• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Swollen feet

D

Dignity2020

Newbie
Messages
3
Hello = Although my latest score was 51 and about the same I noticed my feet were larger and bought some size 12 slippers. The podiadrist did not give any advice last time I had my toenails cut, but I Googled the term. New for me is raising feet above heart when sitting reading or watching TV, putting feet in cool water as well as the nightly warm wash, and watching salt intake . but I knew about keeping active, moisturising them and trying to lose weight. Compression stockings are also mentioned, and I have some, but the feet make them hard to get off and I neglected the chore of using them daily. Any other tips from the swollen folk?
 
Have you actually asked your doctors about your swollen feet - I believe there can be a number of causes
Just because you have diabetes doesn't mean everything you get is caused by it
 
As a 5 ft 5 inch woman, I used to wear size 5 shoes and slippers but in the last few years my legs and feet have been seriously swollen and my shoe size has gradually increased to size 7 and wide fitting. Just bought myself some women's slippers - supposedly wide fitting - size 8. They were far too narrow and I couldn't get them on. So I bought a pair of men's extra wide fitting size 8. They are fine. In my case, due to arthritis, activity is seriously limited. Getting feet above heart level is not easy - I'd have to lay on the floor and then not be able to get up again. I do have a recliner chair which gets my feet up to hip level.

I take 3 pills which have a diuretic effect to try to get rid of some of the fluid - doesn't seem to make any difference. This has gone on for a long time now and I have a really unpleasant kind of eczema on both lower legs - which I'm told cannot be reversed. Prescribed compression stockings cut off circulation and cause extreme pain but I have bought some of the kind of compression socks that are advised for air travel. They are much more comfortable and do keep the swelling under control to a degree. They are also easier to get on and off than the official type of hose.

You can buy a tool which helps to get compression hose on, but it's no help in getting them off. Moisturising the skin on your legs in important because when your skin is stretched it will get drier. At all costs, try to avoid eczema developing - it is unpleasant and can get very sore. As a moisturiser I have tried Diprobase ointment and cream and when it flares up I was prescribed a steroid cream, although doctors are not keen on it being used very much. Over the years it has steadily got worse. I now use a product called Doublebase and that seems to keep it under control - not heal it. Whatever product is used, I do think moisturising the skin is important.
 
Dignity2020 said:
Hello = Although my latest score was 51 and about the same I noticed my feet were larger and bought some size 12 slippers. The podiadrist did not give any advice last time I had my toenails cut, but I Googled the term. New for me is raising feet above heart when sitting reading or watching TV, putting feet in cool water as well as the nightly warm wash, and watching salt intake . but I knew about keeping active, moisturising them and trying to lose weight. Compression stockings are also mentioned, and I have some, but the feet make them hard to get off and I neglected the chore of using them daily. Any other tips from the swollen folk?
Click to expand...
Hello, it would be better to consult with your doctor. After determining the cause of the swelling, the doctor will prescribe the appropriate treatment.
 
Dignity2020 said:
Hello = Although my latest score was 51 and about the same I noticed my feet were larger and bought some size 12 slippers. The podiadrist did not give any advice last time I had my toenails cut, but I Googled the term. New for me is raising feet above heart when sitting reading or watching TV, putting feet in cool water as well as the nightly warm wash, and watching salt intake . but I knew about keeping active, moisturising them and trying to lose weight. Compression stockings are also mentioned, and I have some, but the feet make them hard to get off and I neglected the chore of using them daily. Any other tips from the swollen folk?
Click to expand...
Hi. I had swollen feet and lower legs for years while my BGs were in the mid-40s. I thought initially my feet had started to grow again and I went up two shoes sizes at its worst. What got rid of the swelling in my case was getting my BG under control and back to a normal level. Everything else is just managing the problem without doing anything about the cause.

There are a number of other possible contributors - for example, I take naproxen sometimes for inflammation and that too will cause swelling. I'd guess it is likely to be a diabetic complication but it could well be something else.

I found the GP to be no help whatsoever - this was during the years I was being told, despite my many diabetic symptoms, "you're not diabetic, your blood sugar isn't high enough".
 
