Edema - Brought to you by Buweiser, breakfast of ex-champions

[CrazyTrain]

History: 44 M, dx 5/06 Hep C Geno 1 after a variceal bleed sent me to ER. Had very low VL baseline, SVR now for going on 5 months. Note: Managed to get approved for PegInterferon / Ribo Tx from 3rd specialist I saw, first 2 said no.

I still suffer badly from lower leg ankle and feet swelling up from Edema.

Specialist No 3 said "drink more fluids " ???   ohhh kayyy.

Still with the Fred Flintstone feet - Specialist No 3 did a liver ultrasound - CBC, Metabolic blood test tells me "everything came back OK, you're fine" ohhhh kayyyy, then why are my feet the size of cantelopes ? - "Cut back on fluid intake and take 150mg of Spirolactone/day" ohhh kayyyy.

Is it just me or does something seem contradictory here??

Any advice ??? - I'm gonna go to the zoo and see what Mr. Owl has to say next.

[sindog]

My mother had alot of feet problems and no one could figure out what was wrong. Turned out she had Diabetes. The problem was that she was tested several times and her blood sugar was ok. May not be your problem but just a thought.

[ladybug52]

Has the dr ordered lasix or any other diuretic? Did you see a copy of the labs that showed everything OK? I had posted once that liver damage doesn't just present as swollen abdomen, the feet and ankles are involved as well. Right away a little tiny Hawk stated that she never had swolen ankles with cirrohsis. My father had lots of swelling, and we thought it was congestive heart failure bu it turned out to kidney disease. Not trying to scare you, just that there are many conflicting reasons why this could or might not be your liver.
Here's what I recommend to anyone with swollen feet: Elevate them higher than the heart when lying down to reduce swelling, do ankle ex to increase circulation, walk to get the muscles pumping the fluids out of those feet and back to heart where the circulatory system can run them back thru your kidneys. Did he ultra sound your legs to make sure the circulation is not impaired? Best advice yet, give up on salt, watch for the sodium content in foods. Black listed are sausage, bacon, processed luncheon meat, hot dogs, canned soup, sodas, chips crackers dips,  to make it simple remember this:
If it tastes good--spit it out!:)
bug

[madbrad]

I'm no doctor but I do agree with goldyn......I experience this when I put on a bunch of weight...And I retain water for whatever reason..Which I really attribute to way too much salt in my diet plus the fact I'm not burning it off or sweating.....

[LvdByGod]

sounds like the liver isn't doing its job too well. take a look at this site i give you BELOW, look under "edema" and try posting your question to those guys...  its an awsome site with a ton of info and helpful people like this site, only they are dealing with the later stages of liver disease too when the liver stops working like its suppose to...

one thing i can tell you right off the bat is stop ALL products with alot of salt! on that site they can tell you how much salt to limit yourself to daily.

i had edema and i had to cut out all salt for it to go away... some folks need to start taking meds for it too... the other site has all that info...

hope this helps you... come back here and let us know what you find out...

ps. do you see a hepatologist?  they are much better than a gastrointerologist... they know livers... you would do well to find one in a teaching hospital if possible... or ask your local hospital for some names.

here is that site... you need to sign in but its free...

http://forums.delphiforums.com/liverfailure/messages

[goldyn]

what is your blood pressure sometimes high blood pressure will cause it, and some times maybe too much salt with  bad circulation, im sure you are on a water pill now?