Leg Swelling, Edema

Hey All, 

My legs are so swollen right now and they are kind of in a lot of pain. I do have compression stockings and I am wearing them and I'm also trying to be more active prior to my surgery. However, my body seems to not want to cooperate with the will of my mind and did any of you have edema or swelling and how did you handle it or get over it to become more active prior to your surgery? Right now it's just seems like this constant battle and it's very frustrating. In other news I've started to become more  emotional and at times the little things send me off ways I have not been able to realize.

Before surgery, I had intermittant swelling of my legs and feet. Very uncomfortable. I didn't do anything to get more active before surgery because just walking from one room to another was enough to make me stop to catch my breath. Becoming more active was like trying to swim upstream against a strong current. I just couldn't do it. In the first 3 months after surgery, I dropped 50 pounds and my world changed. I'm now 60 pounds down after 4 months and can walk with ease. I still get very minor swelling in my legs, but only if I've been sitting too long and/or eaten something very salty, which makes me retain water. Just do the best you can before surgery and take advantage of every pound lost after surgery to become active and to exercise. 

Being emotional before surgery is normal. It's a huge step. You should be at least a little nervous and jumpy. Just ask your family to bear with you. I'm sure they will understand. 

psychoticparrot

Can you get a massage?  That helps move the lymphatic fluid.  Treat yourself to a couple.  Hope you feel better.

If the stockings aren't helping you should contact your doc, you may need diuretics to help rid yourself of fluid build up. You should also be sitting with your feet above your heart as often as possible so the fluid doesn't keep building up. When I have had foot swelling this is what I was told. It can also be a sign of heart problems so I would advise you get in to your primary doc ASAP to get them checked so you can get it under control before your surgery. It would be terrible to have to reschedule your surgery because of it. Keep an eye on your weight until you can get into your doc. If you gain a bunch over say a day or two you might want to try to get in sooner since that means you are retaining more fluid. This can be very serious and also limit your salt intake as it will make you retain more fluid.

I am pre-op & have dealt w/swollen ankles & feet since my 30's when I was about 75 lbs. overweight. I am now about 130 lbs. over & the swelling has been persistent over the years. I was advised to wear compression stockings, but never cared for shoes or socks so I didn't even try them.

Since I started my journey this past February I have lost almost 50 pounds. I started using MyFitnessPal to record my meals, and that was a major wake-up call. I had already started watching what I ate yet my sodium was always thru the roof. I still have days when it is overlimit. so you may want to check out your sodium. I still swell, but it is not nearly as bad as before unless I have a really high sodium day.

I do try to walk almost everyday even if it's only for 10 minutes. But I swear sometimes being on my feet more (the couch less!) makes me swell.

Good luck!

Thank you for the replies. As it turns out I was heading straight towards ****s-ville. I had a bout of cellulitis crop up on my lower left leg. My local hospital knows my history and they do not **** around with that when I walk into the ER. I was in the hospital for three days, received   ended up having a PICC line inserted and have been receiving Teflora via IV and got an una boot on each lower leg.  The IV antibiotics will continue on an outpatient basis for the next week. 

I see an infectious disease specialist next week who will more than likely front load me with antibiotics ahead of surgery.

The hope is that I will be able to maintain the PICC line through my scheduled surgery. Dressing changes will be done at the outpatient center at the hospital and hopefully they will teach me to flush the lines so that I can do that myself every day.