Advice please, worried about elderly mum with swollen legs and ankles due to amlipodine.

Paul..does the 'rash' you have burn at all??? 

My ankles started getting red, then started to irritate like hell, then the surface starts to turn like eczema. The only problem was I must of scratched the area at one time, because it became effected, (red and Hot) which was diagnosed as Cellulitis, I was given an antibiotic for that, but my ankles are still messed up

Have you l got a redish blueish mottle looking skin where the rash was?

Paul, just a couple of reddish blueish small blemishes.

Mine is as big as the palm of you hand on the inside of one ankle and about the size of 10 pence coin on the other. Nothing my GP has given me has worked, so I just use  a Moisturising Cream

Paul,  many of the BP meds work by dilating the arteries and blood vessels to allow the blood to flow through more easily thereby reducing blood pressure.

The swollen ankles/legs that some of us experience if not addressed very quickly can obviously lead to problems in those of us who are susceptible.

In my case, the Amlodipine caused swelling leading to the development of varicose eczema as an allergic reaction.

Perhaps you also have sort sort of allergic reaction going on in the blood vessels, such as a vasculitis.   Perhaps the following might help:

"Vasculitis is a condition where the blood vessels in one part of the body become inflamed. This can lead to changes, such as thickening and weakening, in the blood vessels. Unmanaged, vasculitis can lead to tissue and organ death in the area surrounding the affected blood vessels. In addition to red blotches, symptoms of vasculitis include pain, loss of appetite and numbness and weakness in the affected area, such as the legs. Vasculitis develops when your body attacks the blood vessels, which may happen as a result of immune system problems, infections or an allergic reaction. In many cases, it is impossible to determine the exact cause of vasculitis." 

If you suspect anything like this, then ask your GP to refer you to a vascular consultant for some reassurance at least.

Hi jinnie1975...I'm sorry to know your Mom still isn't doing so well. Do did the right thing by encouraging her to get back to the doctor...pronto.

Please don't play torturous games with yourself by thinking something that may not be happening, i.e. her bowel cancer battle back in 2012. This may not be causing her back pain. It could be something else entirely. I'm not surprised you learned that she &  your dad told each other they loved one another, & enjoyed happiness for 44 years. My parents did the same thing. I lost my Mom through a serious illness, & a day before she passed, she told my dad "Goodbye..I love you". They started dating at the age of 16, & were happily married for 60yrs at the time of her death. Dad was never the same, & passed away 4yrs & 11months later. Often couples that have been together as long as your parents & mine, do tell one another of their love. This is something we can all learn a lesson from. Perhaps she does think she's on the way out.Nature has a way of emphasizing our instincts...but bottom line here is...get her to the doctor. Was she on the Amlodipine for bp?...If she's come off it,her bp could rebound.

Please let us know how you get on. Know that you have a lot of support here on the forum. God Bless.

Thanks for your support. I'm very close to my mum and have never worried about her health until the past few years. Yes, she was taking the amlipodine for bp for 13 years. She has been having monthly checks on her bp, the GP told her only last month that she would be on it for the rest of her life, but it was the nurse who she saw last time and she was the one who took her off it due to the swelling. Christmas 2013 she was very poorly and I seriously thought she was not going to be around for much longer, she was comatosed for days, she had some blood tests done and then got a call on New Years Eve from the doc's saying her salt levels were dangerously low and she needed to start eating it in her diet, this was after years of being told to reduce, it!! I know I may be worrying unnecessarily and probably she will be ok, it's just that I love her so much and can't imagine her not in my life.

Jinnie, your Mum hasn't been on a diuretic by any chance has she?  I ask because I was prescribed one a few months ago and within 3 weeks I felt so ill, fatigued, out of breath and difficulty with walking.  Had blood tests and they revealed that the diuretic had severely reduced my sodium levels, leading to my feeling poorly.  The diuretic was stopped immediately and my sodium levels returned to normal by the next blood tests a short time afterwards.  However, unlike your Mum, I have been told that I should certainly not increase salt in my diet as it could adversely affect my kidney function.  I have never added salt to my cooking or at the table.  Eating too much salt can raise blood pressure and lead to fluid retention - certainly not advisable for your Mum I would have thought seeing that she already suffers from swelling.

You need to get her to a good Dr who should carry out a raft of blood tests and if necessary refer her to the appropriate consultant  for investigation.

Hi again, jinnie1975...

I agree with MrsO. When you said your Mum was told she'd be on the Amlodipine for the rest of her life, I couldn't believe what I was reading. What a load of horsesh*t! There are OTHER bp medications to help reduce bp..NOT just Amlodipine. Diuretics are fine to a degree, but the salt & potassium levels should be monitored fairly regularly. Diuretics can flush important minerals from our body. A friend of mine went to hospital several months ago, & it was discovered that her potassium level was down to 2.9, whereas the emergency doctor said it should be at 3.2 to 3.4 at least. Once she started to take Slow K, her level came back up. & she's been fine ever since. 

Don't settle for your Mum just taking Amlodipine. Again, I think she or you were fed a load of b.s.