Aa
leg swelling
for several years i get horrible swelling to my lower extremities off and on. it can last for days at a time, when push on the swelling it leaves deep indention that takes awhile to go away. elevating my legs doesn't even get rid of this fluid, i try otc diurectics and i have tried increasing my fluid intake sometimes to see if that helps. i am only 38 years old female and i dont understand why i have this problem. one time the only way i could get the swelling gone was to take saline laxatives several times in a 3 day period. what is wrong with me
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
I completely agree with both Caregiver and Surgimenopause. Usually conditions of heart, kidney, liver or low protein or severe anemia, which cause ankle and leg swelling cause both ankles to swell. Hence if both ankles and leg are swelling then you will need to get heart function assessed by ECHO and EKG, TMT, get kidney and liver function tests done and get a complete blood picture for anemia. Low sodium in blood, hypothyroidism and malabsorption syndromes causing low protein in blood have to be looked into.
Hope this helps. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
I completely agree with both Caregiver and Surgimenopause. Usually conditions of heart, kidney, liver or low protein or severe anemia, which cause ankle and leg swelling cause both ankles to swell. Hence if both ankles and leg are swelling then you will need to get heart function assessed by ECHO and EKG, TMT, get kidney and liver function tests done and get a complete blood picture for anemia. Low sodium in blood, hypothyroidism and malabsorption syndromes causing low protein in blood have to be looked into.
Hope this helps. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!
SurgiMenopause has provided excellent advice. Especially about liver function.
The problem is to find a physician who will pay attention to you. Especially if you have a health-care plan that limits the selection. Easier said than done, in many cases.
Often you have a nice family physician and don't want to hurt his feelings.
Other doctors are also reluctant to "poach" patients.
The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and you have to be polite and insistant. Do not hesitate to find another physician if you do not get answers.
A good work-up by a competent team of physicians (try a teaching hospital) should get to the root of your problem. When the symptoms are severe, you might try an emergency room in a teaching hospital, and hope their admit you. A few days of evaluation in a teaching hospital, where a student is assigned to find out what is wrong with you, would be ideal. This can be quite expensive if you don't have insurance.
I know you has a prescription for the Lasix, and I suspect you were given a bit of short-shrift by the provider.
The problem is these symptoms are yellow flags, and there are many physical malfunctions that can be treated if caught early enough. There is often a weight-related issue. Often this is caused by endochrine system malfunction, so a visit to an endochronologist might be in order.
The problem is to find a physician who will pay attention to you. Especially if you have a health-care plan that limits the selection. Easier said than done, in many cases.
Often you have a nice family physician and don't want to hurt his feelings.
Other doctors are also reluctant to "poach" patients.
The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and you have to be polite and insistant. Do not hesitate to find another physician if you do not get answers.
A good work-up by a competent team of physicians (try a teaching hospital) should get to the root of your problem. When the symptoms are severe, you might try an emergency room in a teaching hospital, and hope their admit you. A few days of evaluation in a teaching hospital, where a student is assigned to find out what is wrong with you, would be ideal. This can be quite expensive if you don't have insurance.
I know you has a prescription for the Lasix, and I suspect you were given a bit of short-shrift by the provider.
The problem is these symptoms are yellow flags, and there are many physical malfunctions that can be treated if caught early enough. There is often a weight-related issue. Often this is caused by endochrine system malfunction, so a visit to an endochronologist might be in order.
You don't want to be taking saline laxatives or drinking more fluids for the problem you are describing. And you should be under the care of a physician regarding diuretics.
1. You need to be evaluated by a cardiologist to be sure you don't have congestive heart failure, a cause of edema. (The swelling you are describing is called edema).
2. You need to have your kidneys and their function checked, including getting a GFR (glomerular filtration rate which is estimated doing blood testing and tells how well your kidneys are functioning), to make sure you don't have kidney failure or nephrotic syndrome (also causes of edema).
3. You need liver testing to make sure you don't have cirrhosis, another cause of edema.
4. They should also rule out Cushing's syndrome, which can have edema as a symptom.
1. You need to be evaluated by a cardiologist to be sure you don't have congestive heart failure, a cause of edema. (The swelling you are describing is called edema).
2. You need to have your kidneys and their function checked, including getting a GFR (glomerular filtration rate which is estimated doing blood testing and tells how well your kidneys are functioning), to make sure you don't have kidney failure or nephrotic syndrome (also causes of edema).
3. You need liver testing to make sure you don't have cirrhosis, another cause of edema.
4. They should also rule out Cushing's syndrome, which can have edema as a symptom.
You have what is called pitting edema, and you require an evaluation by a physician.
There are several possibile etiologies, from the heart to malfunctioning kidneys.
Saline laxatives are inappropriate.
1000 mg a day of crystaline vitamin C is a mild diuretic, but you need to find out the reason for the swelling.
A good physician should be able to determine what is wrong.
If this has not been done, find another one.
There are several possibile etiologies, from the heart to malfunctioning kidneys.
Saline laxatives are inappropriate.
1000 mg a day of crystaline vitamin C is a mild diuretic, but you need to find out the reason for the swelling.
A good physician should be able to determine what is wrong.
If this has not been done, find another one.
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