Hi - I too am a new member to this site and I am sure it will be very helpful. I am 68 yrs old and have had type2 diabetes for 7 years. I am on several medications to control high blood pressure which is not too bad at the moment. My sugar was high and with my present medication - metformin, diamicron mr 30mg, as well as humulin n insulin at bedtime my blood sugar stays at 5 or 6 which is great. I am on quite a low carb diet and stick to the rules pretty good. However, my biggest problem is that my feet and lower legs, ankles included are very swollen. I tell my doctors that is my GP, cardiologist and endoctrinologist, about this and they really do not seem to be too concerned. I have problems walking as my feet have lost their flexibility due to the edema. This stops me from going out like I used to and I find myself becoming more and more house-bound. My GP said it is caused by Norvasc. Does anyone have any info on this?? Other than that, I am in good health, good appetite, etc. although I do not have much energy. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Hi Pat!
Welcome! ummm. I dont know anything about swelling; but I just want to welcome you.
I know others will be along to say “Hi” and maybe someone will have an idea.
As for me, if I asked a Dr a question; I’d want an answer or be asking yet another one.
I’ve had Dr’s hold back on me and found out some answers years later. It still angers me.
I guess that is yet another reason why I am " chicken" to even go see a Dr.
We have a new forum called “Weight Loss Team” If you’d like to drop by and exchange diet,recipe or any tips for them, we’d love to have you!
Come visit my page by just clicking on my pic and you can read my story:)
Again, 
Welcome!!!
MeadowLark
Thank you for answering me. There are so many questions re diabetes and it is interesting to read all the different ways of thinking and handling it. Will go check out Weight Loss Page - that I can use certainly.
Hello, Pat,
Welcome to tudiabetes. I don’t have pesonal experience with Norvasc but see from the web sites that edema, water retention, swelling are common side effects in more than 10% of people taking it. Have you asked your doctor about switching to a different medication for you high BP? Your blood sugar levels sound great, congratulations on getting that under control. I take lisinopril for high blood pressure but found that when I lost a little weight my blood pressure came down and I was able to cut the dose in half. I have a home monitor for my blood pressure and was able to keep track of how I was doing so I knew I could cut back. Do you use much salt/sodium in your diet? That can also cause water retention though it is more likely to be the Norvasc. I would talk to your doctors some more. It doesn’t seem fair that you are doing everything right but are not able to enjoy life so much because of this side effect. There are lots of different drugs available for high blood pressure so they should be able to find an alternative. Good luck and keep posting!
Thank you for yr reply. Yes I have repeatedly told my doctors - GP and cardiologist about the edema and they do not seem too concerned about it. Cut the norvasc from 10mg to 5mg and BP shot up so back to 10mg. I too have a BP machine which I use regularly. I cannot exercise as I would like because of the edema in feet and lower legs so cannot get rid of the extra weight - about 40 lbs that I should lose. I do not eat too much - in fact I eat less than ever but do not lose the weight as I am sure it is fluid retention. My cardiologist stopped my Vasotec for BP and put me on another medication. But kept me on the norvasc. My GP told me they do not like to give a strong diuretic to diabetics as it increases blood sugar. I guess eventually they’ll figure it out. Thanks again
I take norvasc for high BP, but I have not had any side effects from it. I also take Hydrochlorothiazide,
Enalapril, and have the Catapres patch. Even with all this, I’m still struggling keeping my BP at a reasonable range. I have had this problem for about 30 years, though… I also have asmtha/copd, severe arthritis, and hypothyroidism, besides the diabetis & high BP, which compounds the other problems. I know about being house-bound, and it can get depressing at times! I hope you find some relief soon!! I know this must be scarey for you, and very aggravating that the doctors won’t listen to you…
Good luck!
connie
Hi Pat:
My mother is a Type 2, is a year and a half older than you, and has also had problems with her ankles swelling. I think one of her medications was the cause. Her doctors took her swelling seriously and worked to get it reduced. I will check with her and get back to you.
Thank you Travis for the info. I am quite sure it is the medication or a combination of different meds.
Actually it is not that the doctors don’t listen - it is just that their main concern is lowering BG and BP, which I understand. I have been told that one of the meds I take - Norvasc - will cause the edema but I know it can also be caused by heart or kidney problems. My daughter is coming with me in Sept. when I go for my next check-ups and she is not at all shy to ask questions, so maybe I will get some answers.
Hi Welcome! I hope you like it here! I really have no info on your problem. Maybe some others will
Doris
Thanks Doris. It is great hearing from people with similar problems. Just what the doctor ordered and I don’t mean meds!!!
I have to agree with you 100%.! It has really helped me to get all my feelings out and to see that some ppl think just like I do! My husband and youngest daughter don’t understand that but good for me my oldst daughter is a Type 1 like me. Til she moved out last year I had someone who took on the “dummies”. Now though it’s juat me in a house of non diabetics!
