Swelling in Extremities

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jnhu72
jnhu72 Posts: 558 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
My mom has swelling her lower legs, feet and fingers mostly. She has had blood test to rule out serious health problems and was put on a diuretic to help with the swelling and was told to follow a low carb diet (meat,egg and cheese basically). She has done this for over a month and the swelling remains and she has gained more weight (she's 5'1''/ 208lbs). She is pre-menopausal and 46 if that helps. The doctor is convinced it is a weight related issue. Has any one dealt with this or does anyone have any suggestions?

Her Diet:
-lunch meat
-cheese
-salads from Wendy's/McDonalds/Chipotle
-hamburgers/steak/chicken
-Hot dogs
-Breakfast sandwiches and cheeseburgers with out the buns/biscuits
-Dt. Coke
-Coffee and Tea sweetened with Stevia or Splenda
-meat sticks (like Slim Jims)

My suggestion was that she eat's a lot of processed foods high in sodium and that the sodium could have an effect.
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Replies

  • misscristie
    misscristie Posts: 643 Member
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    Is she diabetic? Does she drink water?

    Could just be dehydration and not moving enought. If I sit for long periods of time, don't drink enough water or my blood sugar is out of whack, I get extremely fat ankles.
  • Dan112358
    Dan112358 Posts: 525 Member
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    Sodium, sodium, sodium, sodium, ...

    Water intake up, processed foods down.
  • fiberartist219
    fiberartist219 Posts: 1,865 Member
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    Oh my. Yes, the sodium is a huge factor. The lunch meat probably has preservatives in addition to salt. Sodium nitrate, perhaps?

    I get swelling in my feet and sometimes in my hands. I had a few expensive tests done and then my doctor told me to "suck it up" because it isn't harmful and as long as I can walk, it's not a big deal.

    For me, the best way to deal with swelling is to drink a lot of water, limit my salt intake, and sometimes I put ice on my feet and prop them up. Exercise can trigger the swelling, but in the long run, I think it makes it happen less often, because the fluids in my body move around more rather than pooling up.

    It also helps to limit my carbonated and caffeinated beverages. I don't know if this just causes a general bloat, but it makes me feel a little better if I give them up for a couple days.

    Pretty much everything you have listed are things I would avoid if I were feeling puffy.
  • jnhu72
    jnhu72 Posts: 558 Member
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    She is not diabetic and drinks some water, but not very much. She does have a desk job, so she doesn't get that much movement.
  • wxchaser
    wxchaser Posts: 178
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    I agree, too much sodium. More veggies and fruits need to be added to that diet, less lunch meats, and more lean meats like chicken and fish.
  • Fairieluv77
    Fairieluv77 Posts: 95
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    Definitely sodium. I also have a prescribed diuretic to help but one little can of soda and I'm swelling up too.
  • tinana_RN
    tinana_RN Posts: 541 Member
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    Sodium, sodium, sodium, sodium, ...

    Water intake up, processed foods down.


    This, exactly!
  • PanteraGirl
    PanteraGirl Posts: 566 Member
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    Definitely sodium. She really needs to change her diet.
  • eagle2pet
    eagle2pet Posts: 21
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    I agree with those above about the sodium....she is taking in a lot. She must increase her water consumption and decrease sodium. Also a couple of other ideas.
    1) Does she use a lot of Advil/ Ibuprofen? My doctor informed me that it messes with the (I think) our sodium/potasium pumps and makes us retain water. If she takes Advil on a regular basis might want to switch to tylanol.
    2) Have your mom ask her doctor about compression stalkings it can help keep the fluid out of her legs during her work day.
  • 23SVM88
    23SVM88 Posts: 47
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    I sit at a desk all day for my job too. I have the same problems, by noon my ankles are already swelled up. My doctor told me to get up every hour and go for a little walk..The building I work in has 3 floors so I go all the way up and then back down again, every hour.
  • ladybug1620
    ladybug1620 Posts: 1,136 Member
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    Does she drink? My father in law was an alcoholic and had this pretty bad. If you push on the swollen parts, does it stay pitted for a while rather than bouncing right back?
  • jnhu72
    jnhu72 Posts: 558 Member
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    She will occasionally drink vodka or dark rum, but only a few shots mixed with something. I think it's been over a month though, since she has drank any alcohol.

    If you push on her legs they will bounce back.

