Swelling question. 32 weeks with twins

JGior1031

I am 32 weeks with boy/girl twins and I am so swollen!! My swelling is out of control! The swelling I have is from my hips down. My thighs get so swollen that I can't put my feet together and walk straight. At this point it's comical bc I look hysterical walking. By about 11am my legs look like the belong on a different body! I get those pity looks from women and scared looks from men. I have tried everything from compression stockings, massage, ice packs, drinking lots of water, cool and warm baths with Epsom salt with and with out massage jets, elevating legs and walking and almost everyday I do all of them! Nothing helps. I'm swollen when I wake up and it grows from there! I have cut out adding salt and watch everything I eat limiting my sodium intake to 1500mg (drs orders) and still nothing!
Anyone have any other tricks I haven't tried? Anyone else experiencing or experienced a lot of swelling in just the legs?
My blood pressure, urine tests and blood work have all been 100% normal and excellent. And I have been on every two weeks seeing my OB for the past 2 months and tomorrow I start weekly.
At this point I just don't know what else to do. I probably cry at least 10 times a day just out of sheer frustration and being so uncomfortable.

Snugly Ael

Have you spoken to your OB about it? If not I'd suggest talking to him/her. I had a lot of swelling in my feet and knees, but it wasn't as bad as yours. May be you should rest more and keep your feet off the ground. Try to keep them elevated whenever possible. I'm sorry you're having a hard time. You're pretty close to having your twins. I hope you feel better. Take care!

bumpuser924057

My swelling was AWFUL.  My legs were so stiff I couldn't bend them to put on pants and underwear, and I had edema in the front of my belly that made everything hang weird and was extremely uncomfortable.  You have to try and rest, get off your feet, and spend as much time horizontal as you possibly can.  It will go away once the babies are out, I promise.  I wasn't sure if I would ever have ankles again, but I do!

Cleo421

I had swelling on just one side for a couple of weeks. After ruling out a DVT, it was suggested that a baby was sitting on a vessel/nerve which caused the swelling. Maybe this is the case with you times two?

earlyspring1

All I can tell you is that it will be a distant memory soon enough. I couldn't wear a single pair of my shoes, and only had one pair of pants that I could wear at the end. The issue with the pants was that my calves were bigger than most people's thighs. I lost 40 lbs from birth to my two week PP check up. There's a light at the end of the tunnel!

JGior1031

Thank you ladies!! It's comforting to know I'm not alone in this!
My dr is aware of the swelling and the severity. He said due to the fact that my blood pressure, blood work and urine have been perfect he is not concerned about the swelling. He said unfortunately it is part of pregnancy especially multiple pregnancy.
This is my first pregnancy and all of this is just so scary and new. I'm a tiny person and to have this much swelling is freaky! I'm just so concerned about the twins health.
This pregnancy has been so wonderful up to now and we are so close to the end!
I see my dr today so ill see what he has to say.
Thank you!!!!!!

eandk18

I had horrible swelling as well.  I don't really have any advice other than to take it easy and hang in there.  My OB recommended staying off my feet and laying on my left side but even that didn't really help much.  I was pulled out of work at 36 weeks due to high blood pressure and then ended up with pre eclampsia the day before delivering.  I will echo what others said though....the swelling does go away once you deliver.  I gained 50 lbs and about 30 lbs was water weight.  I lost the water weight by 1 week post partum.  Your normal legs WILL return even if it doesn't feel like it now!

Good luck!!!

kellibelle0417

I had to go buy a pair of Nike Velcro sandals so I could wear shoes. The only thing that helped me and made a huge difference was stopping work and keeping my feet elevated most of the day along with lots of water. Compression stockings were so uncomfortable for me! Good luck and rest up!

PumpkinAndThePeanut

earlyspring1 said:

All I can tell you is that it will be a distant memory soon enough. I couldn't wear a single pair of my shoes, and only had one pair of pants that I could wear at the end. The issue with the pants was that my calves were bigger than most people's thighs. I lost 40 lbs from birth to my two week PP check up. There's a light at the end of the tunnel!

All of this was pretty much me too. I lost 20 pounds in just retained water after delivery.
Not to get you down even more, but you should be aware that it gets worse after delivery, due to the fluids they give you during labor/ delivery or a c-section. But by about 10-14 days after my c-section, all the swelling was gone. Hang in there!

JenniferF11

I was SO swollen at the end of my pregnancy too! Everyone kept telling me it was normal - just like your post - except that it wasn't.

I delivered two healthy girls at 36 weeks and following the c section the doctors at the hospital kept saying the swelling was still bad because of the fluids. Went home and still the swelling was unbelievable.

Finally, one night my toe and part of my foot was turning purple! After a trip to the ER to rule out a blood clot, the ER doc determined that I had developed cellulitis from the extreme edema I experienced in the last weeks of my pregnancy. As soon as I started antibiotics the weight and swelling immediately went down! I lost about 30 lbs in a week!

Just sayin always get a second opinion if you think something is not right. I suffered for 2-3 weeks before getting the right treatment because everyone just assumed it was normal swelling.