Feet and Leg Swelling any ideas?

[MtPockets]

Been awhile since I posted about the leg swelling issue. We tried the pressure stockings, pressure boot, lasic, and they get bigger and bigger. I am at the point where my skin is beginning to crack and the swelling is even under my feet now. It hurts to just rest my feet on the leg rests of the wheelchair.
Any ideas?

[Coach's Wife]

I'm so sorry you're having so much discomfort. While Jeff's feet were extremely cold and blue-ish purple, it was his hands/fingers that swelled and looked like your feet. This is what we did...we would massage, massage, massage....for 30-60 minutes 3 times a day. I would take each finger (and in your case, each toe) and literally push the fluid up through his hand and into his arm where it dissipated...you can see the fluid move. I would start higher on your foot and work the fluid toward your ankle and up into your calf area. With each massage, I would move an inch closer toward your toes...until I was able to massage each toe and push the fluid all the way up into your ankle/calf. You will feel a huge relief...Jeff loved the massages and the relief they brought...you can actually see progress within your first few minutes of massage. The massages must be made with good pressure and conviction (to see good results!). Please, everyone, be careful not to hurt your pALS...s/he will tell you how much pressure to apply. Good luck and I wish you all comfort.

Louie
former cALS to husband, Jeff: 7-5-2007

[joelc]

I deal with the swelling by keeping my feet elevated during the day. I have elevating leg rests on my powerchair. If I don't do this my feet swell badly but are okay if I keep them elevated for about half the day.

[crystalkk]

AL,

I can't offer better advice than Coach's wife, if you have someone to do it for you.
And try to keep your feet elevated as much as possible.
What do the drs say?

I don't have much experience with this but I guess water pills are out of the question......

[MtPockets]

Thanks all for the ideas. Yes, I've been on the water pills, direutic, for past 2 years. No one willing to massage my feet except my dogs.

[Al]

The only thing that helps mine Al is getting them up in the air. Hard to do that on the computer though.

AL.

[duplinwino]

Are the pressure stockings tight enough? That's the only thing we've found that works for DH. His look like yours if he doesn't wear them, horribly blue/red/purple and swollen. Sorry, I'm sure it's horribly uncomfortable

[lovelily]

Dear MT...Oh my gosh, that looks sooo painful, and uncomfortable! Do you get regular blood work done to check for things like kidney trouble, or anything else that may retain fluid in the body?

Feel better soon! May God bless you in your struggles.

[SteveS]

ouch..Your feet look like the wifes. We have tried different things. The only thing other thing that has somewhat worked other than elevating them is what her OT at the clinic calls "Tubies" (pronounced tube ee's) It is a stretchy material that looks like a cross between cheese cloth and tensor bandage. There are many different sizes and the trick is getting the correct size. Our last visit she stitched up a dual layer one that had 2 different sizes incorporated. This material is available at most medical supply places we were told. You may want to discuss with your OT about it as ours seems to think most should know about it and where to get it in your area. Another thing that has helped is the home care people are now doing range of motion exercises with the wife a few times a day when they visit. Whatever it is that they are doing with the wife (PT designed a program and even took pictures and made a pamphlet that is easy to follow) has made a significant difference. I can even see her ankles now as the wifes swelling was a bit worse than yours. Good luck and keep us updated.

[MtPockets]

Thanks again for all the good ideas. I have a pair of large foot drop boots I use to wear and if I put them on real tight the swelling will go down some, but it cause a lot of pain wearing them for long times like 2 days. When I take them off my feet look like wrinkled prunes.
I have been told if the swelling is not controlled it can lead to blood clots and gangrene. Anyone know more about this info?
I have added pictures of before and after wearing the foot drop boots to my control panel if you care to see the difference.

[mvoet]

My dad has a similar issue. He uses feet massagers that work well. The one he has is very basic and looks like one big slipper for both feet and it basically just vibrates. He uses it daily and gives him some relief. He also finds that it helps on long car rides.