    Thanks everyone for the suggestions so far.
  • Kissybiz
    Kissybiz Posts: 361 Member
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    I get swelling in my legs and fingers and ankles whenever I eat too much salt.. every time. She needs to cut her salt intake... lunch meat and fast food, cheese and hot dogs are LOADED with sodium. Get her to log her food on here and track her sodium.. it will be an eye opener. She probably also needs to increase her potassium.. I did. And WATER WATER WATER.
  • JaceyMarieS
    JaceyMarieS Posts: 692 Member
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    The amount of sodium is her processed food choices is astronomical -

    lunch meat - high in sodium and possibly a junky source of protein. Even if she's choosing chicken or turkey lunch meat, they are often injected with a salt solution

    cheese - high in sodium

    salads from Wendy's/McDonalds/Chipotle - may be high in sodium, especially if there's a lot of cheese, bacon, croutons and all the other tasty little add-ons

    Hot dogs - high in sodium and a junky protein source

    Breakfast sandwiches and cheeseburgers with out the buns/biscuits - the sausage and bacon in the breakfast sandwiches are (again) loaded with salt

    Dt. Coke - ehhh. i like Diet Coke too, but I cut consumption to 1-2 cans per week vs 1-2 cans per day. Switch to water to flush out that sodium

    meat sticks (like Slim Jims) - packed with sodium and another junk protein source

    A low carb diet is not basically meat, eggs and cheese. Vegetables are a very important part of any diet, but especially a low-carb diet as they are the primary source of fiber.

    Much more water, much less processed food, more whole foods, less fast food, paying attention to sodium consumption and more movement will help tremendously!
  • angelicasmommy
    angelicasmommy Posts: 303 Member
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    My step dad has had this issue for weeks now...and he was just diagnosed with cirrhosis. Might be something to ask about.
  • MeMyCatsandI
    MeMyCatsandI Posts: 704 Member
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    She eats like total crap! Does her doctor know her diet consists of nothing but processed junk food? Switching to whole, unprocessed foods (unprocessed meat, veggies, fruits) could completely change her life.
  • happyfeetrebel1
    happyfeetrebel1 Posts: 1,005 Member
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    Water instead of soda. I don't normally say this, but it sounds like she may be slightly dehydrated.

    Fresh Chicken, broiled or baked, instead of lunch meat and Fast food.

    Homemade salads, so you can watch the additives.

    Homemade Omelets for breakfast..add garlic or onion instead of the salt.



    And get out and walk a little :)

    I wish her good luck!
  • llkilgore
    llkilgore Posts: 1,169 Member
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    I had swelling in the extremities, along with gastric reflux and sleep apnea, and was told it was all weight related - and evidently so. A couple of weeks on a low carb, low sodium diet took care of the swelling and reflux, and the apnea eventually went away too as I lost more weight. It has been well over a year since I've had problems with any of it.

    The low carb, low sodium diet that that worked for me placed no limits at all on non-starchy vegetables like green beans, broccoli, and summer squash. I practically shoveled them down and lost 15 pounds in 2 weeks. After that that I switch to a more moderate level of carbs but continued to avoid the more processed stuff. And It was a long time before I ate any kind of cured meat again.
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
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    Sodium, sodium, sodium, sodium, ...

    Water intake up, processed foods down.

    He's so right. In this heat? My sodium is under 1200 and I still have problems if I don't walk or do tai chi.

    I'm assuming her doctor checked her kidney functioning. I am going to suggest that she look at the American Kidney Foundation's page and use the diet for people with kidney problems. I'm assuming she doesn't have them, but everything there will help her get rid of the water that she has.

    Another simple solution my mom swears by and works for me when I hold too much water. Sit in a hot bathtub and drink icewater. It seems to act as a diuretic. I have no scientific basis for this, but it works for me and feels nice on hot nights anyway. :)
  • islandmonkey
    islandmonkey Posts: 546 Member
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    That's a REALLY unhealthy diet. Get her to cut out the junk (like the others said - too much sodium!) and add in some REAL food, like vegetables!

    Low carb does NOT mean "eggs, meat, cheese". She should still be eating primarily fruits and veggies!

    My mom has swelling her lower legs, feet and fingers mostly. She has had blood test to rule out serious health problems and was put on a diuretic to help with the swelling and was told to follow a low carb diet (meat,egg and cheese basically). She has done this for over a month and the swelling remains and she has gained more weight (she's 5'1''/ 208lbs). She is pre-menopausal and 46 if that helps. The doctor is convinced it is a weight related issue. Has any one dealt with this or does anyone have any suggestions?

    Her Diet:
    -lunch meat
    -cheese
    -salads from Wendy's/McDonalds/Chipotle
    -hamburgers/steak/chicken
    -Hot dogs
    -Breakfast sandwiches and cheeseburgers with out the buns/biscuits
    -Dt. Coke
    -Coffee and Tea sweetened with Stevia or Splenda
    -meat sticks (like Slim Jims)

    My suggestion was that she eat's a lot of processed foods high in sodium and that the sodium could have an effect.

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