*Odema* in ankles....restless legs... signs of pre eclampsia?

Hi,

I'm 27 weeks pregnant and since Sunday have had swelling in my ankles. It goes down a little when i rest and elevate my feet up however the swelling has still been there since Sunday. So that's 4 days now. It's uncomfortable and my legs also feel 'restless' probably because of the swelling. I'm trying to drink more water to help get rid of the fluid retention. Perhaps I'm not drinking enough?

Should I make a trip to the GP this week to get my blood pressure checked? Or should I wait til my appointment with GP next Tuesday that's already booked (for GD test results).

Is this just a normal pregnancy symptom for the third trimester or could it possibly be a sign of pre eclampsia? :doh:

Hey Ren

One of the signs for PE is swollen parts - but I was swollen with DS - and not DD - and I didn't have PE.

I also had restless legs, but its more a deficiency of magnesium that makes them go like that - not PE.

They'll check your BP at your next appointment anyway, but if you are concerned (or get other symptoms of PE) go to your GP to get checked out.

Hi Renstar
Sounds like normal pregnancy symptoms to me. Swelling of the ankles is very common. It would be more of a concern if your face was swollen as well. I dint think that you need to make a special trip to your GP you will be OK to wait until Tuesday

If you were concerned you can alwasy pop into a pharmacy and ask them to take your BP, then if it was elevated you go to Dr. Alot of pharmacies offer this service. ;)

Thanks Alan & everyone. I don't have swelling of the face (phew!).... might wait til Tues appointment then.

Legs feel good this morning and my ankles have gone down a bit more as they were elevated last night. Seems to help.... i'll just keep putting a pillow under my feet every night aswell as under my belly lol

Was a bit worried as I've had some nausea (mild) and read that could be a sign of pre eclampsia along with swelling.

I have swelling and restless legs but my BP and urine is fine :)

I had really bad restless legs during pregnancy - apparently quite common and not a sign of anything serious. It went away after the birth.

I also had "kankles" - funnily the welling in the ankles got worse for a few days after birth and then subsided really quickly. Again just normal pregnancy stuff.

I had massive swelling at the end of my last 2 pregnancies, and I expect it again soon... :rolleyes:

Putting them up did help, but I was actually told a gentle stroll each night would help, as it helps move the fluid. And it did!! The swelling was non existant overnight, and definatly less through the day after a good night time walk...

Hope it settles hon....

Thanks Jodie, I might try the gentle walking thing... I do need to walk more often after all :lol: bit slack lately.

HI Ren,
Glad to see you are travelling along nicely. As for the swollen ankles and stuff, the heat and humidity up there would be playing a part in that I would say. From memory you live in my old neck of the woods and I can remember being hot and puffy with my second pg. Another lady mentioned lack of magnesium, and to combat this you could take a supplement called CALMAX (calcium and magnesium) I found it really good for blood pressure, swollen bits etc. I took it with my last pg and had no bp or anything. Mind you I haven't taken a thing with this pg and I am fine, so maybe it was just co-incidence :lol: Anyway, just wanted to pop in and say hi.

Thanks Mumrach!! :hug: not long til you pop!! Glad to see you're doing well also! ;)

I'll ask GP about magnesium when I see her next week. Until then I'll just put my feet up when possible. It has been very hot here lately....

:o i just looked at my feet and my feet are so swollen!!!! :o

Should I ring hossy and ask midwives can i come in tomorrow to get BP checked?? Or am i being silly??

If you are concerned Ren just go to your hospital where you are booked in and get them to check it for you. Better than stressing about it :hug:

I got them all the time with DS but it didn't mean anything for me.

Ive just been doing some reserch on this. Are you swollen anywhere else, like your hands or face? If not, it is probably normal.

But, if you are worried, you could get your bp checked for some reassurance. ;)

Ren I had this too when I was pregnant, and although they were REALLY swollen, BP and protein in urine remained fine throughout. (although initially I did worry about PE like you) One thing I found that really helped was reflexology massage. MMMMMMMMMMMM SOOOOO GOOD! Felt great at the time, and if done properly reduced the swelling for a day or so. Just wish I discovered it earlier in the pregnancy.

I had it very bad with Chelsea....but my urine was fine..BP wasnt though...so my hospital kept a close eye on me. The swelling actually got alot worse after she was born (like where i thought my feet were going to explode and i couldnt touch them as they hurt so much!)

Cool foot baths help a bit too

Ive noticed my feet are beginning to get a little large now, but im putting it down to the weather temp along with normal pregnancy issues!

Ren,
If you are concerned hun, ring the hossy. Just ask the midwives their opinion, it might put your mind at ease..

Thanks girls.

Woke this morning and my feet and ankles aren't as swollen, they've really come down so i'm not going to go in to get my BP checked..... it seems to get better over night while resting and elevating my feet up. Just gotta keep doing this.
I'll try the cold bath for my feet/ankles next time they swell up.

My face does look a little bloated but it could just be the 9kgs i've put on since falling pg :o and my wedding ring is tight to put on now!!

