Re: edema/Sam

[Guest guest]

Sam,

I don't have any great suggestions on getting rid of the edema. I had told

myself I wasn't going to take the lasix again. However, I felt so

uncomfortable that I gave in and took it a couple of hours after I got up. My

weight is currently down 10 lbs in less than 24 hours. I am still up 12 lbs

more than I was when I went in the hospital on Saturday but maybe I'll tinkle

enough to get rid of the rest soon. Last night I was up at least once an hour

to tinkle and that was before I even took the lasix.

As for natural ways to get rid of the edema, the only thing I know is that

cutting down on salt and drinking lots of water can help.

It is amazing how bad having all the extra fluid in your body can make you

feel. It is only in the last month or so that I've ever had problems with

being short of breath. I hate it. It all started the end of June at the

same time I ended up finding out I had the positive blood cultures. I know

the infection is gone because the infectious disease doc did numerous blood

cultures, urine culture, stool culture. I've also had chest x-rays,

echocardiogram on my heart, and ct scan of the pelvis and abdomen. So, I

really don't know why I'm so short of breath with the mildest exertion (just

walking down the hall can cause it) but I assume it has to do with the fluid

retention. I've had problems with fluid retention since shortly after the

pancreatitis got worse but I don't think I've ever gained 22 lbs in just 3

days. The majority of my extra fluid is in my gut. I do have pitting edema

in my lower legs and my rings are tight in the morning but it is my belly that

increases drastically in size when the fluid is worse.

Maybe someone has some magic potion for keeping the edema under control.

W