Here’s what happens in a simplified ‘big picture’ explanation, which can take years upon years to develop, depending on the person and many other factors:
As we age and continue to bathe our organs in a toxic environment (overall lifestyle and suppressing symptoms of diseases/pains without tending to them correctly), we become increasingly dehydrated; so the cells in the body begin to give up water in order to thin the blood, which has thickened from dehydration and lack of overall body circulation (lymphatic system, endocrine system, and all other parts of the body). A fight for water then begins between the cells and the blood. Continuation of the situation further causes the cells to thicken their cellular membranes using cholesterol as a blockade to ‘save’ the water that the cells do have. The body uses this as another safety measure to stay alive. The continued effect of not cleansing the body correctly and using more drugs to suppress symptoms of other complications, the cells are now ‘thick membraned’ and unable to receive new water supplies and pure nutrients. Subsequently, the water and nutrients that the body does take in now accumulate in the tissues surrounding the cells, causing water retention and edema. Blood plasma and lymph fluids become thickened and congested, liver, gall bladder and kidney stones form, and all of this can, and many times does, lead to the last survival attempt of the body; cell mutation (cells living off their own metabolic waste), which is called Cancer.
The answer is to stop taking drugs (they are seriously damaging your liver), clean your organs, learn about the natural laws of how the body operates, stop going to doctors and begin a true path of health for yourself. Taking several medications, having high blood pressure, diabetes, water retention and low energy are all signs that your health is not good, regardless of what the doctors say. They have bills to pay and have to follow protocol with patients. A 68 year old to them is someone that has a lived a good life and is now degenerating, which is why they don’t really care about your water retention. You can be full of energy again and begin rebuilding your body to levels you had when you were in your 40’s if you’d like, but you have to do it. Don’t even try to discuss this with the doctors, they will call you crazy and try to scare you back into their system of never-ending treatments.
Hello ND - I thank you for responding and with all due respect, I am sure you believe everything you say. However, I am not of the same opinion. I also do a lot of reading and research and do not necessarily believe everything I see. As far as your advice to stop going to doctors is concerned, I happen to have known a few people like that and they are no longer with them. We are free to follow our doctors’ advice, or find new doctors if we are not satisfied. I have been fortunate most of my life to have been blessed with good health - the only times I was hospitalised was to have my 4 children. Now I have a chronic disease called “diabetes” which I am doing my best to understand and keep control of. I joined this site to discuss reactions, side-effects of medications, etc with fellow-diabetics and I find this very helpful. I do not know if you are a diabetic but if you are I wish you luck and good health.
You’re welcome, I was answering as best I could why you are having extra water retention in your body tissue, which was your question, but had to go on an extra explanation of why the cells do such a thing. Things like this cannot be addressed in the quick answer and easy way out. Factor upon factor creates the eventual problems that exist in both young and old. The fact that someone thinks they are in good health but are taking several medications, have high blood pressure, diabetes, edema, problems walking, excessive weight and low energy is really strange to me. “I guess eventually they’ll figure it out” is not acceptable thinking when dealing with your health, it’s up to you to figure it out… Anyway, thank you for wishing me well and being polite in your post.
Next Dimensions:
A while back, I stepped into a topic where you posted to both, give my personal opinion and also to provide a means to discuss alternative treatments. The solution I offered was the creation of a new section in the Forum, called “Alternative Ways of Treating Diabetes”.
Back then I wrote (quote):
“I feel it is the healthiest thing to do, considering the potential breadth of this topic, plus it would make things a little easier on newly diagnosed people, who are overwhelmed with the need to process a ton of new information and how to even begin to cope with their new condition. We all need to learn how to stand before we can begin to consider walking, running, etc. even if we end up choosing NOT to.”
I have seen many of your recent contributions in the Forum posts take off in a direction that is very beyond the topic being discussed and/or repeating something you have mentioned very recently somewhere else on the site.
I need to ask you to please:
- Keep your replies on-topic: if you need to add something outside the extent of the topic, please post that information where it should go (if it pertains to alternative treatments, then it belongs in that category);
- Try to consider how much you are repeating some of the same things in multiple places throughout the site. Per the Terms of use “It is not OK to … post the same message repeatedly across the site.”
- Please learn to stop pushing when you see that people do not want to listen/read what you have to say/write. Respect goes both ways, so consider how respectful it is to keep on replying back to a person who has every right to decide how he/she chooses to live his/her life, like you have done in other topics.
To the extent that the goal of TuDiabetes.com is to “provide members with a space where they can freely exchange ideas and information and network with other people touched by diabetes in a comfortable and fun environment,” when the above three things are not complied with, it gives way for a space that stops being comfortable and fun to be in.
Thanks for your understanding.
I will respond to this with a private message to keep the thread clear. Thanks Manny.