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Swollen foot

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Natalie seddon

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Type 1
Hi everyone.
I'm having a bit of a rough time after eye surgery four weeks ago. Initially I had to be treated for urine retention whilst cleared up after a few days. However I am still suffering with a very swollen right foot. The swelling moves between the top of my foot to my ankle. I have been prescribed water tablets, which I have stopped after they had no effect. I have had my kidney function checked several times and it is fine. The only abnormalities that have come back are: protein in my urine and lower than normal albumin levels. Does anybody have any experience of this or can offer any advice or suggestions. It is really getting me down as I am a keen horse rider and can't get a boot on so haven't been able to ride.
 
Welcome to the forum, Natalie seddon.
Have you discussed giving up taking water tablets / diurectics (which one?) with whoever prescribed them? Perhaps the one you took wasn't the right one to control the swelling in your foot and you could be prescribed an alternative? Alternatively, perhaps pressure bandaging and / or elevating foot when at rest might help. In any case, you should consult your GP to discuss options. Getting you back on horseback should be a priority - would it be possible with alternative footwear?
 
Hi Natalie
The only experience I've had that's similar was when initially diagnosed, my feet swelled to epic proportions and stayed that way for quite a while. It was a reaction to the insulin though which really upset my potassium levels and then whacked my sodium levels when I was pumped with potassium. I'm guessing they've ruled out electrolyte imbalance? My albumin was also low, but I'd been in kidney and partial liver failure so that was the cause of the low albumin. This can also cause swelling I was told. Mine went after my liver function improved and the electrolyte imbalance was sorted.

Management wise I found the best approach was to elevate the offending limb as much as possible. I feel for you it was surprisingly difficult to cope with, hope you get it sorted :( Incidentally water tablets did nothing for me either and the consultant told me to stop because they weren't potassium sparing and that was making the situation worse.
 
Thank you so much everyone. I feel a little happier now. I have got made to measure compression socks coming tomorrow to try as when I wear certain shoes they are less swollen. I will visit my gp when I have tried them for a few days. The lack of potassium and sodium could be a possibility as I have recently had to change my diet very suddenly and it did coincide with the swelling. I will be asking to have these levels checked. Does anyone have any experience in reducing protein league from kidneys? Thank you
 
Dunno about the other stuff but I do wear made to measure compression socks all the time, they are the best thing ever for water retention, and without them I would have lost my legs by now.
They are a pain to put on and may be a tad uncomfortable at first but persevere and you'll find them invaluable.
 
There's a technique to putting on compression socks, which I've learned when helping other people and when I was given for knee surgery. Prepare the sock by turning back the section above the foot. Pull on the foot section, then gradually roll back the leg section from inside out to right way on. It's still a struggle, but easier than trying to pull sock on without turning leg inside out first.
 
Thank you I did have to wear them for surgery once and found that I got used to them quite quickly. Am really hoping that they are a temporary measure until they can find out what is causing the swelling. I often wear skirts to work and I'm not sure the compression sock and skirt look is one that will go down well with my kids (am a secondary school teacher)
 
Hope the socks improve things for you Natalie, and you can get back on that horse! 🙂 Hope that the eyes are improving too, after the surgery. What did you have done? Have you been diagnosed long? Let us know if there is anything else we can help with 🙂
 
Thank you very much. I have been diabetic for eighteen years and have always struggled to keep some kind of lid on it. I'm either high or out cold on the floor. I was diagnosed with prolific retinopathy 16 months ago and since have had 8 operations to stabilise my retina. I have virtually lost the sight in my right eye bit am fighting hard for my left. I'm lucky to have the best ophthalmologist ever and he has done everything he can to get me where I am today. I've just had some great news though. My recent HBa1C has dropped by 53 in just six weeks. I can't believe it
 
Natalie seddon said:
Thank you very much. I have been diabetic for eighteen years and have always struggled to keep some kind of lid on it. I'm either high or out cold on the floor. I was diagnosed with prolific retinopathy 16 months ago and since have had 8 operations to stabilise my retina. I have virtually lost the sight in my right eye bit am fighting hard for my left. I'm lucky to have the best ophthalmologist ever and he has done everything he can to get me where I am today. I've just had some great news though. My recent HBa1C has dropped by 53 in just six weeks. I can't believe it
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Very sorry to hear about the eyes, but good to hear that you have an opthamologist you can trust 🙂 And terrific news on the HbA1c, that's quite a drop in such a short period of time - do you have any indication why it has fallen so much?
 
Thank you. Had check up on eyes today and all is stable which is a relief. They put me on tresiba as my long acting and I kinda cut out almost all carbs for a few weeks then built my diet back up again to include some carbs. The foot issue came about around this time so I'm hoping that I am lacking something in my diet and that is the cause.
 
Natalie seddon said:
Thank you. Had check up on eyes today and all is stable which is a relief. They put me on tresiba as my long acting and I kinda cut out almost all carbs for a few weeks then built my diet back up again to include some carbs. The foot issue came about around this time so I'm hoping that I am lacking something in my diet and that is the cause.
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Ah, always good to know why something has happened! 🙂 Hope you are right, that it may lie at the root of your foot problems and is easily resolved 🙂
 
Have you ever been on a DAFNE course or similar?
 
Hi AJLang yes I did and have been carb counting for years but I suffer with extreme highs and lows and it was so hard to manage. I have also suffered with small intestinal bacteria overgrowth for five years which was only diagnosed in November and became apparent that carb rich diet made that impossible to manage. After a course of antibiotics and the probiotics I am able to tolerate some carbs now. I use the freestyle insulinx monitor which is fantastic for help in carb counting. Thank you northerner for your well wishes. X
 
Hi Natalie that must be so frustrating for you. I can empathise because I have Gastroparesis which can cause major problems with BGS. However I've been really fortunate that ive been mainly able to get them under control through a combination of the pump, very frequent testing, medication etc but it does take an awful lot of monitoring and can still go very wrong. I count my blessings that despite 45 years of diabetes that I still have my hypo awareness touch wood x
 
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