My Uninvited & Unwanted Guest

     I have an uninvited and unwanted guest who has chosen to visit me 3 times in the past 7 months.  The first time it chose to visit a week and a half (end of June) before we flew to FL for our destination wedding.  The next time was 4 months after that (end of October), and then it came back to visit me 3 months later (now - end of January). This guest just really must like me, and more specifically loves my legs!  In June it favored my right leg and the past 2 times it has preferred my left leg. One would think it would get the hint that the feeling is definitely NOT mutual!  :)

     This guest is called Cellulitis. It is an infection, which left untreated, can turn septic in your system and turn very serious very quickly.  My husband's father was hospitalized for a week with it years ago. Thankfully, each time I have had it I've gotten to the Dr. right away and was put on antibiotics and didn't need to be hospitalized.  However, I have used more vacation days for this infection than I would care to. 

     I have had circulation problems in my legs/ankles for as long as I can remember and about 3 years ago I was finally diagnosed with Venous Insufficiency, you can click on the previous link to read a blog I wrote about it in 2009.  Here is an article that explains Venous Insufficiency and below is a diagram that compares normal veins in the lower legs to abnormal veins in the lower legs:

     My ankles and lower legs swell frequently, so that is nothing new.  It can be annoying and inconvenient and makes it hard to fit my feet into my shoes at times. However, I don't lose time from work because of it.   When I first got Cellulitis before the wedding, it was very scary because I didn't know what it was.  The 2nd and 3rd time it came, I knew what it was and knew I needed to get myself to the Dr. right away to get started on the antibiotics.  The Dr.'s have told me I am much more prone to cellulitis because of my venous insufficiency.  Cellulitis can be caused by being extremely obese, but my Dr. said I am not in that category. 

I am thankful my Dr. is taking this seriously.  She said the first two times someone has cellulitis, they chalk it up to being a "fluke thing", but because I have had it 3 times in 7 months, there is something else going on.  First she is going to have me fast for 12 hours and get my blood drawn.  If everything is normal, she is then going to refer me to a Vascular Surgeon. 

It has been very hard for me to sit still, harder as I'm starting to feel a bit better, because I am the "Team Captain" for a Walking Challenge. I was consistently getting a high number of steps a day, and now this is really setting me back. However, it's better than the alternative of ending up in the hospital!

I am very blessed to have an amazing husband who called off work yesterday to take care of me and make sure I was following the Dr.'s orders! :)  Things like being sick were so much harder without someone around to help.  I also have awesome friends and family who have texted, called, stopped over to visit, shown me FB love and offered to help.  God is good and I am so thankful that the antibiotics have worked pretty quickly each time, and saved me a stay or three in the hospital!  The Dr. said I can go back to work on Monday, so at least I will only have to use 2 vacation days this time around. She also said I can resume my walking on Monday!  Yay! :)  I hope I'm feeling up to it.

Thank you very much for your thoughts and prayers as we continue to get to the bottom of this!

Venous Insufficiency

Good News! The Dr. left me a VM Message this AM telling me my kidneys are fine. He thinks I have Venous Incompetence AKA Venous Insufficiency. I'm glad my kidneys are fine! I guess I can rest assured that I am in good health b/c practically everything was checked totalling up to at least $2,300.00 in medical bills. Thank God for health insurance! :) I am blessed. Anyways, I had no clue what venous insufficiency was, so I found the excerpt below on Medicine.Net. I will just wait to talk to the Dr. until my next Appointment, which is June 5th. Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers!

How does venous insufficiency cause edema?
The veins in the legs are responsible for transporting blood up to the veins of the torso, where it is then returned to the heart. The veins of the legs have valves that prevent the backward flow of blood within them. Venous insufficiency is incompetence of the veins that occurs because of dilation, or enlargement, of the veins and dysfunction of their valves. This happens, for example, in patients with varicose veins.

Venous insufficiency leads to a backup of blood and increased pressure in the veins, thereby resulting in edema of the legs and feet. Edema of the legs also can occur with an episode of deep vein thrombophlebitis, which is a blood clot within an inflamed vein. In this situation, the clot in the deep vein blocks the return of blood, and consequently causes increased back-pressure in the leg veins.

Venous insufficiency is a problem that is localized to the legs, ankles, and feet. One leg may be more affected than the other (asymmetrical edema). In contrast, systemic diseases that are associated with fluid retention generally cause the same amount of edema in both legs, and can also cause edema and swelling elsewhere in the body. The response to therapy with diuretic drugs in patients with venous insufficiency tends to be unsatisfactory. This is because the continued pooling of fluid in the lower extremities makes it difficult for the diuretics to mobilize the edema fluid.

Elevation of the legs periodically during the day and the use of compression stockings may alleviate the edema. Some patients require surgical treatment to relieve chronic edema that is caused by venous insufficiency.

