Alan's foot is swollen!!!
 

I'm moving this as a separate thread because I really need your help guys!!!

Now I'm not trying to make a big deal out of this but last thursday, during his appointment with Dr. Baird his podiatrist, Alan came home saying he had two infections and he was put on antibiotics and then said to me "i need an operation". (Nothing to do with the infection by the way).

I immediately put a call into Dr. Baird and said "you think it's cellulitis, right? and he said "you are good!!!, but I'm just being careful. I'm not sure if Alan has an infection or not!. So I have him on the antibiotics. He was put on CEFADROXIL 500 mgs capsule 2 x a day.

I looked at the tops of his feet at this time and I noticed they were a little swollen and rough patchy. (whatever this means).

Well, I then noticed his ankles were swollen (or one of them was). I said as much to Dr. Baird and he said "melody, his ankles are always swollen. I never noticed this before. They never looked swollen to me. And don't forget he just was examined by the PN Department at Methodist last month and we go again on the 22nd of January. Alan also has an appointment with Dr. Baird this thursday.

Well, I just measured his ankles. I'm trying to be thorough. His right ankle measures 10 and his left ankle measures 11 and a half. So his left ankle is a whole inch and a half bigger than his other ankle.

Does this mean that if he does have cellulitis it makes your ankles swell?

The top of the feet look much better since he is on the antibiotics. He's only been on them since last thursday, Since two of my friends have had cellulitis, they told me "it gets really red, and really hot. and swollen.,
Well, last thursday, it was really red, (don't remember if it was really hot), but now it's just swollen.

We'll find out more on thursday,

Jeez, I hope he's not developing a blood clot in his ankle or something. He has absolutely no pain, no fever, no tenderness, nothing in this area. Just the swollen ankle. He's got it up on the recliner and he's not going to the gym. He went the other day and I could have killed him. He waited a whole 3 days until he went back to the gym. Now I told him "No more gym until you go back to Dr. BAird. Anything else he can do?


P.S. It's now 10:30 p.m. and I just checked his foot and his left foot looks a little like a sausage. The right foot (the one with the ulcer on the underneath), looks just fine.

So why would a left foot be swollen (the ankle part also)?
He's taking anti-biotics. Could they make the foot swell.
Alan has been eating blueberry muffins. Could they have some ingredient in them? But wouldn't that affect both feet?

What could be making the left foot swollen around the top area of the foot and the ankle also. While I know this is not the end of the world, I'm just trying to rule out stuff.,

I know he has to keep taking the rest of the anti-biotic. Do you think that will make the swelling go down if it is indeed cellulitis??

thanks to anybody who can figure this one out.


REmember, he has no pain, it's not tender to the touch, it's not hot, he's not bleeding anywhere, this is not the foot where the ulcer is.

Alan just told me that the whole foot has no sensory feeling in it. I though his neuropathy only affected his toes. It seems I have been mistaken. It goes up to his ankle in both feet.

But this problem only affects the left foot.

Melody

Call the doctor
 

Melody,
If it were my husband, I'd call the doctor. There is no way for any of us to know if Alan has a blood clot, if the infection is worse, or if it is still the same infection. Call the doctor. Play safe.

Sure hope it isn't anything serious.
Billye

Before we go rushing to the doctor (sure, I can call him, that parts easy), the hard part is telling Alan he can't go to the gym, let me tell you that I just measured the ankle tht was swollen last night. It went down a whole inch. It is now 10 and a half inches when last night it was over 11 inches.

Also the top of his foot is less swollen. Maybe that's because he was laying down all night sleeping with his feet up on the bed.

Also, and I could kick myself in the head for not putting this in my original post, but Alan (since he had the stent) was put on a rather low-salt diet. In our house it was salt free. Nothing with sodium.

Well, in the past week, this guy likes pancake syrup on every single thing he eats. One serving has 110 mgs of sodium. Alan has it on his chicken, his vegetables, (especially his carrots), I cook with the stuff, then I pour it on after the stuff is cooked. So absolutely everything he has eaten for the past week is covered in pancake syrum that has 110 mgs a serving. So you know, he's getting a lot more than the 100 mgs right? AND HE NEVER DRINKS WATER. He's supposed to be drinking water, isn't he? I just told him and he says" "I feel fine and I'm going to the gym, it will help circulate my blood".

Also, in my blueberry muffins, (he eats 2 small ones). He splits them and pours the pancake syrup on them.

And two days ago I made meatballs and of course I added pecorino romano cheese to the meatball mixture.

