New Posts  All Forums:
 

Swelling?

post #1 of 12
7/8/10 at 2:35pm
Thread Starter 
Hey everyone,

It's finally just starting to get sunny and hot here in rainy coastal BC, Canada. Finally! Downfall? I have been swelling like a sponge! Last 2 days I have had 3-4 litres (3/4-1 gallon) of water and I hardly pee all day (maybe a cup in total)! I feel like I might as well be injecting it straight into my feet, ankles and this weird little swollen pouch under my belly (I had this weird pouch last time too). Yesterday my hads swelled quite a bit too. My feet and ankles swell so much they get red and tingly. My blood pressure is fine, and I have no protein in my urine. I normally swell in the hands when I'm hot anyhow. Anyone else experiencing the swelling? I end up peeing like normal all night (finally!!!), but I feel like I carry around an extra 3-4 litres of water all day!
Sponsored Links
post #2 of 12
7/8/10 at 2:38pm
That does not sound pleasant! To help with swelling I do lots of stretching of my legs and feet. I also take epsom salt baths which really seems to help.
post #3 of 12
7/8/10 at 3:17pm
I have been swelling like mad too. My shoes and sandals are all tights, my hands are swollen, I just feel gross. Like my skin cant contain me. I just keep drinking water, spend a lot of time relaxing, keep my feet up, and stay out of the heat. Also leg stretches and I am making sure to keep up with yoga at this point in the game.
post #4 of 12
7/8/10 at 3:19pm
My feet have been swelling for a couple of months; I mostly attribute it to sitting at a desk 8 hours/day. I try to get up and take a good walk around every hour or so but it doesn't seem to help too much. I elevate them when I get home, and I do drink lots of water. My mw doesn't seem to be too concerned about it, since like you said, my bp is fine, etc. My feet don't hurt -- they just big and fat at the end of the day. Luckily my hands haven't swelled as of yet!
post #5 of 12
7/8/10 at 3:28pm
If you are not peeing during the day, you are very dehydrated...

I was having this problem a few weeks ago (at about 33 weeks). At the worst point here was no difference between my calf size and ankle size.... Scary. This is what got it down for me...

Drink OVER a gallon each day. (I know ) Lemon water with a little honey or stevia help get it down.

Increase your protein. Since the massive swelling incident I had, If I do not eat enough protein, I start swelling as soon as my body realizes it...This happened over the weekend. The joints in my hands got swollen and I could hardly bend my wrist. My husband annoyingly asked what I had eaten that day - at that point not much because it was so dang hot...I crammed the protein down that night and they slowly got better over a couple of hours and they were completely better by morning.

I also drink 1 - 2 quarts of nettle/oatstraw/chamomile tea each day.

AND drink a little water each time you get up in the night to pee. If I don't do this, I start the next day off being dehydrated...

One last thing - I also made a spray for my feet and legs. 1 part water, 1 part witch hazel, 5 - 10 drops peppermint essential oil and some emu oil. I added the emu oil because without it the mix was too drying (but I am in a very dry climate). In a humid climate I would leave it out at first and do a test. Any oil would do, I just happened to have emu oil and it is anti-inflammatory so I thought it would be perfect.

I seriously feel like all I do is drink and count and consume protein, but it is way better than the alternative!! Maintaining this, my ankles a a tiny bit swollen at the end of the day, but that is about it. Before I had so much fluid in my feet they jiggled when I walked and looked like marshmallows!! And I am not kidding about my ankles being the same size as my calfs!! (and I am over weight!!) It was truly horrifying.
post #6 of 12
7/8/10 at 3:52pm
Oh yes. my feet are a bit puffy by the end of the day, like LTA said, probably due to sitting at a desk for 8 hrs/day. my fingers, though, are worse. I can now only wear my wedding band, the other 2 rings i used to wear are just a tad too snug, and I'm afraid one day they will just not come off, so on the shelf they sit till the hot weather breaks (ummm... October?)

