Sudden swelling should I be worried?

[katytheprincess2]

Okay so in the past couple hours my feet have trippled in size..it looks like I have whales at the end of what used to be my ankles my hands are also swollen..Should I be concerned? It has been 6 years or so since I experienced pre-e so I have forgotten how things happen. Would you guys worry or is it probably just regular pregnancy stuff?

[MommytoTwo]

Unless you are seeing spots and having headaches I probably wouldnt worry. I swelled HORRIBLY with DD and I didnt have pre-e. I am starting to swell now too. Ugh.

[l_olive]

Sorry, I don't usually crash ddcs, but gosh, with swelling that rapid, I would most definitely be concerned. I was on bedrest for months with ds due to PIH and my first symptom was foot and ankle swelling. I'd sure have my blood pressure taken!

--Olive

[~Heyokha~]

Originally Posted by katytheprincess2

Okay so in the past couple hours my feet have trippled in size..it looks like I have whales at the end of what used to be my ankles my hands are also swollen..Should I be concerned? It has been 6 years or so since I experienced pre-e so I have forgotten how things happen. Would you guys worry or is it probably just regular pregnancy stuff?

2 weeks ago this happened to me- sudden swelling of feet and hands (hands slightly swollen- feet much more.) I had pre-e with dd so I freaked out alittle. Checked my b/p it was okay, no headaches, no vision disturbances, so I calmed down. You could always call your MW/OB just to update. Is there anyway you can check you b/p? Is your face swollen too?

[MamaPam]

I would look for other symptoms and also to see if the swelling sticks around. Saturday my hands and feet swelled up. I went from easily being able to take my wedding ring off to there being no way it would be coming off. By the evening the swelling had gone down and then gone the next day.

-Pam

[phytoangel]

For peace of mind, call MW and just give her an update. Then, put those whales up and enjoy doing nothing.

Always better safe than sorry.

[wildthing]

You can try soaking in a tub of epsom salts to reduce the swelling. While you're in there, drink lots of water or RRL tea. Soak for an hour or more. You will probably pee a lot, but that's good. I did this during my last pegnancy, and it helped a lot.

I would still contact your health care provider though. That rapid seems pretty dramatic.

[13Sandals]

I've been having the same issues - the warmer weather isn't helping the water retention thing for me...
I wouldn't be worried about your ankles at all...just the hands and feet. my hands can be a little swollen in the morning even when I'm not pregnant. if your hands look like whales though and your face is puffy and unrecognizable - I'd be more concerned. and you are in your last month - my mw and her RN assistant both reassured me that its completely natural for blood pressure to rise a bit in the final push - so don't get freaked out about a small rise in bp.

fwiw - I do the opposite of put my feet up when they are swollen. I do a little yoga or go for a long walk. I usually experience a bigger reduction in swelling by the next morning if I can get some exercise in the night before.

[LilMomma83]

Are you wearing any tight clothing, standing up to long or hot? All that causes my feet to really swell.

[kewpie-o]

Originally Posted by wildthing

You can try soaking in a tub of epsom salts to reduce the swelling. While you're in there, drink lots of water or RRL tea. Soak for an hour or more. You will probably pee a lot, but that's good. I did this during my last pegnancy, and it helped a lot.

I would still contact your health care provider though. That rapid seems pretty dramatic.

Those are the exact same directions my midwife gave me when my feet swelled up like a couple of balloons last week. It really worked! She asked if my diet had changed, and I couldn't think of anything at first.....but then I realized that I had Thai food the same day my feet swelled. It happened so fast and was remedied so quickly, that I have to believe it was something in the Thai food. Maybe MSG?....just gobs of sodium or a weird preservative? I don't know. Whatever it was, I am staying away from restaurant-prepared Thai food for a while. My BP was normal and no protein in urine, so I'm pretty sure the whole thing was just diet-related. Can you think of anything you may have eaten recently that could've caused the swelling?

[Pyxi]

It's so funny, this happened to me yesterday, too. Last week my feet were like hippo feet. Then yesterday morning I looked down and thought oh! I have bones again! You can see my bones! Then around 4pm I looked again and eek! Hippo feet!

The good news is that my pedicurist told me that the third time your feet swell up like that, that's when you'll go into labor! So I only have one more time of foot swelling and hello, baby! Hahaha I love old wives tales. They keep you going in the last few weeks I bet.

Is drinking water the best way to lose retained water? Anyone have any advice there? I've been meaning to ask that and keep forgetting.

[13Sandals]

The good news is that my pedicurist told me that the third time your feet swell up like that, that's when you'll go into labor!

oh - I wish!!! I'm way past my third 'blow up'!! I'm resigned to not really seeing my petite feet again until after the babe!

and btw - make sure you are getting some salt - not just drinking a ton of water. check out this link...

http://www.blueribbonbaby.org/pih.shtml

[babycatcher01]

RRL, nettle teas are great, keep the kidneys working, garlic and vit c are also. Some times its our body telling us we need to slow down. If you have no other problem, like the pp says, just take it easy and eat and drink well.

[katytheprincess2]

I just got back from the doctors for my weekly cheek up. I am dehydrated and spilling keatones (sp?) in my urine and she said mostly likely it is from my return of severe morning sickness. She put me on Zofran and told me to eat really bland food and take phenergan everynight when I go to bed. No protein in my urine and my BP looks fine. She said the dehydration could be adding too the swelling. Just gotta tough it out two more weeks...I keep telling myself that. She said that the babies heartbeat sounded good so if the baby is happy I am happy
Oh and thanks everyone for all the suggestions and replies. I am gonna try some RRL tea and soaking these whales in some epson salts later today.

[l_olive]

Thanks for the update -- I've been thinking about you! I'm glad it was good(ish) news. Take it easy on yourself!

--Olive