Legs swelling up bad

[Gaz22]

I have had swelling in my legs before, But have got bad again in last five weeks, Bendroflumethiazine tablets not making me wee anymore than usual anymore and compression socks do not work anymore, My right leg is worse then left and right is painful,Seen doctor today and said I have to have a blood test to see now my heart is working and an ECG if all is clear he is asking cardiology for advice, Anyone had any similar issues

[Tos92]

Hi   Gaz22

I’m sorry to hear about your recent flare up with your swelling in your right leg.

My mum does suffer with swelling in her legs, however it is most often during the hot weather or due to water retention. This isn’t consistent however.

The doctor seems to be on the right track in terms of checking your heart to make sure everything is okay in that aspect of things. How far away are your appointments?

Sometimes it’s worth ruling out things like DVT (deep vein thrombosis) but with your doctor doing the blood test, hopefully they will check your D Dimer which would give some indication of any possible developing blood clots, although a D Dimer can be raised due to other factors as well.

If you start experiencing an increase in pain in your leg, also accompanied by chest pain, please call 111 or 999.

Hopefully others will be by with their experiences.

All the best.

Tos

[Gaz22 in reply to Tos92]

Thanks for your reply, My appointments are just over 2 weeks away, I had test for heart failure two years back which was ok, I do a lot of standing at work for 10 hour shift which does not help

[Yumz199725]

Aw im so sorry for you. I haven't had anything like this but I wish you all the best hope the swelling goes down. 😔. Hopefully your gp can give you a higher dose of water tablet maybe. My friend who has heart failure she has very swollen legs 24/7 and certain water tablets help but lower her blood pressure too much hopefully that dosent happen to you.

[Gaz22 in reply to Yumz199725]

Thanks for your reply, I asked the. Doctor about giving me a higher dose of water tablets but does not want to do that at the moment

[Yumz199725 in reply to Gaz22]

Aw ok sorry to hear, hope you your ecg and blood tests show what's causing so much swelling 😕😔

[Gaz22 in reply to Yumz199725]

Thanks will keep you updated, Thanks again

[10gingercats]

This was diagnosed for me at the hospital as haemasiderin........ a collection of blood in lower limbs where the blood pools in small veins under the skin and cannot return to the heart,as it normally would ....also called venal insuffiency .The swelling went down for me with a combination of furosimide and spironolactone. but the brown marks have not gone away and are merely rather 'nasty' to look at. No pain or itching. ideally , you need to be seen in the venal (veins) dept .I was not due seen there due to the dept undergoing some problems at the time. So it was dealt with by Dermatology and Geriantology.

[Gaz22 in reply to 10gingercats]

Thanks for your reply, I also was on furosemide a few years ago which worked ok for me than doctor changed the tablets to Bendroflumethiazine, I asked the doctor or I could go back on furosemide but would not do that, He wants to see the results of ECG and blood tests results when I have had my appointment's, The cardiologist did explain the brown marks on my lower legs as you say blood collecting in lower legs leaving iron behind

[Heilung18-Gesund in reply to Gaz22]

Dear Gazz22,

Your pedal/lower leg edema may arise from many factors - medication-induced, a deterioration in cardiac/renal/hepatic function, lymphedema, venous stasis/DVT - whatever the causes: bendroflumethiazine as a thiazide diuretic is bound to be weaker than furosemide, and you may have suffered from impaired diuresis since the switch.

Unless your renal function has become impaired, a return to furosemide, or the combination of furosemide with thiazide, or of furosemide with spironolactone as mentioned, may restore effective diuresis.

Leg swelling should be least prominent after a night’s rest - maybe you can apply support hose then for improved control.

Also, if you have to stand a lot, contracting your leg muscles or moving legs will enhance your venous return and lessen edema.

I hope you can access your lab tests and MD appointment sooner than stated. All the best,

TB

[Gaz22 in reply to Heilung18-Gesund]

Thank you for your reply, I used to wear compression socks for work but they no longer work my feet still swell up. Mostly my job is standing up for about 10 min then going over and going next part of job sitting down so half my day standing and half sitting down , I do go out for a walk at dinner time 30 min to get my legs moving, I will keep you updated, I have a few days away in the lake District soon walking so I will see what I am like then, Thanks again for your reply

[Just-Wanna-Run]

I get swollen ankles and feet, especially in the warmer weather and when I fly anywhere, which I regularly do for my job. I had a thorough check over by the cardiologist and nothing serious was causing it. I am taking felodipine which has a known side effect of swelling. They halved my dose and the swelling has improved massively. I now only get it on rare occasions. If you're taking any medications, it's worth reading through the leaflet for any side effects of swelling.

[Cee-Cee1]

Oh Gaz - that looks so painful! Hopefully the GP will be able to get you sorted when you get to see them. As you say, don't think all the standing-up in your job will be helping - is there any way you could get more frequent breaks or sit-downs, it might help a wee bit in the meantime. I've got quite small feet so have always had to buy kids socks which are usually too tight round the ankle even though my legs are quite skinny - I recently found 'diabetic' ankle socks in smaller sizes on Amazon which are really quite loose and a bit more comfy. My sister wears those trainer socks which might help a little. Carol

[Gaz22 in reply to Cee-Cee1]

Thanks for your reply, I have asked if I can shorten my working day by 1.5 hours per day and they have said NO ,Its hard standing in the same place working from 7.30 am till 5.30 pm four days a week

[Cee-Cee1 in reply to Gaz22]

I'm sure it is, Gaz - that's awful of them, they're not being very helpful with your illness (to say the least!). Hopefully you'll get some more answers once the test results come back and maybe get to speak with the cardiologist. Let us know how you get on if you have time. Carol

[Cavalierrubie]

That looks so painful and hope you soon get to the bottom of it. My daughter gets Cellulitis in her leg and she said for any condition like yours you mustn’t wear socks, but you probably already know this and probably can’t anyway. The doctor will know from the blood test if it is infection or blood clot, but if he thought it was serious he would have sent you straight to hospital, so try not to worry. Obviously if it gets worse then get help.

[Gaz22 in reply to Cavalierrubie]

Thanks for your reply, The only time I do wear socks is with my walking boots and trainers, I do a lot of walking, I had a week off work the other month walking and cycling and had no problems with my feet swelling all week

[Cavalierrubie in reply to Gaz22]

It could be a fungal infection from sweating. Let us know how you are and try not to worry. Easier said than done l know but your doctor has seen you and is on it, so hope you soon get some answers.

[Gaz22]

Will keep you updated,Thanks