MAJOR swelling!

I have had MAJOR swelling in my feet and legs for the past months at least. Everytime I mention it to my doc he checks my bp (which is always great) and says as long as I'm not having headaches or blurred vision I'm fine. Has anyone else had really severe swelling without high bp? As long as my bp is good it can't be pre-e right?

 

Yes! In fact, I freaked out last Friday and called my doc! My feet look like bricks! And, it goes into my legs slightly. When you press on the skin, it indents! But, my BP is the lowest ever! I don't understand..... but everyone keeps saying as long as my BP isn't high, it isn't a concern.....

 

I had a lot of swelling with my singleton daughter and yet my BP was always low. I found it was way worse when it was hot out, and when I hadn't drank near enough water....

 

i started to swell bad from 10 weeks on and by the time i had hit 37 weeks i was huge! I was so swollen that on the lower front of my abdomen i started to develop a weird "bag" of swelling that started off looking like a triangle. Believe me when i tell ya that i freaked out when i saw it. They said it was normal though and that everything else was fine. I even developed carpal tunnel during the pregnancy from the swelling. Not fun at all. Drink lots of water and try to keep your feet up as much as possible.

 

Yes - I did in my last pregnancy (singleton). It helped a bit to drink tons of water, and try to keep my feet elevated as much as possible. I also had to avoid sitting with my feet on the floor. It was so bad, the only thing I could get on my feet were a pair of flip flops, and we of course had a huge snowstorm at the time. I felt like such a dork wearing a winter coat and flip flops in the snow!

 

I have had a lot of swelling recently, and I am 30w6d. My doctor also told me I have low BP, and not to worry about it, just try to take it easy. My mum said she had it with all four of her kids, and my sister had it really badly. So it could be a genetic thing as well. I'm trying to drink lots of water and keep my feet up as much as possible, but even when my ankles look normal, my feet are still puffy!

 

This was the story of my pregnancy. I had swelling starting at 13 weeks, and it just got worse from there. By 30+ weeks, it was really bad, and by the time I delivered I couldn't even wear my crazy wide pregnancy shoes. My calves were straining the seams of all my pregnancy pants. I could get socks on, etc. It really never went down. I talked to my doctor every time I went in, but I never had high BP and it was never an issue. And a warning - with me, it got even worse after my c-section for the first few days.

 

I really started to swell at 32w. I had some minor swelling before that, but it went away with exercise and rest. But by the end, I looked like the michelin man. It was so bad and when I delivered, it got worse. Then the carpal tunnel hit because of the swelling. I am 8 weeks PP and the carpal tunnel is almost gone and I am not swollen any more.

Jenn

 

With the boys and Bella, my swelling started around 22 weeks and then became ugly by 28 weeks...I was on diuretics off and on both pregnancies because my swelling was very severe but my bp stayed great. Drink tons of water, keep an eye on your bp, lower sodium/msg intake (it's in lots of stuff), elevate your feet above heart level when at home or in bed, have someone massage your feet, ankles, and calves (it freaked my DH out because he could feel the fluid) because it helps some of the fluid move back up, I wore wrist splits at night to help with the carpal tunnel...and know that, for me, my swelling got even worse after delivery for about a week before it subsided. Just letting you know because I thought the swelling would be gone after delivery but it took a bit of time, but it does go away.

Hang tight!

 

yes it can be normal but it can also be a sign of PPCM or peri partum cardiomyopathy. Are you having trouble breathing, heart palpitations, white spots in your vision, or crackling in your lungs when you lie down? This condition can come on anywhere from 6 months pregnant to 5 months post partum so let your doc know if you are having any of these other symptoms.

www.amothersheart.org

 

I had the same, my bp is actually very low, like 100/55 or 110/60. I had severe swelling in one leg and foot accompanied with pain as well. This was really in the last weeks so they did run 2 u/s on my leg to check for blood clots (week 36 and 37), but came back negative and it dissapeared within days after delivering 15 1/2 lbs of baby! No wonder!