Swollen ankles and legs

[Ashington52]

I am currently on 5mg of Pred and for the past 3 weeks have suffered from swollen ankles and legs. I have never suffered in this way before - could this be a side effect of medication? Thanks to you all for this wonderful forum.

[SnazzyD]

Pred caused me to have problems with puffy ankles in hot weather and especially if I had had too much salt in my diet. I wore class 1 (available over the counter) support socks to help too. How bad is it? Does it go away when you have your feet up for a while like over night? It might be worth asking your doc to rule out other causes, especially if you have other medical conditions like heart or blood pressure issues.

[Ashington52 in reply to SnazzyD]

Thanks so much for your speedy reply. My ankles are certainly better if I have my feet up and in a morning. I’m wondering if one of the causes is that I know I don’t drink nearly enough water during the day. I’ve decided to give it a couple of weeks and then speak to my GP again.

[Cyclone69 in reply to Ashington52]

i am having trouble with my ankles too, they are not swollen but they do hurt.. Since I was only diagnosed in January and was told that PMR effects your neck shoulders back and hips I don't know if the pain in my ankle is PMR or not.

[SnazzyD in reply to Cyclone69]

There certainly have been posts with people complaining as out pain in their lower extremities with PMR. It may also be ligament and tendon issues. My puffiness tendency didn’t resolve until I was well off Pred, but in the hot weather we’re having now, I’m having to wear support hosiery to avoid that ache in the calf and ankle later in the day.

[SnazzyD in reply to Ashington52]

Puffy lower legs is down to the fluid being in the wrong compartments. This is from leakage of the water part of the blood leaking through the blood vessel walls of the veins. The most common is due to a backlog of blood that can’t get back up the legs to the heart due to valves in the veins meant to stop the back flow that can’t cope and become incompetent. Age and wear and tear from years of standing, bing over weight, having babies, etc make this more likely. Pred makes the blood vessel walls thinner so that adds to the leakiness. When you put your feet up your leg veins are no longer battling with gravity and the excess fluid can get back in and up to the heart, through the kidneys and into the toilet bowl. Most people have one side slightly worse than the other but true one sidedness may mean a clot. Have a read of this healthline.com/health/perip...

[Hidden]

It's my fingers that have swelled up and hate not being able to wear my rings. Currently taking 7.5mg of Pred.....wondering how low I have to get before fingers will be back to normal. Legs and ankles being swollen is a common condition in a lot of people of a certain age. Maybe you need a short course of diuretics. I don't drink enough water during the day either, only drink when I'm thirsty.

Anne

[ChrisinNam in reply to Hidden]

Oh dear! As we age, our thirst mechanism becomes lazy. (I lived in the desert for many years). We just have to remind ourselves that we need more fluid, ALL THE TIME.

[Hidden in reply to ChrisinNam]

Were you in Saudi ?

[ChrisinNam in reply to Hidden]

No.

[Viv54]

Hi yes i agree with SnazzyD, i had swollen ankles/ feet and fingers turned out to be my BP tablets.They were changed all fine ! Do get it on and off , not sure if its pred. I take a couple of water tabs , not very often , but does the trick. Hope you get it sorted as not pleasant . Best wishes VIv .

[nuigini]

I'm in a quandary about my ankles as well. I had issues for some years and wore compression stockings, which helped. Following a diagnosis of celiac three years ago and going gluten free the problem disappeared. Ankles became the smallest they had been in decades. Even being in the hot and humid climate of Panama for 18 months! Back in North America, first in California, and now Alberta, both very dry climates, and the issue returned almost immediately.

Noticed recently that my blood pressure is higher than it should be, so that may be the problem. I upped my BP meds and things may be improving. Seeing the doc next week so it will be a topic for discussion.

[Ashington52]

Thank you all so much for your reassuring replies. I will reduce my salt intake, drink more water and see how I go over the next couple of weeks.