Finally Starting To Get Some Answers!

Most of you know that I've been dealing with health issues for the past 3 months. It's been frustrating because up until now I've felt like a "Medical Mystery". The Dr.'s didn't seem to have any explanation for why my feet/ankles have been swelling so much. All of the tests have come back fine! Well, today I had a Dr.'s Appt with my Internal Medicine Dr. and he talked to me about the results of my 2nd round of tests. He said my creatinine levels are elevated and that can signal problems with kidney functioning. Don't get me wrong! I don't want to have kidney failure, but at least we are starting to get to the bottom of this!

Here are my next steps: I need to go get more blood work done to see if the creatinine levels are still elevated. Then, on Tuesday morning the Dr. is having me go get an ultrasound of my kidneys. I then go back to see him in 4 weeks to discuss the results. I know he'll call if something needs to be done ASAP. He also said my cholesterol is very high. I guess it's at 286 (I think) which is horrible! However, he noted that both my good and bad cholesterol are both high, so he isn't AS concerned. I told him when I was 16 I also had high cholesterol, so I think in addition to my diet, it is hereditary as well. He prescribed a pill to help control my cholesterol levels and I will have that checked again in 8 weeks.

I tell ya, I sure am blessed to have good health insurance! Even without my upcoming tests, my tests thus far have cost over $1,600.00! Continued prayers are appreciated! I found the diagram below online and the symptoms seem to match the problems I am having. I have fluid overload (swollen ankles) and elevated creatinine levels. Here's hoping that if there are kidney issues, they can be treated with meds. I'm just thankful to FINALLY be getting some answers!

My New Walking Shoes...One Step Closer

I had my appointment with my new Internal Medicine Dr. on Friday morning. I was there for an hour & a half and had an EKG done. It's a standard procedure for all of their new patients. I hate to see how much the bill will be for that appointment! I still don't have answers regarding the fatigue and feet/ankle swelling, but hopefully I am one step closer to getting answers! The next round of tests are to find out if my liver and kidneys are functioning properly. When the Dr. was examining me I felt pain near the bottom of my ribs. The Dr. said that was my gallbladder. He said gallbladder issues wouldn't cause ankle swelling though. I wonder if the meds I have been on long term are ultimately hurting my liver/kidneys? We shall see. One of the diagnoses by the Dr. is that I'm overweight. I guess I've been in denial. He wants me to exercise more, which is really hard to do when I can't fit into tennis shoes. The tops of my feet are so swollen I can't fit into normal shoes. So, I bought a new pair of shoes (pic above) at The Walking Company today. These should work both now and when/if my feel/ankle swelling goes down, and they were on sale! :) I just want to feel "normal" again..whatever that is. The good news is that I'm not dying! :) I'm alive and kicking and am determined to one day not be diagnosed as being "overweight"! :) One thing at a time Jen, one thing at a time!

Lower Extremity Edema

Ok, so I know my feet are not attractive to begin with, in fact, they are the least favorite part of my body. However, I am blessed to have them. They get me where I need to go! :) These pics give you an idea of the symptoms I have been experiencing. The proper medical term for this is "Lower Extremity Edema". What is causing the lower extremity edema? This is the Million Dollar Question! :) I've been dealing with these swollen feet/ankles for well over 6 weeks. Five weeks ago when I first went to the Dr. he (as a good Dr. should) had me get a chest x-ray and tons of blood work done. $995.00 worth of tests to be exact! Thank God for health insurance..and I seriously mean that! The good news is that

everything came back normal. So, the Dr. gave me a water pill and I was good to go..or so I thought! The water pill did work for 2 weeks, if that, and then the extreme swelling came back. So, this past Wednesday I went back to the Dr. I also showed him the pictures I had taken. He said my pictures serve as good documentation! He was completely baffled as to what's causing this. I'm thankful he admitted that he didn't know what else to do. He said if I were 80, he would think it was a symptom of congestive heart failure, but he said I'm a healthy 35 year old woman. He also said it's strange that this is happening in both of my feet/ankles. My Dr. referred me to an Internal Medicine Dr. My first appointment with the IM Dr. will be on April 17th. So I have 2 more weeks to wait. I told my Dr. the first time that I am a Medical Mystery! :) I think he believes me now! LOL Please don't ask me if I have too much salt in my diet! That will make me want to scream! Trust me, I've heard it all! I know people mean well, but seriously..do these feet/ankles look "normal" to you??? My Dr. assured me that this is more than just too much salt intake! So, I'll just have to be patient and hope and pray that I will get some answers in the next month or so. All I know is that I can only wear the same 2 pairs of shoes, and that I am extremely fatigued. I would appreciate your prayers over the next few weeks that the IM Dr. can get to the root cause of the problem, and that hopefully someday soon, I will be able to see that I do in fact have ankles! :) Thank you! :)