Do you think that this sodium intake could have made the foot swell up. It does appear to be going down and he is seeing Dr. Baird on Thursday.

I really think this is edema due to the sodium (which his body was not used to).

I looked up swollen foot on the internet and it didn't say anyting about blood clots. It said that certain meds can cause it also. Besides sodium. Various treatments say "stick the foot in a bucket of ice water for 5 minutes, massage the foot, massaging upward", drink water!!!!!!!

what do you think?
mel

Lyrica?
 

Still taking the Lyrica? This causes fluid retention.

It really looks like Alan has taste problems. He probably cannot taste
anything but sweet. Putting pancake syr on food? YUKKKKK

People do strange things with food, but this one Mel, is pretty odd.

Hi Mrs. D.

Didn't know that about the lyrica. I just looked at his foot and it's definitely less swollen than last night.

I also asked him "Alan, when you went to see Dr. Baird last thursday, did he notice the swelling of the foot on top", He said "Of course he did, he also noticed the rash and just in case it might be an infection, he put me on antibiotics". I said "oh, okay, so the doctor DOES know about the swelling". Alan just looked at me like I have bats in my belfry.

Also, he said "you know, I haven't been able to get my rings on my fingers lately, (he had mentioned this to me but then he always goes "well, I obviously have rheumatoid arthritis) which he DOES NOT HAVE by the way.

I then made him lie down and took some body lotion and massaged his foot upward (like it said to do on one of the websites I just went to).

And of course he's going to the gym after breakfast. God forbid he should listen to me and rest and elevate his feet today.

Oh well, we go there on thursday and soon we go and see Dr. Goldfarb (the PN specialist).

And god forbid if I see another bottle of pancake syrup. He has had this taste perversion thing going on ever since he was on the fentanyl. Things can't be sweet enough for him.

Oh, Mrs. D. I just went to the Dunkin' Donuts website. They give you nutrition value for all their foods. When Alan goes there for lunch after his gym workout he has a reduced fat blueberry muffin. I just noticed it has over 400 mgs of sodium. He asked me to look up plain bagels. They were worse. They had 610 mg of sodium. Just for fun, I said to Alan, "let's look up Salt Bagels".
They do indeed have Salt Bagels on their menu. Do you know how much sodium is in a Salt Bagel?? OVER 4000 mgs of sodium. We nearly fell off the chair. I couldn't believe what I read.
I also can't believe that years ago, I used to eat these things with cream cheese. It's a wonder I didn't swell up like a balloon.

Will update.

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond.

I'm just a worry wart.

Take care,
Melody

He says the lyrica just takes the edge off, it's not miracle cure.
So is this fluid retention for life, or will it adjust. Have any ideas?? We will be calling Dr. Fred later on today.

I don't know of anyone
 

who had fluid retention go away on Lyrica or Neurontin. It is a given for the
drugs. Some have extreme effects..some less so. But there is always some.

Sodium is the most plentiful mineral in food. You can't avoid it.
But avoiding artificially high items like salt bagels, pickles, and canned soups,
is basically what the low sodium diet is geared for. Not salting food is another way to avoid high sodium. But there is substantial sodium in all dairy products.
This is because milk to the young animal from the mother, is vital. So dairy has sodium.

No doctor expects you to go below 2 grams a day.

You might want to give Alan a zinc supplement. OptiZinc is the best one out there and not expensive. Low zinc levels usually cause taste/smell perversion.
Low zinc also affects HEALING and zinc therapy is a cornerstone for wound management. So with both taste problems and a poorly healing wound...zinc would be a good idea for Alan! I would start at one a day. Bring this up with the doctor...if he wants a higher dose, he can recommend that.

Lyrica and Fluid Retention
 

Melody, you know I have been on Lyrica for some time now and I have never had any swelling around my ankles or feet. I must be one of the lucky ones (usually I am not) because I even lost weight when I first went on it.

Well, must get busy http://bestsmileys.com/cleaning/4.gif

A long time ago, the doctors at Coney Island Hospital (when Alan was first diagnosed with PN, told him to stop taking zinc.

So he did.

However, he presently takes a vitamin supplment which includes zinc, 15 mg once a day.

Is this sufficient?

We shall ask Dr. Baird on Thursday, when we see him.

thanks to all of you. Melody
http://bestsmileys.com/friendly/3.gif

this is how I see all of us, dancing in a circle

Hi Melody, the swelliing of the feet and ankles is why I could not take Lyrica. It started around week 2 or 3, can't remember. I have heard from others that it is a side effect also. I would call the doc today and just ask about it. I was only on 75mg once a day ( I think, I have tried so many different things that I forget what and how much) After I stopped the Lyrica my feet were back to normal in a day or so...Sue

But if it's the lyrica, wouldn't it affect BOTH FEET???

