I just took a shower

[vaskidmark]

My first in 12 weeks!

No, I was not trying for the smelly-street-guy award.  Sponge baths, as much as they suck, will keep you fresh and clean.

I'm being treated for non-venous edema in the lower legs.  Think calves as big around as your thighs.  I get to wear Una Boots http://www.fpnotebook.com/Surgery/Pharm/UnsBt.htm.

Until this week I'd get them changed twice a week.  Sort of like braces, but on your legs - tighter this time than the last time.  Drive the evil fluid out!  But the only time they would come off was when they were being changed, and you are not supposed to even sweat in them, let alone get them soaked.

So I got permission to undo them and take a shower before I go in for today's session.  Oh, Bliss!  Oh, Joy!  Oh, 45 minutes of hot water flowing over every part of my body!

As soon as the VA stops screwing around and cancelling or losing my order for compression stockings I can go to using them for the rest of my life.  But I'll be able to take them off and stand under the shower until the hot water runs out!

Now that I've put visions of my wet, slippery nekkid body in your mind, y'all can go have breakfast.

stay safe.

[Hutch]

Now that I've put visions of my wet, slippery nekkid body in your mind, y'all can go have breakfast.

With calves the size of thighs?  I'm trying to gouge out my mind's eye...

[Perd Hapley]

A shower every twelve weeks, whether you need it or not.

[tokugawa]

You on a salt restricted diet?

[vaskidmark]

You on a salt restricted diet?

Your basic heart healthy/diabetic diet.  I'm not on a fluid restriction, but I monitor output against imput.  Go search for my post expressing my love of lasix.

But none of that is related to my edema.  How can I have venous insufficiency when the veins in both legs were stripped out for bypass grafts?

Not sure what caused it.  Very likely related to chronic cellulitis.  Who cares?  But compression drives it out of the intercellular spaces to where the rest of the body has the means to deal with it.  They can only apply so much compression without cutting off all circulation, which is why it's going to take more months to fix, as opposed to the less-than-a-week it took to go from "a little puffy" to "OHMYGAWD".

Major upside is I get nursing sudents herded in to watch, then practice, doing the wraps. What should be a 45-minute dressing change can turn into 2 hours of young wimmins running their hands up and down my legs while looking up at me with big puppy eyes asking "Does that hurt?"  There are blessings in all adversities.

stay safe.

[BobR]

I was offered an una boot today for edema in my foot related to a wicked case of tendonitis. I passed. I used to apply the messy things.

Hope they work out for you. How long have you been waiting for the VA to get you your stockings? Might be time to rattle the cage of the patient advocate.

bob

[kgbsquirrel]

Do you have to sleep with your legs elevated to get a little help from gravity?

[vaskidmark]

I was offered an una boot today for edema in my foot related to a wicked case of tendonitis. I passed. I used to apply the messy things.

Hope they work out for you. How long have you been waiting for the VA to get you your stockings? Might be time to rattle the cage of the patient advocate.

bob

It's a long story of epic proportions of FUBAR.  What has prevented it from turning into a tragedy is that my legs need to be free from seepage for at least a week before I'll be allowed to wear compresion stockings - need to "assure" skin integrity.  I have gone from gallons of fluid seeping (the second hint we had that "something" was "wrong".  Problem is, it takes between 2 and 6 weeks for custom stockings to be knitted.  We are in week 3 of the legs being a relatively stable size and the order for them submitted.  (If I had been fitted when this began I wouid now be swimming out of that size.)

Do you have to sleep with your legs elevated to get a little help from gravity?

Been doing that for years - mostly for CHF and to prevent swelling.  I also spend a few hours a day in this http://www.humantouch.com/perfect-chairs.html at full recline.  It is one of the most comfortable naps you can imagine.   I've had one for about 15 years.  About 5 years ago the motor went wonky and locked up - compan replaced the whole chair because they no longer used that motor/recliner configuration so could not repair it.  Why the gods smiled on me is unknown but I learned a long time ago not to complain when it happened.

stay safe.

[Scout26]

I had that also while my kidney's were failing.  Didn't have to wear the boots and Lasix got rid of it for a while (until the kidneys completely failed).

Peritoneal Dialysis- nothing liked getting 2-3 extra liters of fluid drained off each night and waking up with a severe case of cottonmouth each morning.

[Stetson]

I totally understand.  I still have edema in my left leg.  Lasix is not cutting it anymore but elevation is.  Im fully reclined most of the time and I have special pillows for sleep time.  I could do 2 more dialysis things but Id rather not.  That is a last resort.