Swelling after flying?

gysberger04

So I flew on Monday and Tuesday for work (2 1-hour flights each day - 4 hours in flight total), I felt completely nauseous after each flight (smaller planes, so more turbulence) and when I got home last night I realized that my hands, feet and ankles were completely swollen.  I struggled to walk around the house when I got home last night at 11pm due to the swelling and went to bed, hoping that the swelling would go away by morning.  Well, I wake up this morning and the swelling was still there, if not worse than it was last night.  I called the doctor and they told me to drink extra water, put my feet up when I am at work at my desk and to take frequent breaks and walk around at work (I work a desk job).  Oh, and I gained 4 pounds in the two days I was traveling, despite eating healthy the whole time.  So, despite following the doctor's instructions, I am not feeling any better swollen-wise - has anyone else had something similar happen to them?  If so, how long did it take for the swelling to go down?  My hands and feet are killing me from being so swollen!!!!

jnealet

I did with my pregnancy with DD. I flew from Baltimore to Denver and it wasn't a small plane.  It took a while for me to recover, I remember the day after I returned was the day I was the most worn out.  I drove 8 hours in one day and it took me 4 days to recover from that.

I would give yourself a little more time.  And drink a crap ton of water. 

Adanessa

Hmm, well before I was pregnant I flew overseas a few times and my ankles were swollen or at least 2 days afterwards and I could hardly get out of my shoes so I assume it could be a looot worse during pregnancy when you have all that extra fluid and restricted blood-flow and what not. I would still keep an eye on it though and really drink tons and tons of water. If that doesn't work I'd call again.

dootz8

Next time you fly when pregnant wear compression socks.  My doctor recommended it to help keep the swelling down, and it worked like a charm.  The first time I flew it probably took 4 days for my feet and ankles to get back to their normal size.  Good luck!  

gysberger04

Thanks for the input!  I've had 90 oz. of water so far today and feel like if I drink any more, I will burst!  I'm going to a work happy hour tonight, will it be ok if I drink a glass of lemonade along with water, instead of just water, to keep my fluid intake up?  I don't know how much more water chugging I can do today .

rockdragon

I had a 2 1/2 hour flight back in June and it took me a couple days to recover. I also got really sick throwing up right after landing both trips and it tok me 2 days to get back to normal. I would rest and drink lots and lots of water. If you don't start to feel beter soon or get worse I would call again.

Adanessa

I don't think there's anything wrong with lemonade, as long as you don't drink anything caffeinated or eat salty foods.

PecanSam

I'm a flight attendant and I work on the big planes. Before I was pregnant I would swell like you wouldn't believe. When I would be out working for a few weeks, I would come home and look several months pregnant (us flight attendants, call it jet belly). But after every flight my feet would swell as well.

It's very normal to swell from flying, that is there is no way I would do while pregnant. Everyone is right, you have to drink a ton of water. And what used to help me a lot was to run (I was a runner). But you can at least walk, and walk a lot. Even in the winter, I would live in my flip flops b/c my feet would be so swollen from flying. My hands will swell so much that I had to take my rings off before I would go to bed (which was normally right after a flight).

So it's normal, just walk a ton, and drink a ton of water.

MrsNash37212

dootz8:

Next time you fly when pregnant wear compression socks.  My doctor recommended it to help keep the swelling down, and it worked like a charm.  The first time I flew it probably took 4 days for my feet and ankles to get back to their normal size.  Good luck!  

This, I've worn the socks several times while flying the past couple months and my legs don't swell at all.

PecanSam

MrsNash37212:

dootz8:

Next time you fly when pregnant wear compression socks.  My doctor recommended it to help keep the swelling down, and it worked like a charm.  The first time I flew it probably took 4 days for my feet and ankles to get back to their normal size.  Good luck!  

This, I've worn the socks several times while flying the past couple months and my legs don't swell at all.

I forgot about compression socks. They do help a lot and you can buy them in black and brown too not just that awful white. FootSmart catalog usually has good prices for them.

Temp574971250006741

I flew from Austin, TX to Newark, NJ and back over the summer. I was swollen after my flight back to TX. It took almost 2 days for the swelling to go away completely. I took a bath, iced my ankles and elevated them. I also went for a swim and floated in the pool. The weight gain may also be extra water retention from the swelling

maraclaire

At around 22 weeks I took about a 20 hour train ride. It was killer, and my ankles swole up to gigantic proportions. I also thought they would be better after a nights sleep, but it probably took two nights and a lot of elevation and ice before they were normal. 

apeydawn214

MrsNash37212:

dootz8:

Next time you fly when pregnant wear compression socks.  My doctor recommended it to help keep the swelling down, and it worked like a charm.  The first time I flew it probably took 4 days for my feet and ankles to get back to their normal size.  Good luck!  

This, I've worn the socks several times while flying the past couple months and my legs don't swell at all.