This is only one of his feet!!!!!

Honestly, I think it's all the stuff with the sodium. His foot definitely went down quite a bit since last night.

I don't want to hit this doctor with a lot of questions. He's going to be my doctor soon and I want to make sure it's NOT the sodum before I make any calls to Dr. Fred.

I can of course call up Dr. Baird, but he's the podiatrist and he won't tell me "take him off the lyrica", he'll just say, "call his primary care".

I want to see how he is tonight and tomorrow. Then we'll make the decision.

Does exercising at the gym help or hurt when you have fluid retention?

Melody

The sodium would affect both feet most likely too.

Have his veins been checked- maybe less circulation in that leg/foot?

That thought just came to me because a family friend had to have plaque build up practically chiseled out of his leg veins.

Alan definitely needs to up his water especially when going to the gym. It will flush out the excess sodium.
The syrup thing is odd..

when he gets home and is ready to relax -probably putting his feet up will curb any swelling?

The circulation is increased at the gym so when he gets home and sits down fluids may pool at the lowest point?

Just a thought-
Have you ever considered a good Naturopathic/homeopathic doctor?
For overall health?
here are a few sites with info-
http://dmoz.org/Health/Alternative/Naturopathy/
http://www.naturopathyonline.com/consutation.htm
It's quite interesting to read about how minute amounts of certain cell salts {not regular salt} can help to rebalanced the body systems.

Works very well in conjunction with MD treatments
http://www.abchomeopathy.com/
http://www.hmedicine.com/news/guide/single/singles/all
http://www.webhomeopath.com/en/jsp/login.jsp

All I can tell you is this.

Alan has had every test known to man.
His circulation is fine.
He does not have peripheral vascular disease.
His PN is NOT auto-immune.
He just went on lyrica so that might account for the fluid retention in his foot and fingers.

Don't know tht much about homeopathic doctors but he does go to Dr. Theirl who is a chiropractic./neurologist who literally saved his life 4 years ago, changed his eating habits, got him off the fentanyl pain patch and got him to exercise.

After getting the stent in January, Alan did the cardio rehab thing and now you couldn't drag him away from the gym. His doctor is his gym buddy by the way. They usually see each other there all the time as well as when Alan goes for his check-ups.

Alan just got the results of all his blood tests last week. All is negative.
So on the 22nd we go back to the PN department at Methodist to see Dr. Goldfarb. She's the one who prescribed the lyrica.

If by thursday, and we go see Dr. Baird (his podiatrist) and Dr. Baird says his foot is still swollen, I'll have Dr. Baird, give Dr. Fred a call.

I think all these docs should work in unison. At least I know that Dr. Fred and Dr. Goldfarb will work together for Alan.

It's great when all the docs like each other, like the patient (and especially, when they like the patient's wife). That helps a lot.

Alan adores Dr. Fred. He might not like me sometimes but whatever Dr. Fred says, GOES.. as far as Alan is concerned.

So we shall be keeping a closer watch on that foot. It did go down measurably since last night.

I know Alan, if he finds out that the lyrica is doing this, he'll say "take me off this thing", it's not worth it. I mean, if it was a miracle drug, than that would be different but it just take the edge off of the pn.

So be well.

Melody

Melody!
 

Take the man to a doctor! People don't get blood clots of their ankles; they get them in their calves. They do get infections, and those need to be evaluated by someone competent and treated appropriately. Sometimes it's from venous disease, sometimes it's from an injury, but one way or another, Mel, it's something he should see his doc about. Today. This has already gone on several days.

Melody, I agree...
 

with Liza Jane! At least, Call...the phone is cheap..and this isn't something to mess with! Last year, when I'd swelling on one foot [the extra 2", as in Alan's case] the doc had me go get the doppler sono THAT DAY! No ands, Ifs, or BUTS! Get the call made, get some peace of mind, please.

Now, you wanna come to my house and massage my swollen foot/ankle?

Take care1 - j

Well, I told Alan what you said. He says he feels fine. He's seeing the poditrist oh Thursday.

He went to the gym today. As soon as he came home, I made him take off his socks and the foot is no longer swollen. Or red, or is there any rash.
One of the ankles is still a bit swollen.

THE MAN WON'T GO TO THE DOCTOR UNTIL HE SEES DOCTOR BAIRD.

