I am still displaying oedema in my feet and lower legs, although now I can “walk” a few steps with the quad stick it is reducing a little. I am having to wear shoes a size larger than normal, and spend most of my time in a wheelchair. Does anyone have any advice for reducing oedema? I have seen snake oil type advertisements for special mats to stand upon, but the style of advertisement does not fill me with confidence that it would be money well spent.
Only advice I get from health practitioners is to put my feet up and wear tight stockings. I had months of that in hospital, and apart from being highly uncomfortable, it doesn’t work. I am taking a lot of heart medication which I think contributes to the fluid retention, but I would be very unwise to stop that. I am also taking a diuretic that seriously impacts upon my days/nights. I expect a lot of us are.
Sadly i cant offer you any words of wisdom. I know very little about Oedema.
i will scoure the web and see if i can come across anything that might help.
Good luck, i hope you can find relief.
Here are the words of wisdom you requested.
The swelling in your foot is not just fluid. It is a sign that the tiny pumps in your cells are exhausted. Every cell in your body has a sodium potassium pump, a microscopic machine that pushes positive sodium out and pulls positive potassium in, and that work is what keeps the inside of your cell negatively charged, around -70 millivolts. After a stroke those pumps work two and a half times harder but they cannot keep up, so the cell becomes less negative, more depolarized, and when that happens the cell cannot regulate its internal chemistry properly. Fluid follows sodium, and sodium accumulates where the pumps are failing, so water builds up in the tissues and you see swelling. The pumps are not broken. They are overworked and underpowered. And what they need most is the same thing every cell in your body evolved to receive: the negative charge of the earth beneath your feet, the sunlight that powers the pumps directly, and magnesium that helps the channels controlling relaxation do their work. The swelling is not the problem. It is the symptom of a deeper electrical deficit, and the deficit can be restored by returning to the ground you have been separated from.
I cannot really offer any words of wisdom (you can’t join the army as a paratrooper and claim to be wise!) but exactly what are the effects of diuretics on you?
My experience is that when it comes to medicine, healthcare and other things in life, what works for some does not necessarily work for others. In my life I have tried so many things that were supposed to benefit me and I can categorically state to-date nothing has worked for me. Examples include drinking lemon water in the morning, drinking apple cider vinegar, going for a run etc. etc.
I can’t say I have tried earthing in a scientific manner and so at this stage I cannot categorically state if earthing works for me or not. That said I have invested in an earthing band and used it to try to help my Mum for the benefits that it is supposed to provide.
Some of these products can be expensive and if they don’t work it is money down the drain, but I see it as an opportunity to benefit from something that the standard care package cannot provide. We have been on the receiving end of bog standard advice from the NHS and sadly none of that works for us e.g. the raising feet etc. but luckily for us we managed to overcome oedema through movement i.e. leg exerciser machine.
Words of wisdom, when desperate for a solution, needs must
Thank you all for taking the trouble to reply. Bob Isle, as you ask, diuretics make you pee a lot, which is inconvenient if you want to go out for any length of time, have visitors call, or if you need personal care. Your sleep is interrupted so you don’t get proper rest. They are a ruddy nuisance.
I don’y have an oedema problem, but I do have a waterworks issue.After discharge from hospital after my severe stroke 5 years ago, I was fitted with an internal long-term catheter inserted through my penis and which had to be changed every 3 months, I t was hell! Extremely painful and once caused me to have a seizure. Eventually, I met a urinary incontinence Nightingale nurse, who showed me a device a bit like a condom and which fits over the glans of the penis. It has an exit tube which fits into a night bag which in turn stands on a frame on the floor -and allows me to sleep soundly all night! NO PAIN, NO LEAKAGE,NOT EVEN UNCOMFORTABLE. Usually collects about 1 litre overnight; emptied down the loo each morning. Great if I go out anywhere; means I can have HAVE A PINT OR TWO OF BEER OR STOUT WITHOUT WORRY! OH, IT IS CALLED A CONVEEN OR CONVENE. Well worth exploring through Nightingale nursing. It meant I could comfortably manage a 4 hour flight to Tenerife and my first holiday for years. And it is available on repeat prescription !It has to be changed every 24/48 hours.Let me know if you need any more info.
Thanks for this info, I appreciate you taking the time. I am female so different anatomy problems - had catheter in hospital that was badly managed by the nurses, got a vicious infection from it, and wouldn’t agree to go there again. Everything now works fine for me, except I have to take the diuretic because I have a heart issue.
Oh, I see; I must admit I assumed you were a man, Sorry !
But if I am not mistaken, there is a similar product available for ladies; it must be worth asking Nightingale Nursing or your GP for details.
I know about problems with catheters; Hospital nurses were not up to the job and I ended up with a severe hospital-acquired UTI (urinary tract infection) that took months to clear up. Our local major hospital in Leeds (St. James) has a specialist urology department and they were terrific! That was where I got the referral to Nightingale nurses.
I am sure, dear lady, that there must be a solution to your problems, so keep on looking !
Thank you for taking the trouble to reply. I am quite normal with waterworks, so no need to have anything fitted, it’s just the diuretic has me off to the loo far too frequently. Which is its job. I should buy shares in loo paper! Sorry if TMI. Not that that helps with the oedema, and I can’t get any first-hand info on that.
I sympathise with your pee problem and the restrictions it imposes on your life. That is why I was so pleased to get the Convene from Nightingale; once it is in place I can go for hours without even thinking about the calls of nature !
I spoke to my professional Carers this morning and they confirm they have female patients who use them(convenes). so it might be worth your while following up that line of enquiry.
I stayed up late last night watching soccer, then slept like a baby, with no discomfort or disturbment.(wrong word but I guess you’ll follow the drift !)
