I go for walks with our dog and I feel like my legs swell after a walk and my knees feel more achy. They usually go down during the night. I noticed sometimes it happens more if I ate too much salt for the day. Right now I'm not on any meds until I see my doctor. If the swelling get worse I will have to go back to the doctor for some meds. Enbrel kept my legs from swelling. I had a problem with heart palpitations while on it so I went off it for awhile.

Have you ever tried the supplement Zyflamend for inflammation? It has tumeric, ginger, green tea extract and some other good things for inflammation. Dr Andrew Weil suggested it. They have it in the arthritis magazines also. You can get it at the GNC stores.

Yes, exactly as you said......I swim, do water exercise exactly how you do.........and yes, my right knee swells and hurts. It used to be the front/sides of knee but now, for a couple years at least, it is behind my knee, that swells. I once went to a sports doctor (ortho doc) and asked him about it, and the jerk told me it is because I am fat.
Yes, I am fat, thank you very much , but it is just the one knee, and I know because it is my knee, that it is swollen, not fat , there.
*that was prior to me getting diagnosed with RA. When I mention anything to my RA doc, he makes notes about it, and it helps him in his overall tracking of my RA activity but he just basically nods and says it's from the RA.
Everything on my right side is worse than the left. my right ring finger is the most noticable as it is so swollen , always...and cannot be bent.
the pinkie one next to it, is going , too. my right knee, my right foot, ankle, etc.....
sorry about my rant. I'm in a "mood" today ! Tired of being tired, and being in pain.
All I can say to your question is you are already doing what my RA doctors have suggested, which is water exercise and also, to not do it every day.
you may want to try cold compresses, after workout...and soaking in Epsom salt bath feels really good.....you'd be amazed.
Using an ointment such as Ben Gay or whatever you want , after that, and maybe taking NSAID or something that reduces inflammation prior to the swimming.
oh, and put your legs up when you have the time ! Even 5-10 minutes is better than not at all. I like to put mine up on my big exercise ball, while I lay on the floor.
only until my dog decides to jump on my tummy or face. :)

ThisToo,
It sounds like you have much inflammation in your knee. I had swelling behind my knee (bakers cyst) and in my calf. When the swelling got too bad I got a cortisone shot in my knee then it was good for a couple of years. One time the Rheumy tested the fluid from my knee and it had crystals in it like gout. Excess swelling is from RA not weight. Weight only causes some swelling.

Hi nomorera,You are so right that exercise is supposed to be good for us. I am usually too tired to exercise once I come home from a day of work. My right knee is badly swollen now. With the Noreaster, here on the east coast, traffic and driving was a mess. I took the express train only to get off and have no buses running into my town. I live about 3 and a half o 4miles or so from the train station. I had to walk from the train station to home in the pounding storm. I am not a walker, not for that distance. needless to say this afternoon at work I started limping and my knee is very much swollen. You can feel the fluid that has accumulated in the knee and it is painful to bend when going up and down stairs. I came home and took a Tramadol and later a Motrin. Took a hot whirlpool bath, have the leg elevated and using an ace bandage.
Would it help for you to ice your knee after you come out of the water to prevent swelling?Nsaids? The supplement that ILove Huskies mentioned sounds like they would be worth a try. keep us posted. Hope you are feeling better soon.

thanks all. I do use Turmeric and anit inflammatories but trying to get off the anit inflamms as they are bad for the stomach and liver. I am thinking of looking into a brace for knee that I can use when swimming. Other than that I have no idea what to do about it. Icing does help some but it seems to swell in the middle of night and I wake up to swelling. I tried the zyfammend and wasn't impressed with the results but that was some time ago. I may have to try it again. Thanks for the suggestions.

yes swelling and pain after exercise is a big problem, my goal is to be able to get back to the gym at least doing a small amt of what I did before the beast attacked me.

My medications have been working so well for me that I was able to start running over a year ago. I do have pain and inflamation in my right knee and hips after a long run. (6 to 10 miles) I have been off all NSAID's since a GI bleeding hospital stay in 2010, but I have found that wearing an elastic knee sleeve while running helps a great deal. As for the hip pain I just use compression shorts durring the run and ice after. I am training to run the Space Coast Half Marathon November 25 and have been built up to running 30 miles per week for the past 4 weeks. It is not without pain, but the pain levels are quite managable or I would not run.

i use ice bag on them for half hour almost everyday till i feel better also i do the same when i had flare in my hands or my feet

Gosh nomoerera! I think I could have written your post!

It sounds like what I experience after I exercise even a little or have to walk or stand more than usual during the day. I wish I had some advice to offer but I will be watching this post for some other hints!

Hope it gets better!

K.J.

Sometimes, for us, exercise is not good! My rheumy has said when there is pain, there is permanent damage. And to only exercise in ways and to a degree that doesn't result in pain or swelling.
Exercise causes sime inflammation in everyone (muscles break down and ar rebuilt ) but healthy immune systems can handle this. Our overactive immune systems cannot, it can even trigger a flare. I do water exercise and walk my dogs (little dogs, thank goodness). And I have learned to listen to the signals of when it's enough-- before the pain and swelling. My rheumy has assured me once we find the right medication(s), I will be able to exercise more vigorously.

I'm finding that exercise is a tricky one. I have walked to and from work for years, decades actually. I have been continuing to do this since The Beast reared its ugly head this spring. If I don't do it, my stiffness and pain is much worse all day. But, the other night I had to walk somewhere else on a much hillier route, and boy, did I pay for that!