1. Community
  2. Bones, joints and muscles
  3. Polymyalgia Rheumatica and GCA

Swelling in Legs and feet

Posted , 5 users are following.

TERI23
TERI23

Have had swelling in my feet legs and fingers for a while and am getting worried about it  my Rummy took 6 viles of blood to see whats going on with me so far no info from her although it has only been a few days. Seem day by day I get worse very discourageing  has anyone else had problems with swelling ???? I am on 15mg of pred. Can anyone help me 

2 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • ptolemy
    ptolemy TERI23

    Posted

    I have swollen feet and ankles which I was told was due to fluid retention from the steroids. I did try manual lymphatic massage which sort of worked but I found the lady who did it a bit spooky.  I now have foot and leg massage which I love. 
  • barbara75814
    barbara75814 TERI23

    Posted

    The swelling could be from a number of things, so I know you are anxious to hear what the rheumatologist thinks.  I know that swelling in feet/legs could be (and in my case may be) from heart failure, although doc is not ready to give me a definite diagnosis quite yet.  

    However! I am 84 years old, probably a lot older than you, so I wouldn't worry at this point about heart failure. Plenty of other symptoms go with it, too.

    Since you have finger swelling, I assume the doc is looking into rheumatoid arthritis in that connection--

    You didn't say how much relief you have gotten from the 15 mg. prednisone, but I assume you don't have a lot of pain, right? Meaning, you (probably) do have PMR.

    Naturally the swelling worries you, but I hope you get some good news that it's relatively harmless. Maybe you'll let us know?

    Good luck--

  • misdiagnose
    misdiagnose TERI23

    Posted

    Have doctors given you any advice about this? I try to keep my feet up whenever possible to increase circulation. (I sleep with my legs on the headboard and my head where my feet used to be :-)) There are elastic tights which are helpful for some conditions. I had to remove my wedding ring, fingers were like sausages :-)
  • EileenH
    EileenH TERI23

    Posted

    Swelling in hands and feet is not uncommon in PMR - I ended up needing a much larger shoe size! Pred can also lead to fluid retention and of course that just adds to it.

    Mine improved a lot when I was in hospital for a few weeks and had my feet up almost all the time but came back when I went home. Eventually I tried manual lymph drainage and the physio did just the worse leg at the first session - within 3 days both legs were near enough back to normal and it hasn't returned since. It really is worth a try if you can find a nice practitioner!

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.