Question:
I am 3 months post op and lost 60 lbs. Has anyone else experienced swelling in feet

and ankles. I have never had a lot of swelling in my feet and ankles, just occassionally when I had a really active weekend. I have a bad left knee and sometimes that foot would swell some, but this is ridiculous. My left foot is very sensitive to the touch from the swelling right now and I could hardly get my shoe on yesterday. Called my surgeon's office last week and the nurse just suggested I wasn't drinking enough water and to call my PCP about fluid retention. Any suggestions?    — Tparker (posted on June 24, 2002)

June 23, 2002
NOT to alarm you but you MAY have a blood clot. Call your PCP IMMEDIATELY or go to the ER. With things like this is better safe than sorry. <P> Let us know whats happens...
   — bob-haller

June 23, 2002
Yeah, I have to agree with the first poster. I have had 2 episodes of deep vein thrombosis, and that could be a blood clot in the foot. The good news is that these type of clots generally resolve with no medication, but I would see my PCP anyway. Especially if you notice any swelling / cramping of the calf in that leg. You DON'T want it to progress into DVT if you have a clot in the foot. Better safe than sorry I say.
   — Greg P.

June 24, 2002
Being pre-op I dont have all the correct answers, but I do research alot and am on this website everyday looking up all the new questions and checking stuff out. I read about 5 days ago that someone was swelling in the extremities really bad, and most of the answers that I read were about protein intake. I dont understand how not enough protein can make your feet swell, but check out the last 300 questions, because there is one almost exactly like yours. Like I said I am pre-op and may be totally wrong, but that is just what I read on here. Good luck! ~Ang~
   — angel_wls

June 24, 2002
I am 2yrs post op open RNY and had my arms done last year and my tummy tuck done this April. I had severe swelling in both ankles approx a month ago. Turns out I needed 2 units of blood transfused. Doc and infusion unit nurses say this can be a sign of low on blood. After my tummy tuck I needed 2 units of blood in the recovery room. After hearing of the symptoms of enemia, and knowing that some RNY patients become enemic from the surgery, my doc and I came to the conclusion that I have been anemic for the last year or so. Bottom line- have your doc check you out and make sure he runs a full blood panel on you. Do not accept the word of his nurse without the doc seeing you. And yes, my doc also said I was low on protein (from an 8" opening of my tummy tuck incision line and the subsequent drainage from it) and that the swelling could be attributed to that too.
   — Pat F.

June 24, 2002
Well, I'm thinking your surgeon's office is right. How much fluid are you taking in and how much are you outputting? Loosing all this weight really makes our livers and kidneys do more work and it's important to give them all of the fluid they need to filter and move things out of our body like they are supposed to do. Don't be too upset about them telling you to see your PCP. Your surgeon is just that a surgeon. He is a medical specialist not a person who knows and can answer all things medical. I would call you PCP right away.
   — Danna B.

June 24, 2002
Hi there !! I had the same problem. Before going into work from my mid thighs to my toes where very swollen and I could barely put on my boots!!! My uniform pants where not fitting loosely either. I went in to work but had to leave due to the tenderness and pain. I went straight to the hospital and they gave me an injection and 15 minutes later I was running for the bathroom every 5 minutes!! I peeeeeeed almost 4000 cc in 2 hours. The nurse weighed me prior to be seen by the doctor and when I left 3 hours later I had lost 12 lbs!!! My uniform pants where back to their bagginess. Anyway, two days later my pcp had a songogram done on both legs to check for blood clots and everything check out ok. She put me on water pills with a script for potassium to take with it. But you know what?? I found out that I was consuming a ton of sodium!!! Since I have been watching the sodium intake my legs ankles and feet are not swelling at all. I was told by my doctor that if your protein level is low this can cause the same problem. But my protein level is right on target. So for me it was the sodium. Take care and hope this helps!!
   — Laura G.

June 25, 2002
I had the exact same problem you did. Sometimes still do. I went back to work on 6-3 from my surgery and as soon as I started working, my feet and ankles ballooned up. I could only wear a certain pair of flat dress shoes because they were the only ones my feet fit into,,,,but paranoid as I may be, I called my surgeons office first thing, didn't even think of my PCP, and my surgeons office took me in. He did a checkup and said not enough protien. I am big boned and 6ft tall(female) and he said I need between 80-100 gr of protien a day and that was most likely the cause of it since I was only getting about 50 gr. Well, he was right! As soon as I kicked up my intake of protien,,I am using the bathroom so much more and hardly have that problem. Sometimes I still do cause it is hard for me to get in enough protien. I also have to watch the sodium too. I hope this helps. The amount of protien needs are individual. So you may have to intake more too.
   — stacey1273