Edema anyone?

[Trevgrrl]

Do any of you have edema? That is swelling of the ankles and feet? I'm having an awful time with it. I take a water pill in the morning to pee it all out, but that barely works. Does prednisone cause edema?

[SheffieldJane]

I think so. Even around the face, neck, stomach, fingers ( some rings fit sometimes). Not sure of the remedy unless a low sodium diet might help.

[Funnyoldworld]

I do! Some days are better than others though and it seems a bit arbitrary. I'm just starting my third week of treatment on prednisolone and when I mentioned it to my GP this week she advised that once I start moving away from my 'acute' dosage it should improve. She seems to be quite reasonable, focused on getting me moving properly again and without pain first, she said we could address my side effects after that. I could do with a prescription for shoes I can get on though!

This too shall pass x

[Trevgrrl in reply to Funnyoldworld]

I'm embarrassed to wear my slippers out in public!

[YuliK]

Good morning Tregrrl 🌹

Yes I do too..

Salty foods are definitely a no no.

Try elating your feet on a pillow at night.

Sometimes my ankles are looking like tree trunks and other times like sparrows ankles.

Summer months don't help either. Probably because we drink more fluids. Sitting for long periods of time. with feet in a normal sitting position ..voila, swollen ankles.

We can't win, all we can do is try to avoid the above. , which is also contributing to edema.

Feel better.

YuliK

[SnazzyD]

Hello. Pred makes you retain sodium which then causes fluid retention. Therefore cut out salt. In my case even trace salt was no good. The doc knows and isn’t worried so try that but please don’t be tempted to avoid drinking so much because you need to keep your waterworks going and it helps prevent infection there which is more likely when on Pred.

[Hildalew in reply to SnazzyD]

Dammit, one of my favourite, occasional, foods is tinned anchovies. Because of these posts I have just looked at the traffic lights on the tin - one whole tin gives 75% of the recommended daily intake of salt! I rarely eat a whole tin in a day, but it has been known! Strong reprimand to self - as well as being rigorous at looking at the sugar content of stuff, look at the salt!

[Hidden in reply to Hildalew]

That's what anchovy is for. Salt seasoning....thought when I last ate fish and meat they didn't come in the form.they do now. Could you try pilchards or sardines in oil or 🍅. My dog love the tomato versions and much less salt.

tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/p...

[Hildalew in reply to Hidden]

Precisely, that's what anchovies are for. I already eat sardines, and pilchards, and, less often, because of the price, mackerel, and enjoy them a lot, but an egg mayonnaise accompanied by anchovy (and lettuce or some other green leaf) is my current snack/light lunch of choice when I want to give myself a treat. If I can't resist anchovy, I guess I'll have to soak them in milk or whatever it said in recipes I have read in the past and just make do with a severely reduced saltiness. Sad.

[Hidden in reply to Hildalew]

It is when you have to not have a favourite. You have made yourself want it writing about it haven't you.😂😂😂

[SnazzyD in reply to Hildalew]

I couldn’t eat any tinned fish of any sort, it was ridiculous.

[Hildalew in reply to SnazzyD]

Why was that?

[SnazzyD in reply to Hildalew]

Salt

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Pred can cause fluid retention, especially if you use salt in your food. I get swollen ankles after easing out a coupld of days in a row!

How long have you been on that diuretic? Your body gets used to a diuretic and sometimes you need it to be changed or the dose increased over time. You need to discuss it with your doctor. My husband had a couple of hospital stays before they managed to get his right and it still has to be juggled.

[gifford7]

It could be RS3PE which is related to PMR. see:

healthunlocked.com/search/p...

RS3PE

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to gifford7]

It is unlikely as Trevgrrl is still on over 20mg pred and that should be enough to manage RS3PE.

[Blearyeyed]

Try keeping your legs raised 90 degrees to your hips when you are sitting down on a chair , it helps reduce the swelling and the discomfort of it.

Reducing your sodium in your diet and coffee helps .

Keep drinking fluids though as this does encourage the edema to clear by promoting kidney function . Like giving your plumbing a jump lead !!

Walking about , just a little potter for a few minutes every half hour helps improve circulation in the ankles and clear the retention.

Or doing ankle rotations also helps.

Try increases Magnesium in your diet or supplements too.

[Trevgrrl]

Thank you all. I am going to try hard to cut out my processed tv dinners. I think frozen vegs heated up with chicken strips would be good for me.

[SnazzyD in reply to Trevgrrl]

I compensated with loads of other flavourings; mild chilli and garlic were a mainstay. At one point I still kept blowing up until I noticed that many spice mixes have salt in 🙄

[piglette]

I have had it virtually since I started pred. I do have leg and foot massage which really helps. I was told I should not take water tablets with pred. I have also tried manual lymphatic drainage a couple of times, all it did was reduce my bank balance!

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Is this recent? Only since pred? Do you have any other symptoms? Palpitations for example?

[Trevgrrl]

This swelling is relatively new, though about a year now off and on. I thought at first it was the new pill gabapentin that was prescribed to help my pain. It did help, but it seemed to make my ankles swell. But when I stopped the gabapentin, the swelling continued anyway.

[Marijo1951]

I had badly swollen feet and ankles for several months when I was on higher doses of pred. Since I got down to about 10 mg they've been fine (I'm now on 7 mg) I made a bad mistake by giving away several pairs of shoes to a charity shop. I really regret at least two pairs of those shoes which I'd be able to wear now. But I really thought I was stuck with the swelling for ever.

[Marijo1951]

By the way, I should have mentioned that I was told that diuretics should be avoided when on pred, but I don't know how true that is.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Marijo1951]

Pred makes you lose sodium and potassium anyway - add in a diuretic and it can cause trouble if your blood levels aren't checked regularly. Potassium-sparing diuretics should be OK - but should still be monitored.

[Trevgrrl in reply to PMRpro]

Are you suggesting I don't take the diuretic? Won' t my swelling be out of control?

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Trevgrrl]

No - I was explaining why it is said by some doctors that you shouldn't mix diuretics and pred. If you need diuretics you need diuretics and they need to be correctly administered and monitored.

[Oumaof2]

I'm considering moving into the bathroom! Pred just wrings out every last drop of fluids... A pain when I'm out😮... Even worse when one' s pelvic floor has retired! 🙄😂

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Oumaof2]

We used to say we should have taken out shares in Tena. Or asked them to sponsor us ...

[Oumaof2 in reply to PMRpro]

Might be worth a try🤣🤣 Reliable testers available 😜