I guess if it was PE then the swelling wouldn't be doing down would it....

If you are worried get your BP checked.

I had swelling from the 2nd tri & it got worse as I went on. Only in the feet & ankles. I could only wear two pairs of shoes because of it & in the end I only had one & some days I had to walk around the office barefoot because of it. My doctor said it was normal as long as my BP stayed down, which it did.

If you put your feet up at night (above your head is best so lie on the couch with feet on the armrest) you should get some relief. At first my swelling went down overnight but came back up in the morning at work. Later on it was there all the time regardless of what I did. .

Ren i know everyone has a story and being my first pregnancy too i didnt really have an idea on what to expect. I have had extreme swelling sine 24 weeks, it is to the point now where i have no idea what my feet looked like before because they dont go back to normal :(
I can only go barefoot or wear thongs when i go out. My bp and urine are all normal and thankfully the swelling is contained to my feet and legs and not my face.
They are so ugly and have horrible purple spider veins all over them, sometimes the sweling is so bad that they go numb from lack of circulation.
Things that help a little bit are massage, cold water foot spa, and if its not too hot i will go for a walk after dinner to get things moving a bit. Elevation helps a little but when i out them down they go straight back to puffy.
If you are ever concerned that something is wrong - just call the hossy - thats what its there for. I hope the swelling and restless legs dont get much worse for you xo

Hey Renstar.

I think to ease your mind, go and get your BP checked hun. Also the GP can test your urine too. I'm sure you are okay sweetie but it's always nice to know isn't it.

When i was 35 weeks I had a suspision something wasnt quite right but my OB appt wasn't til the next week so I went to my GP. He refered me back to my Ob and I ended up in hospital for the weekend. Had a high BP (about 165/105) and swelling but I only had a small amount of protein in my urine. So I was able to manage it with BP meds and taking it easy. And like Kimbaz, my cankles were much much worse in the first couple of days after bub was born.

Also though, one of my friends had the puffiest feet you've ever seen in the last few months of her pregnancy and her BP was perfectly fine.

let us know how you go!

Thanks girls :hug:

Today my ankles and feet weren't so swollen HOWEVER my fingers and hands were puffy to the point i couldn't put my wedding ring or watch on without having to use soap to slide it on!!! :( i'm not going to bother wearing them tomorrow :lol:
I was worried about this..... also think my face is 'slightly' puffier today too but DH doesnt think so....

So off we go to the hospital near us as we had a breastfeeding class to attend today at the hospital and before hand my DH (he's a registered nurse) took me to a BP machine and hooked me up and it was 125/80 so pretty normal for me... *phew*.
Must just be pregnancy swelling for me then?

I have my GP appointment Tues so will get it checked again then and my urine also.

Ren - yeah pregnancy swelling SUCKS.. I couldn't even wear my thongs by the end of being pregnant the first time around - plus I had to take my wedding ring off - otherwise it would of been cut off..

Funny I never got swollen second time around - well I did - but it was the chocolate that was to blame - not fluid.. :redface:

Awww hun, your imagination is running a bit wild :hug: :hug: Put your feet up more often and take off your wedding rings and put them on a chain around your neck. And STOP looking for puffy cheeks .. I'm sure your fine :) It's not always good to read up on stuff too much, kwim??

TBH my ob told me that most women don't HAVE symptoms before hand, if fact most PE women feel fine. I had headaches, the pain on my breastbone, loss in appitite, vomitting, diarrea ... for 7 DAYS before by bp spiked and they found protein in my urine. But before that that my bp were normal and I felt like trillion dollars :dunno: I'll add that I did not have PE, but HELLP ... but it comes down to almost the same.

But you can be on the look out for "spots" in your vision, headaches (dull .. like migrane), vomitting, I think shoulder pain ... not sure right or left and then pain just below your breastbone. And I think the swelling in your face, should be consentrated more around your eyes, than in you cheeks ect. But I also think you must take in account with the swelling of the eyes, how you slept the night before. And then if you are worried, I'm sure there are a place nearby that you can just quickly have your bp and urine checked for a small fee. I'm lucky my dad has this portable bp monitor at home, so if I worry I just pop in for 5 seconds ... you could ask the hospital if they don't hire out those type of monitors ... just to make you feel at ease. You really don't need to stress about stuff like this, hun :)

CAN not believe you are so far along already!!!

Ren - I think you're doing well, my fingers were too swollen for my wedding ring by about 12 weeks!

Update! I've had no swelling in my ankles or feet now since I last posted in this thread!!! And I'm still wearing my ring around my necklace, too scared it will get stuck again!! LOL I have been resting the last 2 days however as i've got a rotten head cold so that has helped my feet etc

BP was fine on Monday at the GP too :dance:

I don't feel bad for worrying though because i'd rather be a little concerned and cautious and aware of these signs etc rather than ignorant to them. After all, its for the health of my baby. :D

Thats great Ren :)

And you are right - its better to err on the side of caution ya know?

I'm glad everything is ok :hug:

Thanks Mel!! :hug: