Mum just been in my bedroom and says that the swelling on my leg is worse. What should we do??
Thanks
Alison

Hi Ali

The swelling on my legs lasted years - and they are still slightly swollen. But they tripled in size for several years. The OT's used to treat mine the same way they would for women who had lymphodema. Therefore we used a flotron (ouch!), massage, tried tubigrip and pressure bandaging, elevating my legs at night and in my wheelchair, (legs above the heart) and increased the amount of water I was drinking to flush all the toxins out of my system more. I had pitted swelling so if you put you finger into the swelling and removed it then you would be left with a deep hole in the swelling which could take minutes and minutes to slowly fill back up.

So basically. Don't go insane worrying about it - just makes the pain feel worse. To reduce it try lying in bed at night with them on pillows so that you legs are elevated above your heart - one thing my physio suggested to me was that we lean my legs against the wall with the rest of me flat on my back on the bed so that we could get my legs right up to get gravity to help move it down. Also contracting and moving your legs - even if you aren't walking, will help, such as by tensing and untensing your calf muscles etc - and getting the physio/ your mum to do the same. Try something like pressure bandaging/ tubigrip/ anti DVT stockings if you feel like it and drink more.

Hope this is some help, but don't get too stressed about it.

Frogga xxx