diabetic swelling that has remained for about ten days

by henry murray
(laurel delaware U.S.)

Question

For about the last 10 days my legs have been swollen from the knees down.

I am having difficulty sleeping in bed at night and have resorted to sleeping in a chair.

what would you recommend to get the swelling down? it is pretty severe.

By the way, I have type 2 diabetes and my foot doctor tells me there is nothing that helps the neuropathy.

VA doctor cuts my toenails and tells me the humidity causes it and it will go down after the summer.

Answer

The first thing you need to know is that your health issues ( leg swelling, type 2 diabetes, neuropathy) are much related to each other. Leg swelling and neuropathy are both long-term complications of type 2 diabetes.

But, we need more specific information about your state, for a more accurate evaluation of your health issues:

1. You state that you have been sleeping in the chair these 10 days, because you find it difficult to sleep in bad. We need to know why you find it difficult to sleep in a bed. Because you feel uncomfortable sleeping with the swollen legs, or do you have other problems, like difficulty in breathing or else?

2. What are the levels of your sugar in blood, your fasting levels and after meal levels?

3. How long have you been suffering from diabetes, and have you been treating it correctly?

All the aforementioned details are important in properly judging your condition.

We will give you a general answer based on the information we have. Please, if possible, send in the data we specified above.

The cause of your swelling legs is not diabetes neuropathy (it does not cause swelling of the legs, but pain, feeling of restlessness of the leg, etc).

The most possible reason of your leg swelling is diabetic artheropathy: improper blood circulation due to damaged capillaries as a result of increased pressure. Damage capillaries cause leakage of fluid in the surrounding tissues and this causes edema (swelling).

Simple lifestyle changes can help in reducing your leg swelling:

1. Exercise regularly – regular exercising improves your blood-sugar levels and also stabilizes blood circulation in your legs.

2. Elevate your leg- elevation of your swelling leg above the heart level, for 30 min per day, various times a day can help to reduce swelling. Elevation drains excess fluids in surrounding tissues and improves blood circulation.

3. Use compression stockings or bandages- external compression will force the excess fluid return towards the lymphatic systems and also improves circulation.

4. Reduce salt intake-salt causes increased blood pressure (more so If you have also kidney issues from diabetes) and this triggers leg swelling.

5. Massage your leg-massaging the affected leg improves blood circulation and lessens the edema

6. Careful with your posture- do not sit or stand for long periods of time, because this will affect your blood circulation and will worsen the swelling.

7. DO NOT sleep in the chair- keeping your legs hanging from the chair for too long worsens the swelling. Try to sleep with your legs elevated above heart level. Use a supporting pillow to do so.

8. Try some effective natural supplements to cure edema, such as apple cider vinegar, alpha lipoid acid, blackstrap molasses and butcher’s broom.

9. In case of having diabetic neuropathy, do not wear tight shoes, do not keep your foot wet, pay very attention to your foot hygiene, keep your nails short.

10. In case these lifestyle changes do not succeed in reducing your edema, the use of drugs (diuretics) is necessary.

It is also important to know that leg swelling may be caused even by kidney failure, heart failure (both long-term complications of diabetes) and liver failure. So, specific tests may be needed to rule out these conditions.