Venous Insufficiency and Third Trimester

[Manmohini]

I wonder if any of you ladies have experience with my latest annoyance. I am on the brink of the third trimester, and my circulation-challenged left calf, ankle, and foot is worse than ever. I developed a slight swelling in this calf and ankle about 4 years ago, so it is normally slightly puffy. Now it looks like a stump! Especially after exposure to heat/humidity, prolonged sitting, or just the later hours of the day. My right side is perfectly normal, and I do not have swelling in hands or face, so toxemia is not an issue. The sluggishness on the left side predates the pregnancy, although the pregnancy as it advances is exascerbating it. I'm trying to do everything I can--exercise daily, stay out of the heat, elevate the foot, don't sit too long, etc. Yesterday, after sitting at the computer for only 45 minutes late in the afternoon, I was horrified by how swollen and tight it became. There was no heat to it, so I ruled out deep vein thrombosis. (I watch this closely since my mother developed a blood clot in her leg during pregnancy, and my grandfather died of a clot which travelled to his lung. There is a genetic weakness here.) Getting back to my horrifyingly swollen leg, I quickly went out to the gym and did an aerobics class, and it reduced the swelling by about 40%, so exercise is key. Yoga and swimming are helping immensely as well, but I can't exercise 12 hours a day, and I do have to spend some time sitting at a desk working--even though I stand up and take as many walking breaks as possible. Is there anything else I can be doing for this circulation problem? Did any of you suffer poor circulation or venous insufficiency before getting pregnant? I know that many women develop it for the first time in their third trimester, but what if you had it before pregnancy. Finally, I hate to do it because I despise pantyhose and anything constricting, but I'm afraid maybe I'll have to succumb to compression stockings. But is there any other better way? Please help. What worked for you?
Manmohini

 

[FitNurseRN]

the only thing that i was thinking was the compression stockings. Do you have pain in the calf?? that may also be a sign of DVT if there isnt any reddness. i would have a dr look at if especially if blood clots run in the family. The will probably rule out dvt just in case. Good luck

melissa

 

[nkhansen1]

I have a friend who has this problem when she's pregnant (all six times), and compression stockings and exercise is what the doctor recommended for her. She wore the stockings almost 24/7, and they really helped her. I've seen what her legs looked like without the support of the stockings, and it was a bit scary. Her legs looked very normal as long as they were "compressed." I'm so sorry you have to worry about this! Hope you find a solution.

 

[Manmohini]

Ugh. I can't stand the idea of compression stockings, especially in this blistering heat, but it seems that since I'm doing everything else right and still have the swelling problem, I ought to try them. Pray for me. 11-13 weeks in compression stockings. Ugh!
Manmohini

 

[nkhansen1]

My friend and I both live in Houston (well, I live in Russia now, but Houston is home), aka the hottest, most humid place on earth, and she faithfully wore her stockings through many 110 degree days. UGGG is right!

 

[cyclinggirl]

Hi Manmohini, sorry you're going through this, it sounds awful.

I've recently had some disturbing swelling in my ankles, feet, legs, and hands too, and I'm just a week ahead of you (29) -- it's oddly reassuring that I'm not the only one. :-(

I was worried about toxemia but my face and blood pressure are fine. My mom also had the blood clots in pregnancy, and in her older years she had swelling in her left ankle, particularly in the warmer months. It sounds a lot like what you described. Every time I look at my ankles I'm reminded of hers -- she passed about a year and half ago but I wish I could talk to her about it and how she dealt with it.

Anyway, when I described my scariest swelling day to my midwife she said it was probably due to the fact that it was a really hot day, I ate too many carbs (fruits) and not enough protein and didn't drink enough water. She was absolutely right!! I was totally off in my eating and drinking that day. What I learned is that an increase in proteins can help, plus drinking at least 10 glasses of water a day. Summer fruits can increase the water retention if not balanced with protein. And walking or swimming, cycling, etc can make a big difference with circulation.

Also, keeping legs elevated and stretching and massage help a lot. I've been doing my legs, ankles and hands/wrists for 2-4 minutes each before bedtime. If it gets worse I'm going to try acupuncture once a week -- it's great for increasing and re-balancing circulation, maybe you should look into it.

Here are links about edema and ways to prevent it naturally: http://pregnancy.health-info.org/common-conditions-edema.html
http://www.acup-chiro.com/englisharticle/AcupPregnant.htm

Info on massage, scroll to pregnancy: http://www.blogger.com/feeds/1314612290564961053/posts/default

So far, things have been better for me. I hope some of this helps -- stockings in the summer sound horrid!

Best of luck!
Steph

 

[Manmohini]

Thanks for those links. I will check them out. When I first started experiencing the swelling a few years back, I went to several doctors, a cranial-sacral massage therapist (for manipulating lymph), and a Chinese doctor. Nothing so far seems to work especially when heat or prolonged sitting are factors. As you suggested, I try to do the right things as much as possible.

My oby/gyn the other day told me it's mostly genetic, and I have to agree that despite my taking all of the right actions, my family members, around middle age, seem to experience circulation challenges in their legs. My oby-gyn hiked up her pants around her ankles to show me her compression stockings, and said that she too just developed the same problem (she's probably in her late 40s). She is ordering a blood test for me to see if genetically I have a certain clotting factor. It's a new test that can assess what level of risk there is for clotting--apparently it's mapped right on to our DNA. She said she herself tested positive which means that there are many drugs she shouldn't be on. In fact, she told me she never should have been on birth control. I forget what she called the test, but she said that since my mom clotted in pregnancy and since my grandfather died of a travelling blot clot, I should do the test.

I've lived with the problem for about 4 years, and mostly it's manageable. I too eat a ton of fruit, but I have also jacked up my protein significantly to about 80g a day. Pregnancy does challenge the condition further. My biggest worry though is that I'm back in classes again, and I have to do a lot of sitting in my office and at my computer at home. Sitting at my computer seems to aggravate the problem the most! Then what am I doing sitting at my computer? I think I'll sign off now.
Manmohini

 

[cyclinggirl]

The tests sound like a great idea. I know my mom clotted in pregnancy and with birth control pills so I've never been on them -- I'm sort of anti-drug at the core anyway, so that was an easy decision.

You do sound like you're doing everything right, I hope you find a solution that's simple and non-cumbersome (unlike stockings!). It wouldn't be a big deal in the colder months but if you can avoid the added discomfort of stockings now, seems like that's ideal.

I work as a web accessibility & usability specialist, I'm on my butt in front of a computer for most of the day too. I try to take stretch breaks and keep my legs elevated on a thingee that's under my desk. There's stretch break software you can get for cheap and it reminds you to do certain stretches every 15-30 minutes (your choice). Not sure if that's an option if your teaching though, just thought I'd mention it.

Best of luck to you. If I see my acupuncturist for edema, I'll let you know if it works or how well it works. I may go next week.

Take care,
Steph