I had horrible swelling from my knees to my toes. So bad they thought it was congestive heart failure..luckily it wasn't (my RA dx came a few months later but they're not sure that was the cause so not trying to scare you or anything:-)

Diuretics didn't help the edema. Compression socks & keeping them elevated are what worked for me. It lasted about 6mo altogether.

Hope you get some relief! Take care

Hey girl,

The only time my lower legs/ankles swell up is when I get a bad infection of some sort and when the infections gets under control the swelling goes down so i'm not sure if once you started a diuretic if it'd just be a temp thing. They do sell them OTC you might ask your Dr. if you could try them, the only thing is they all have caffeine in them, so if that's something you try to avoid....

But if you try the OTC ones and get relief it might be a good conversation starter for your Dr....to say, hey I took these and the swelling went down some, can you give me a stronger Diuretic so I can get this under control and get my legs back??

Take care,
Kat

Hi, I have been on & off diuretics for years. They have helped me a little at times. If you are going to take them make sure you try to eat a banana it two a day to help with the potassium that you will lose. You'll find at least I did my toes or legs would cramp up. I am one of the strange ducks that when I wore compression socks or if my legs have been wrapped in ace bandages my ankles and legs swell more.

I get swelling from my knees down. Keep an eye out that your calves are not swelling. If you push your finger in your calf and it leaves an print or your calves start to feel warm you could be getting cellulitis so you will want to call your Dr. Sometimes they need to try a couple different diuretics before they find one that works. This may sound silly but I used to be a Diet Pepsisholic I would drink four to five cans a day. Granted most diet pops only have 35mg of sodium but when I quit drinking it my ankles went down a lot. I switched to Diet Rite as it is salt, caffeine & sugar free. Keep an eye on how much sodium your consuming in a day. We all know that certain meds will make our ankles/legs retain fluid but then you add your daily salt intake on top of that and you end up with what I call Fred Flintstone legs lol.

I sure wish you the best. I hope your edema goes down & your meds work for you. Sorry I babbled so much :) your in my thoughts & prayers. Please keep us updated as to how you are doing.

Hugs & God Bless
Lisa

hi there,
you have been given great advise, yes a diuretic will help with fluid but you also need to know what is causing it. too much salt, fluid , cellulitis, infections. you will need stockings and your legs have to be measured for them by a specialist.
No not always do you have to stay on diuretic. I depends on the diagnosis, if your legs are that bad, then it is bad. keep after your doctor or go to the Er guaranteed they will take it seriously. good luck isabee

I agree.. There has to be a reason why this is happening.
If the swelling in both legs it can be a cause of multiple things.
Medications, for example, like Lyrica or Amlodipine ( Norvasc) can cause swelling in legs and hands.
The doctor can check your kidney function by doing a 24 hour urine collection.
Also a vascular surgeon could look into venous stasis in your legs - some people have naturally weak valves in the veins, legs in particular, because they carry the heaviest load of the body. Extra body mass can only make the problems worse. They do have non-invasive treatments for bad veins.
Diuretic can be a temporary treatment, however some people are on it permanently for different reasons.
Hope you will feel better soon!

Flipflops are a great solution for the days when you have such severe swelling that you cannot jam them into shoes. I have done this on more than one occasion.

As long as you don't have any blood clots in your legs or other medical conditions where it is contraindicated then ask your doctor to prescribe you jobst stockings. You will have to go to a special medical store to get them but it will help with the blood flow in your legs. As long as you do not have diabetes you can get the kind with open toes so that you can wear flip flops on the bad days....I know because I do it.

Prescription diuretics such as lasix, bumex, to name a few are pretty strong and not typically prescribed as first line treatment for swelling in the legs unless you have tried other things and it doesn't work simply because once started it effects your kidney function and electrolytes such as magnesium and potassium.

Easier solutions for a start are the jobst stockings, decrease salt in your diet, and elevate your legs above the heart while sitting or lying down. I would try these methods first before going to meds if it were me. Best of luck to you and keep us posted on how you are doing:)

Water, water and more water. I have swelling in my legs due to kidney disease. I know the most natural way to get the swelling down is to drink lots of water and elevate your legs.

I do follow a low sodium diet of course and the does help too. Walking around is important. I am no longer able to wear flip flops because they don't accommodate swelling sufficiently

I was able to find some shoes that fit at Naturalizer. They offer extra width sizes and different styles that work for swelling. I'm not sure if they are strictly a Canadian company or not. They are rather pricey but if you wait for a sale they do offer good deals. They saved my feet this summer.

I was seriously worried that I might have to wear slippers out...My feet swell up beyond belief after a day out in the heat. One day I spent about 2 hours walking around and it took 3 days to get the swelling back down. Good luck .

Crocs work great when my feet are swollen. If its super bad, I will wear my husbands crocs. Also, the Atkins diet is great for getting rid of extra water in your body.

You might look into natural diuretics. Grapefruit is one, but is contraindicated if you take certain meds.

The painful to the touch sucks. Are they painful only when swollen?