STUBBORN AS A MULE

mel

I called Dr. Fred!!!
 

I left a message with the answering service about his swollen foot.
Now hopefully, he will get the message and call me back.

Alan has agreed to go in tomorrow. My question is, How do they know what the swollen ankle is from. Can they tell if it's edema?

He had the arterial duplex last month. Everything was fine.

He did have a bruise on the side of the ankle (all black and blue) last week. He has no idea how this happened.

So to make me happy, if it's still swollen tomorrow, no gym, he will see the doctor.

Any ideas on what they will do once they see the ankle. I mean, what tests do they run?

thanks melody

Lyrica
 

Lyrica caused my feet to swell like balloons so I can sympathethize with Alan. I am on Neurontin and have some foot swelling with that but my foot swelling doubled and I got short of breath with Lyrica. It even helped my pain better than Neurontin but couldn't tolerate the foot swelling and hand swelling.

Hope Alan feels better and the foot swellling goes down.

Lynn:)

was it both feet that swelled from the lyrica or was it just one foot.
That is the puzzling thing here.


By the way, it's 10:10 a.m. on Wednesday, I just called Dr. Fred's office, told the receptionist (she knows Alan and me very well), all about Alan's foot. Dr. Fred does not come in until 2:30 p.m. She told me she would tell him about Alan and I said "he doesn't even have to call me back, you can just call and tell me if Dr. Fred said "tell Alan to come in and I'll check out his ankle". She laughed and said "no problem".

But if I know Dr. Fred, he'll call Alan and say "what's up buddy"!!!

This morning, the ankle is swill a little bit swollen. Not horrendous or anything like that.
Not even like my girlfriend who has swollen ankles every day of her life and takes a lasix when she feels like it. She is diabetic and doesn't even know why her ankles are swollen.

I ask her "don't you call the doctor and she says "why should I, I have lasix, it does the trick".

At least Alan goes to the doctor to check things out. At this rate, we should pay rent.
melody

Hi Melody
 

Both my feet swelled but the right foot always swells worse than the left. I had 2 surgeries on that foot so that might be why that one sometimes swells worse.

Maybe they can take him off the Lyrica and see if that's the problem

I hope they find out the problem.

Lynn

It's odd you say that the foot you had the surgery is the foot that swells the most. Two years ago, Alan had tailor bunion surgery on the left foot and that's the one that is swollen.

I really don't see any sign of cellulitis (but wht the heck do I know, I'm no doctor). but Alan is still taking his antibiotics.

His ankle is still swollen.

Spoke to Dr. Fred at 2 p.m. There were too many people in the waiting room already. I explained all about Alan and he immediately asked about his sodium intake. That's when I hit him with all the pancake syrup on everything and that it has sodium in it and that Alan is on Lyrica.
Dr. Fred Said "oh boy, Lyrica, sure, it could be that", "Okay, after Alan sees Dr. Baird tomorrow, bring him right here". I said "doesn't matter what time?" and he said "no problem, just come with him".

So, tomorrow, first we see Dr. Baird, then we go and see Dr. Fred. We SHOULD have some explanation on this swollen ankle and foot thing.

Will update.

I do hope someone tells me why my urea/nitrogen thing is high. I posted separate thread.

mel

Jeez Melody...
 

Between you and Alan, and myself and hubby (who is never sick, or only has tiny colds), I think at least one should have attended medical school... I know we have paid for a couple of Mercedes and a vacation home or two...

Cathie

Mel--oy vey more tsurus
 

I've had a hard enough day, but now I seem to have an ingrown toenail.

Mel--Do you like the podiatrist you've taken Alan to? I don't have a podiatrist, and while the toenail isn't too bad now, as you know, I'm trying, TRYING, to get myself in shape for a vacation next week, and an infected toe is not exactly what I need just now.

I've done all the wrong first aid. I cut the nail which was digging into the skin shorter. Only THEN did I think to google "ingrain toenail", only to find out that that was exactly what I was NOT supposed to do.

So, I need a podiatatrist. Someone GENTLE. SWEET. I can't take tough just now. Is yours good? Is he close to my hood?

You can pm me or email me the info if you think you've got a winner.

We need to share all the good docs we find!

Liza Jane, I private messaged you
 

Hi. As soon as I read your post about the podiatrist, I private messaged you.

Did this twice. Hope you got it.

If not, tell me and I'll just e-mail it to you.

Honest, I did give you all the information on Dr. William Baird.

Melody

Thanks, Mel, he's not as close to where I live as I'd hoped. I do hope this gets better FAST.