As if he doesn’t have enough to worry about, my poor husband now has swollen feet and legs.
It started a week ago when a Dr in hospital put him on two BP meds which he should not have done because it is very clear in his records that they cause swollen and painful legs for my husband.
I told the Dr and he took him off them again. Today I asked him why the affected leg was still very swollen and rock hard. He says it’s a side effect of the Stroke but seems too much of a coincidence to me. He said he will put him on a diuretic on Friday.
They are so swollen that he can’t get his slippers on and I told the Dr that they are so puffed up that I can’t see how he can stand to do physio exercises. He just shrugged. We are both really fed up about this.
I think it is common for BP meds to cause swollen legs & it make take a while to go down.
I get swollen legs (not BP related) and find that raising them up helps but it may be that the causevof mine needs a different resolution. I did mention it to my stroke consultant & they weren’t concerned by it.
It may be worth asking a nurse or someone else to take a look at his leg. It’s a shame they didn’t realise the potential impact before they prescribed the meds.
Try inverting him (feet above heart on a sofa)
Grounding increases circulation and more
Thyme increases circulation
Fatty fish or omega 3
Citrus fruits
Massage
It is so very disappointing this has happened, but we learn from it and move on
In our experience, whenever we go to a hospital, we are asked if Mum is taking any medication and if so if she is allergic to any medicines.
This means that at the point of being admitted, we can flag any medicines that should not be given - in Mum’s case there is one particular antibiotic that is problematic and so we alert the admissions doctor and it is on the notes. I may have mentioned in another post, it is not uncommon for doctors to not read the case history or full notes and focus only on the last entry. This is something we can’t control but we definitely can flag any medicines we know are not agreeable for us.
I would suggest you make a list of all medicines that should be avoided and keep this list with you and bring it up whenever you visit a hospital. I advise the same for GP visits - gone are the deays when you had a dedicated GP who knew the patients personally
With regards to what to do, @Mrs5K and @pando have suggested a few things and I can conform that for Mum who does occasionally get swollen feet , we raise the legs. When she is in the riser recliner chair, we raise the leg rest horizontal and tilt her head rest back a bit. This does help her.
Whilst it may not be ideal, I wonder if putting his feet on the floor without socks on will be similar to earthing (grounding) cf walking barefoot. I appreciate he is not able to bear weight and walk, but he is touching the earth, sort of? Just a thought.
First thing I noticed was how swollen the leg on stroke side was, it still is like it now, 5 months later… Doc says its an after effect of a stroke. It has also affected my hand, fingers swollen. I hope they will go back to normal at some point.
Hi @jenn & welcome to the community. Sorry to hear of your stroke but hope you find the forum a great place for support & advice.
I hope your swollen legs improve over time.
Mine can get painful but will go down if I raise my legs. My hubby has one swollen leg following his cancer treatment and he was told that it would be permanently like that as it was a side effect of his treatment. It looks odd but he doesn’t complain about it any more.
I just wanted to welcome you to the community, I’m sorry to hear about your stroke and the difficulties with your swollen leg and fingers.
I hope you’ll find the Online Community helpful for advice and support. If you need anything whilst you’re using the Online Community, please don’t hesitate to tag me using the @ symbol and my username.
Thanks for replying. My husband is on 7 or 8 meds for high BP alone. They chop and change them all the time anyway.
The evening of the stroke was chaos. I could not find his repeat prescription form but the medic said not a problem we can get it direct from his surgery.
The paperwork listed all meds he was allergic to and why.
This was put into his notes right at the front.
I can’t think what else to say as I don’t know our husband’s medical history and I am not a healthcare professional.
My only thought is that 7 or 8 meds just for high BP seems rather excessive and doesn’t seem right to me.
If I was in your shoes, for my own peace of mind, I would want to sit down with the GP and get an explanation of the medications and why so many are needed.
Further, we learn from our experience and move on. Given the doctor had a list of medications your husband was allergic to and still put your husband at risk, I would suggest, you check medications before they are administered. I appreciate this puts a huge responsibility on you, but how else can the risk be minimised?
It’s a tough one and I do feel for you. I hope things will settle down soon and you will be able to get some rest - this can’t be doing you any good!
Hello Jenn - sorry you have been experiencing swelling on legs, hands and fingers for so long post stroke.
I hope by joining this community you will get some useful guidance and tips on how to manage your condition and have as comfortable a lifestyle as you can
The community members are extremely helpful and readily share their personal experiences.
but we definitely can flag any medicines we know are not agreeable for us.