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20838566 tn?1530158369

How to cure my specific Edema?

I am a 64-year-old man, 6 years separated from my wife. Living as a bachelor, I've found it difficult to take care of my health.

My lower legs, ankles, and feet are swollen to the point of physical discomfort, making it difficult even to walk. My skin in these areas is so tight it is painful to touch.

What little I know of Edema, this could be related to my sedate living and poor diet, I just don't know without expert opinion. Affecting changes in both exercise and diet would be most difficult without adequate expert advice. The following are the specifics for both my lack of exercise and poor diet:

Exercise - I am retired and spend most of my waking hours in my computer desk chair. I maintain no schedule for my wake and sleep times, so I often am at my computer throughout the night and fall asleep at odd hours.

Diet - I spend as little time as I can shopping for and preparing my foods, so I've been eating, for the most part, hot roasted chicken from the deli, frozen pizza(both with plenty of hot sauce), baked french fries with lots of red ketchup, spicy hot potato chips, more ice cream than I should, green leafy salad with a Caesar dressing on occasion, yogurt of various flavors, and I drink lots of beer daily and nothing else. Sometimes I enjoy a large Seven-Eleven Columbian coffee with Hazelnut creamer and honey.

All my life I've been healthy with very little illness, going for years without even the flu without ever taking a flu shot. I was very active all day long each and every day and was fed very find and healthy foods, all lovingly prepared by the women in my life. All this has changed for me for the last 6 years, having been separated from my wife. Now, due to my lack of exercise, and poor diet, I've gained about 50 pounds, now at around 225 lbs. I have shrunk to about 5'10". Because my middle has become so fat, I can't even reach down to trim my toenails, and heaven help me if I drop something to the floor because it takes my breath away picking it up.

I really don't know what else to add, but it's certain that any changes in these areas should be most difficult, nay impossible without firm and expert direction, granting me confidence in following.

Thank you for considering my circumstances,
Bob
1 Responses
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Avatar universal
Hey Bob, you have lower extremity edema. Unfortunately, from your history I see two possible causes of your lower extremity edema (both are not good).

The first is congestive heart failure (due to genetics plus the added stress of your recent years) , and the second is liver failure (due to the drinking).

I recommend seeing a doctor ameliorate the symptoms through diuretics (Lasix), heart medications, and a check up on your liver.

While you could have less harmless, idiopathic edema, the first two diagnoses need to be excluded.

Please see your doctor ASAP.
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3 Comments
wow, you may have extended my life for a period, thank you db0255
No problem. The cause needs to be investigated for sure.
I just dumped my first beer of the day, and the case will go to those with fewer problems with drinking. Today I will seek out a Cardiologist and a Liver Specialists at my local hospital. I shall update my status here afterward. Thank you again for your prompt response.
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