When to worry about edema?

Mrs. Alicia French

My feet have become SO swollen in the past week!!   They don't seem to "go down", I have sausage feet from the time I wake up in the morning until I go to bed at night.  I work in a low stress, sit down, office job, and I prop my feet up almost all day.  I am wearing flat shoes, and I don't eat a ton of salt.  I've tried cold compresses, but they don't seem to do much good.  My right seems to be worse than my left.  Is there a point to start worrying about edema?  I went to the nurse at my work, and she said my blood pressure is normal.  I have a doctor's appointment on Thursday, but should I call the doctor before then? 

Starfish113

As long as your BP is fine, I wouldn't worry. I had pretty bad edema from about 32 weeks till 37 weeks. My doctor didn't have much to say about it, just told me to drink lots of fluids and put my feet up when I get home from work. GL!

synchrosally

If your blood pressure is ok and you don't have sudden, severe swelling in your face or other places, it's likely normal pregnancy swelling.  I've had bad swelling since 22 weeks and my right is always worse than my left because that's the side my LO prefers.  Tell your doctor on Thursday.

atu79

My right foot swells a lot more then my left one so my doc is sending me for a doppler tomorrow to rule out a blood clot.  She is doing it as a precaution.  She said its most likely that he is pressing on the veins etc on my right side limiting the blood flow or something but wants to make sure.  She isnt worried about Pre-eclampsia because my BP is normal.  I would say as long as your BP is normal and the swelling is even there is nothing to worry about. 

Wendy525

That sounds horrible! How about a lymphatic massage or accupuncture?

gaga

My feet are ridiculous too.  My doc said as long as my BP is fine and I still recognize my face, I'm okay.

She suggested celery, watermelon and cilantro.  Drinking LOTS of water, watching the salt, going in a swimming pool (the water pressure helps push the fluids back in), and massage.  My husband came up with the idea to wrap my feet (we use my boxing wraps) tightly for 15-30 minutes a night and that actually seems to help the most.  Also, wearing shoes instead of flip flops helps contain the swelling too (at least for me).

Good luck!

driveshorses

Try some sort of a compression wrap also. My ankles get swollen and I just wrap them for about 15-20 min. and put my feet up. It also helps if I soak in the bath.

If your BP is normal, it's most likely normal pregnancy swelling. I had pre-eclampsia and the swelling is ridiculous. My BP was also ridiculous.