support group online for just straight edema support. It's mostly lymphedema, and that isn't what I have. If you have any support or words of advice or you can relate, please let me know and we can support one another! I know I could use the support. I'm walking blind in this one and I'm scared. Posted on 04/16/07, 04:04 pm |
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Have you done searches on line with your symptoms? My daughter did that and was finally able to tell her doctor what she had. The doctor agreed and scheduled an MRI which pinpointed the problem.
Doctors go through a playlist of sorts when they see a problem. Some are open to suggestions from their patients, some aren't. The more you know going in to the doctor's, the better it is for you. Keep pushing the doctor for an answer. If this doctor doesn't want to work with you, find another. There are good doctors and uncaring doctors ... I've had both these last couple of years. Some medications can cause these symptoms ... like prednisone. Make sure your doctor knows all the meds you're taking and do searches on line to find all the side effects. Another daughter has a spot on her ankle which just won't go away. The doctors are stumped but they're leaning towards Morphia. At least she has a doctor now who will work with her and keep at it until he figures out what's going on and what to do to fix it. Hang in there! 
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My experience is certainly not as severe as yours, but I find that excercize helps me with my edema. Just get up and do what you can. Cutting back on the calories helps too. I know that these can be difficult steps to take, but I learned the hard way (and I am still learning)
Doug
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I've attempted the cut the calories thing and it doesn't work for me. I can't take weight off. I'm working with a doctor on this issue as well. Got the wound culture back yesterday and they say it's a "simple but common staph bacteria" and will be treated fine with the antibiotic that she's got me on. As far as excercise goes, the edema is so bad and the weight is so high that it causes me an unreal amount of pain to even do it. I walk 200 feet now and I'm in major pain. I just do my walking to and from my many appointments at this point. The doctor yesterday basically gave me this bed rest sort of order to get the swelling down, and she wrote a script for ted stockings up to the thigh so we can get the swelling from the knee cap down to go down and stay down. I do definitely research my symptoms, and they just seem to match a simple plain old weight induced edema at this point. I am working with a wonderful doctor (well, technically nurse practitioner) who is very receptive to things I have to say and suggest, so that hasn't been a problem this far. I'm hoping to get the ted stockings on Friday. Hopefully my insurance will kick in again by then. Time will tell. I need my insurance reactivated by my financial worker before I can get the stockings as my insurance will cover them 100%, so I need to wait for that cuz these things are not cheap. They're medical grade, specially measured so they fit you best and pull the swelling down best. She didn't want me to buy over the counter ones this time. I tried those and they didn't work the first time. So hopefully this treatment will work. She figured if Lasix didn't work for me the first time, it won't this time. She said if you get results, you get them fairly quickly, and I just didn't. So hopefully the stockings are the trick. Thanks so much for your support!
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I have a similar problem though not as severe as Angelethan's. Mine is bursitis in my hip. Any amount of walking causes great pain for days. I went shopping with two of my granddaughters on Friday and I'm still feeling the effects. The weather didn't help. A little dampness and I'm in pain again. Last week I had a couple of days relatively painfree so when the pain came back again, it was very depressing.
I can relate to wanting to exercise but not being able. People just don't always understand pain at a level that keeps one from moving. Hips are involved in every movement, walking, sitting, lying, so there's no way to just 'rest' it like one would do with other points of bursitis. At least you've got a good doctor. I'll be seeing a rhuemotologist next week ... finally. My last doctor just kept saying it would go away.
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thank you all so much for your shares! i so appreciate it! i'm having issues getting the compression stockings that my nurse practitioner prescribed. my inches are about half an inch too large. but one place said the ones they have may work, so we'll see. hopefully they'll work! i need something to stop this swelling, or at least minimize it some. the sores on my legs seem to be getting a bit better. at least i'm not getting any more at this point, and that's what's important for me. they're not as "weepy" as they started, so hopefully this means that the antibiotic is working on the bacteria that was in there. not much else on the edema front. i need to post in my other communities tho. lol.
~heather
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How much water are your drinking each day?
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I'm hoping the stockings will fix you up girl! Lasix has never worked for me either. My doctor told me to wear stockings too, but I don't, don't like those things. I had a car wreck when I was younger and that ankle keeps swelling and hurting from time to time. Stays red most of the time. Doug had excellent advise. I have definitely found when I lose some weight, any amount, it helps soooo much. Plus I do leg exercises to keep everything circulating. They did a muscle test, circulatation test and MRI on it and it showed nothing. They call my ailment, vein insufficiency. But I don't think it is. I wish you the best but please try another fluid pill, and drink drink drink and lose a few pounds and hopefully you will see a big difference like I did. It won't go away but it will improve. Good luck!
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