Swelling

LorettaB1967

Does anyone else have a problem with swelling when over exercising? When I walk over 2 miles a day my fingers and ankles swell. When I told my Dr all he said was I was over doing it to cut back a little. I am 66 big boned and 5' 2" and weigh 177. I do have a leaky heart valve.

Laura03211

It's good that you're under a doctor's care. Did the doctor say how much to cut down on your exercises? Are there other exercises that might be better for you to do? I wonder if gentle water aerobics would be good since the water helps keep your body temperature down. Do you need a doctor's OK to do the exercises - if you are at a gym? Is your doctor trying to tell you not to do so much every day due to your existing heart condition? Has he or she checked your electrolytes lately? Are the lab results in a normal range for you? Because you have a heart problem, is there a limit of how much you can do? Are you on a water pill? Do you elevate your feet afterwards to help reduce the swelling? I've been reading about this, & there can be a variety of causes. One article said that often the temperature difference between the muscles in your fingers & hands and your lower arms can lead to an imbalance that traps the fluids in your tissues resulting in swelling. I am not familiar with this, so don't know exactly what it means or how you deal with it. Are you eating too much sodium in your diet? My doctor just changed my diuretic from HCTZ to Lasix because I have been having swelling in my knees and legs. She said the new diuretic (water pill) is better at removing fluid from the tissues than the HCTZ. Is your blood pressure under control? If you continue to have problems or it gets worse, you might need to see your doctor again or even request a referral to a heart doctor if you haven't been evaluated for the leaky heart. Is it stable or a condition that can worsen? Good luck.

cafeaulait7

I'd have a longer discussion about it with my doctor or ask to see a specialist (for your heart since he/she could certainly explain things and you presumably already see one). If your GP wouldn't explain what is going on, that's a bad sign for a doc, imho.

I may be spoiled with my awesome GP now, though. He's actually a specialist I went to who I asked if he could be my GP and he took me on! Best decision I ever made. I went to him because the teaching hospital I went to couldn't/wouldn't explain something important to me

Swelling like you describe can be bad/need important treatment, so that's why it's a big deal to know what is going on. Maybe your doctor knows more than he's telling you, of course, but see if you can find out more.

grinning_chick

Are they swelling during your walks? Does the swelling go down within hours (hands) to overnight (feet) of stopping the exercise? If so, it could be simple fluid pooling - aka "hiker hands".

I agree to make sure it's not related to a preexisting condition first though. In this day and age, you do have to advocate for yourself.

If it's not, try using trekking poles, periodically pump your fists, or toss a ball/water bottle/some object back and forth between your hands while walking (and either not wear a backpack or make sure the shoulder straps are loose and the weight light). If one these tricks prevents the hand swelling, and you aren't suffering from hyponatremia, it's hiker hands.

The ankles are trickier if it's fluid pooling. The only thing that's ever resolved it for me has been weight loss.

Google: https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=swollen+hands+hiking

Machka9

LorettaB1967 wrote: »

Does anyone else have a problem with swelling when over exercising? When I walk over 2 miles a day my fingers and ankles swell. When I told my Dr all he said was I was over doing it to cut back a little. I am 66 big boned and 5' 2" and weigh 177. I do have a leaky heart valve.

I have two leaky heart valves and damaged veins in one leg from DVT ... and I only experience swelling when I'm cycling up over 100 km, and not much then. Depending on how badly your heart valve leaks, it shouldn't be a problem for walking 2 miles a day.

So ...

Go back to your Dr and request an appointment with a cardiologist. Or, at the very least, get a full set of heart tests done including the exercise ECG.

That should be your first step ... rule out any difficulties with your heart that might be causing the problem. Of course the first thing that leapt to my mind was congestive heart failure. But getting tested should rule that out.

If that all comes up OK, then I'd request kidney tests to rule out any issues there.


If that's all clear, the next question I'd have is how much water are you drinking just prior to walking or during the walk.