Also, my finger joints hurt from the extra fluid. they are tender when i bend them. i feel like an old woman. delightful!

like you, PP, my fingers usually swell in the heat though, but not quite to this extent.

I've been drinking about 100-125 oz of water per day, plus 16oz iced RRL tea, and 16-32 oz lemon water with the RRL tea bag floating in the bottom. spending most of my time either drinking, peeing, or calculating how long i can wait to go to the bathroom. (or thinking about food. gosh am i hungry again!!)
post #7 of 12
7/8/10 at 4:29pm
ah! a fellow BC'er!
i'm not faring very well with the change in the weather either. i noticed some swelling in my ankles yesterday -- just when i thought i might avoid it this time.
i hope we get a bit of a cool down so you get some relief!
post #8 of 12
7/8/10 at 6:03pm
I was going to suggest pretty much everything that aromamama did... that's good advice! Not peeing is a big thing. If your body has enough water you should be peeing a lot. I really do find a major increase in protein helps along with almost 2 gallons of water a day. And, if you're sweating a lot, you may have to make some of that drinking a rehydration/elecrolyte drink. The basic formula is easy to find on the web.

For what it's worth, when I am very vigilant about fluid and protein intake I have barely any swelling (and then only on more sedentary days there will be a little puffiness on the tops of my hands and feet). Good luck! I hope you can get some relief!
post #9 of 12
7/8/10 at 6:05pm
Im there with ya. Im in Saskatchewan and we get a week of heat, a week of cool, a week of heat....you get the idea We did a four day trade show and it was HOT, and the building we were in had no air conditioning. I sweated my arse off. My ankles swelled up soooo bad. They still weren't completely back to normal the next morning. They had gone down lots but not totally. Now that I am able to sit with me feet up for the most part of the day I have had very little swelling. I had a drs appt yesterday and she was super impressed because I had basically no swelling at all!

I too, drink a ton of water. Couldnt really tell you how much as I don't really keep track but I go through a case of bottled water every couple days. Don't worry, I recycle
post #10 of 12
7/9/10 at 1:25am
Thread Starter 
I do have to say that I haven't been as diligent with protein consumption lately..... and I love water, so I don't need to flavour it or anything, but I seriously don't feel like I can drink more! I feel so full! I actually am starting to fear that I'm storing a bunch of it as extra amniotic fluid. I have an autoimmune disorder (Myasthenia Gravis - I have been asymptomatic for more than 5 years) and apparently one of the potential complications is excess amniotic fluid because the baby is not processing it fast enough for the mother's body to eliminate. I fear my dreams of having my birth at my little island hospital is falling away - that I'll have to take a ferry to Vancouver Island while in labour and have the baby at a bigger hospital where I have no birth support and no one will listen to me regarding birth preferences. I spoke with my midwife this morning and she wants a second opinion from a neonatologist... here we go - I'm a bit in mourning, though of course I want the best for the baby.

Thanks everyone - and I will try your suggestions! Maybe this will mend itself and everything will be okay.
post #11 of 12
7/12/10 at 1:45am
I have very swollen ankles and feet. Here in Seattle it got really hot and my office is blazingly unbearable. I asked my boss to be moved, and will get to be moved to a cooler building next week, but in the meantime, just walking from parking garage to office seems to get them going. It takes 5 minutes to swell them up and an hour of elevation or cold water soaking to get them to go down. I am having to go home early and am worried about cutting into my sick leave which I am using for maternity leave.

My midwife seemed unconcerned since my BP is normal. Anyone feel like walking on these swollen feet is unbearable or painful? I am not seeing that, but I can barely walk. I got shoes 1 1/2 sizes larger yesterday- and today they were tight. I have lots to do in the next 4 wks- it is so annoying!
post #12 of 12
7/12/10 at 9:52am
I haven't had swelling problems, but have heard that eating watermelon is supposed to help reduce swelling?