OT: Getting Tired

Sorry to hear of your frustration.

Just this year, my mom saw a vascular surgeon for swelling in her legs, and he said to her, "that's not from the veins; that's lymphedema. A few weeks of massage therapy will take care of that."

So in February she went to the lymphedema center three days a week for therapy, and within 4-6 weeks she had ankles that I haven't seen since....well, I don't think I'd *ever* seen slim ankles on her. Who knew? Now she has to wear compression stockings, and do her own massage.

Just FYI. I'd had no idea this therapy was available.

My problem with swelling in the legs happened over night. Actually it was right after I had a very, very large chinese dinner - Boom!!! Same thing happened to a good friend of mine a week eariler after a large chinese dinner - no other cause found at the moment for him either.

Legs and feet nearly doubled in size in 24 hours and then got so bad the skin started cracking with clear fluid leaking out in torrents. Every time an area of skin cracked it was like some one snapping an elastic band against my leg - day or night. The healing process is even worse - stings like a hot grease spatter. As fluid level goes up and down, skin expands and contracts cracking the healing scabs. Stockings just push fluid from one area to another, actually I'm not too bad when my blood pressure is really up but that is kind of risky at my age. I've had just about every blood/fluid test there is and everything is fine in that area which doesn't explain why just taking a look at my arms can cause capillaries to break with a slight flooding under the skin, i.e. like slight one sometimes gets after a blood test puncture , I do not bruise easily on any other part of my body. At the moment 15 minutes of massage for 5 minutes of relief just doesn't cut it for me. My guess - either an aneurism in a vein high up in the body or a lymphoma (lump of buzzard fat) pressing against a vein somewhere.

Now I know what my father meant when he said that ya gotta be tough to make it through the senior years!

Fred

I will try to post a picture of Marjorie's wood chomping, tree demolishing, tire chewing *puppy* soon. He looks about 110 lbs., over 5" 6" nose to tail and about 30" to the withers. If I can get him in harness in a few months it ought to be one hell of a dog sled ride. We could just disappear into the twilight zone in a flash, for such a big guy he can really move which makes me wonder how I'm going to get him trained without getting slaughtered.

With Marjorie's established peaking order, Cassie gets all the RED MEAT and I'm stuck with condor, buzzard, fish and berries. Yuk!!!!! Damn dog's in better shape than I am so what does that say for proper dieting???

Fred

That could be true - I am thinking of the old expression about not keeping a dog and barking yourself lol

Please amuse yourself doing that, dying to see him now.

Was it the same Chinese restaurant?

I didn't realize the problem was acute, not chronic. It could be as Karen said, excess MSG that started the swelling, then some blockage that stopped it from resolving.

I hope you get to the bottom or it soon. Sounds danged uncomfortable!

sue

It's been a long time since most Chinese restaurants (in Canada anyway) put msg in food - it is a known allergen and they don't want customers suffering, trust me on that I am good friends with two families heavily involved in Chinese foods.

That was my first thought, too. Something like an allergic reaction. Hope you're feeling better SOON, Fred!

Joan