MCTD Support Group
Mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) or Sharp's syndrome is a human autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the body. MCTD combines features of polymyositis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and systemic scleroderma and is thus considered an overlap syndrome. MCTD commonly causes joint pain/swelling, Raynaud phenomenon, muscle inflammation, and scarring of...
Trying to be a normal person. Spending the week in Florida with my teenage daughter and trying to enjoy our beach vacation like I used to. I know the sun is a no no but I justify it to myself out if guilt and tell myself it is okay because I am low on vitamin D. One symptom I cannot ignore is swelling in my face, hands and feet. When I wake up in the morning....err afternoon, I am so swollen I feel like I have been beaten up in my sleep. Too hard to tell if it is the disease or the medication...I'm on Plaqueinil, Prednisone, Ambien, Baclofen, Tramadol, Vitamin D and B12, Lortab, Prilosec, Tums, Cymbalta, to name a few. Anyone else have problems with edema? The weight gain from Prednisone combined with the edema is making me feel like a stuffed pig!
Mary Ann
I used this remedy for reducing swelling: http://www.progressivehealth.com/catalog/water-retention-remedy/
And MToennis is correct. Edema can be caused by an imbalance of one of the three major electrolytes: sodium, potassium, or magnesium.
Prednisone causes an excess of sodium and a deficiency of potassium. So you need to get those two back in balance and then you need to use some sort of natural diuretic to get rid of the excess fluids. Be aware that water pills cause an electrolyte imbalance which can cause the edema to come back.