Swollen Feet

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kerri73

kerri73

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 11, 2005
Messages
179
Location
Omaha, Nebraska
Hi all,

I had surgery back on July 14th and I just have swollen feet that don't want to go away. I wanted to see if anyone else has ever experienced this. They're not horrible, but I can't wear normal shoes (and now that we're heading into the colder season, it may be a little more of a pain). :)

If you remember, I did have complications after surgery - went into kidney failure, had hematomas in my kidney and abdomen/back area from internal bleeding, etc.

I'm seeing a vascular doc on Monday so we can rule anything out there. Otherwise, they did an echo, they've done chest x-rays (because I had a cough for a while, too), and they did one of those live x-rays to get a good look at how my valve was opening & closing.

My kidney functions are great - I finally had my stents taken out this past week & the week prior (one each week).

I guess I'm just curious if anyone else still had foot swelling 2 & 1/2 months post op. It's only from the ankles down and the left is worse than the right. Just odd. :) But considering everything I've gone through, it's pretty minor in the scheme of things - more of a nuisance than anything.

Thanks!
Kerri
 
Don't want to cause you to freak out, but it sounds very much like your having some congestive heart failure. Are you taking any diuretics? Have you been weighing yourself nakkie every morning and are you gaining more then 5 lbs of weight in a day?
 
Kerri,

It is good you are checking this out for peace of mind.

I myself had swelling in my feet (not horrible, as you said) for about two months after my surgery and I still get this swelling on and off depending on my sodium intake. In my case, the right foot was (and still gets) worse than the left. Neither the cardio nor my physician gives this any attention!

Keep us posted after you see the doctor. Good luck.
 
Thanks Eva & Ross -

I am on lasix and another diuretic. I was on those during my hospital stay (when I had 40lbs of water weight on) and for a while at home. The swelling cleared up 100% at home so I was able to stop them. About 2 weeks later the swelling began again and has never completely gone away. :( (even after starting the diuretics back up).

I haven't been good about weight myself recently. I noticed a few weeks ago that my weight difference from one week to the next was about 10lbs (gained one week, lost the next). I'll have to make a point to check it more often!

Hopefully it's not CHF, but we'll see. My cardio has been pretty attentive and run lots of tests/referred me, at least. My echo did show that my heart muscle wasn't pumping as hard as before surgery (at least according to the Dr that analyzed it). So we'll see... I'll keep you posted on what the vascular doc says.

Thanks!
Kerri
 
Yeah I'm an epic fail on weighing... I don't think I have in a couple of weeks! :eek: Not on purpose, just by forgetfulness (I forget to right when I wake up and by the time I think about it I've drank and eaten all kinds of stuff and am dressed). I probably remembered once a week except for the week right after I got home. Granted, I was in the hospital for a month after surgery, so I did get weighed a lot then (at 4am every morning, to be exact!) ;)

I'll keep you guys posted...
 
Will do - of course, I just went upstairs to weigh myself, and the battery in the scale is dead. :) So "will do, starting tomorrow" :)

Thanks!
Kerri
 
Hi Kerri,

I had my surgery on July 16th and I am doing EXACTLY the same thing. Left foot swelling worse than the other and not even that all the time. I talked to my doctor who didn't seem that concerned....put me on Lasix as needed. I took one today because at work my foot swelled pretty bad.

I had an echo just a couple weeks ago and my EF was over 55% and the Cardiologist said he was more than pleased (his words) with how the valve was working. So, I don't know why my foot/feet are swelling on occasion...but you are right that with the colder weather and trying to wear warmer shoes....is aggravating a tiny problem and making it much worse. My foot hurt pretty badly today.

Mileena
 
Well I did see the vascular surgeon today - he prescribed me some super strength compression socks, so I'll have to try to get those tomorrow.

They did an ultrasound of my legs and feet and found that the main vein/artery (can't remember which) that goes into my left leg had below normal readings - and that's the one that tends to swell more. So basically, I go back in 3 months - if the compression socks helped, that means one thing and if they don't that means another. What he told me those things were are all above my head (I need to get a copy of his report to my cardio). :)

They talked about doing an ablation of the artery or a laser surgery... but were hesitant to do anything invasive given everything I've been through - however, if it meant I could never wear a normal shoe again, I think I'd opt for that procedure!! :)

Also, when I went in today, they noticed my feet were "ashy" in color... I hadn't noticed that prior to today, but it could have been there all along. Weird! Definitely proves there's some circulation issues. :(

I'll keep you posted!
Kerri
 
Kerri:

Do compression socks come in fashion-conscious colors? :cool:

I had to wear white ones post-op. You'd think someone would get smart and make other colors.

Egads! Can you imagine argyle ones? :eek:

Seriously, hope the socks help.
 
kerri73 said:
Well I did see the vascular surgeon today - he prescribed me some super strength compression socks, so I'll have to try to get those tomorrow.

They did an ultrasound of my legs and feet and found that the main vein/artery (can't remember which) that goes into my left leg had below normal readings - and that's the one that tends to swell more. So basically, I go back in 3 months - if the compression socks helped, that means one thing and if they don't that means another. What he told me those things were are all above my head (I need to get a copy of his report to my cardio). :)

They talked about doing an ablation of the artery or a laser surgery... but were hesitant to do anything invasive given everything I've been through - however, if it meant I could never wear a normal shoe again, I think I'd opt for that procedure!! :)

Also, when I went in today, they noticed my feet were "ashy" in color... I hadn't noticed that prior to today, but it could have been there all along. Weird! Definitely proves there's some circulation issues. :(

I'll keep you posted!
Kerri
Click to expand...

Is the bad leg the one they used for your last cath? I don't remember, but since you've had a few OHS did they use either of your groin area for the bypass machine during surgery?
I hope the socks help, I wore them a couple times and the best thing I remeber about them was how GOOD it felt to take them off.
 
Oh funny. :) Compression socks do come in different colors - not sure about argyle, but I did get some in tan and black. :) So we'll see how they do.

I know they tried to get my IV in my leg/femur area, but the report didn't specify which side... so that could have been it. It's really hard telling - I think what he said is that if these don't show a vast improvement then he'd order some CT scans to get more images.

We shall see! I haven't put the socks on yet - I will probably agree with the favorite part being taking them off at night. :) I know the ones they had me wearing in the hospital made me feel like that, but they were a different texture, too, and only went down to mid-foot.
Kerri :)
 
Kerri:

Did you doctor mention lymphedema as a possibility? John had that post-op, started in the hospital, took several months to resolve. But his affected only one leg, not both.
Compression stockings are one treatment for lymphedema.
 
I think that's the one thing they said it wasn't, actually... now if only I could remember the things they thought it *was* :) (gotta get a copy of my report!)
 
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