KennyA said:
Hi. I had swollen feet and lower legs for years while my BGs were in the mid-40s. I thought initially my feet had started to grow again and I went up two shoes sizes at its worst. What got rid of the swelling in my case was getting my BG under control and back to a normal level. Everything else is just managing the problem without doing anything about the cause.

There are a number of other possible contributors - for example, I take naproxen sometimes for inflammation and that too will cause swelling. I'd guess it is likely to be a diabetic complication but it could well be something else.

I found the GP to be no help whatsoever - this was during the years I was being told, despite my many diabetic symptoms, "you're not diabetic, your blood sugar isn't high enough".
Click to expand...

The first time I noticed my feet were swelling, I asked a GP about it. I'd noticed it because I'd bought new shoes a week before but couldn't get them on, so I realised something was not right. The GP told me he was sorry my shoes didn't fit any more, but there was nothing he could do about my swelling feet. Not a lot of help, so I just continued for years with my legs and feet getting more and more swollen until this darned eczema developed and was told I shouldn't have let the swelling get so bad and should have been wearing compression hose (I had been wearing ordinary factor 12 support hose until then). Now, of course, it's too late to get rid of the eczema and the horrible red scarring on my legs, or the soreness. Of course, I've been told so many times that there is nothing that can be done about whatever the condition was that I reported, so maybe there is something to be done about the eczema that I don't know about.

So, all in all, I also find that GPs are no help whatsoever.
 
When I was in some danger after the first AZ jab for Covid and two lots of antibiotics had not done the trick, I took Ginkgo biloba. It is a circulation booster, sometimes used in the same way as Viagra, I believe. Not only did my toes go back to a more normal colour and the pain subside, all my shoes became loose and my socks need garters to keep them up.
You should check with your GP if you are taking other medication - but the use of ginkgo biloba goes back centuries - it is the maidenhair tree. I knew about it from reading books in the family library from my grandmother's family herbalists. Young women should not use it for any length of time, but post menopause it can be beneficial.
I know that it is frowned upon to recommend this sort of thing, but I was in serious danger from the swollen legs and feet and the GP was worried, warning me to go to A&E at once if there was any further deterioration.
 
Annb said:
Prescribed compression stockings cut off circulation and cause extreme pain
Click to expand...
Currently my right foot is getting more and more swollen, with the swelling gradually taking over my R leg. (The left leg and foot are fine.) Like you, I found my prescribed stockings are cutting in to my swollen foot, but I have bought some full length white TED stockings which are much more comfortable. (These are the stockings used anti-embolism in hospitals after surgery.)
 
Alexandra100 said:
Currently my right foot is getting more and more swollen, with the swelling gradually taking over my R leg. (The left leg and foot are fine.) Like you, I found my prescribed stockings are cutting in to my swollen foot, but I have bought some full length white TED stockings which are much more comfortable. (These are the stockings used anti-embolism in hospitals after surgery.)
Click to expand...

Where can these be purchased? The ones I have bought are anti-embolism ones, but they are socks and still, to a degree, cut in below the knee. My local pharmacy tells me they can't get them.
 
Annb said:
Where can these be purchased? The ones I have bought are anti-embolism ones, but they are socks and still, to a degree, cut in below the knee. My local pharmacy tells me they can't get them.
Click to expand...
https://www.medibargains.co.uk/covi...-ted-compression-stockings-thigh-length-pair/
You can buy on Amazon or, as here, direct. Not cheap, but they do last. Good quality. I think pharmacies are tied to certain suppliers - rather like pubs! Good luck with this wretched problem.
 
Yes, so I saw, but I decided to get one of the cheaper pairs to get the size right - the measuring chart doesn't give me much confidence - and then to get something probably a bit better quality.
 
I bought, from Amazon, a pair of stockings size 4xl - mainly to make sure I got something big enough for my swollen legs. They came a couple of days ago and they are much more comfortable than the knee highs. For the first time in ages, I haven't had painful legs, due to tight bands below my knees. The only thing is, that maybe they are not tight enough to control the swelling in my lower legs, so perhaps I should have gone for 3xl. Not that my ankles are any more swollen than usually with the knee highs. Might get another pair at the slightly smaller size and see how that goes.
 
Back
Top