This is a bit silly...

[Katymac]

When I was fatter (size 22) I used to get swollen fingers & ankles

Dr said it was cos I was fat

Now I am size 14 I still get swollen fingers and ankles (esp in hot weather - but I get them at night too)

Dr said high blood pressure - tested and found it to be very low (can't remember what it was) so then he said it was cos I was so overweight

What is going on?

Basically the bloody doctor hasnt a clue what they are talking about!! Can you ask to see a different doctor and explain the diffrent reasons you have been given??

My fingers swell up sometimes in the heat, not really bad but my wedding and engagement rings feel tighter etc. Sorry not much help. but I just thought it was a weather thing, cos my rings are loose in the cold!?!

Thanks Guys

I didn't think I was that overweight anymore - he obv does

its the blood rushing to your extremities to try to cool you down

one of the body's ways of cooling you down is to have larger volumes of blood in the extremities, so that heat (in the blood) evaporates

hth

may be bad circulation as well - the blood is accumulating a bit more than it should in your extremeties.

Are you generally puffy ? It maybe fluid retention and bizarrely I think the cure for that is to drink more water. (by the way I am not a gp - this is just vague memories of what I have been told in the past).

if you think its fluid retention i wouldnt drink more. also, fluid retention would involve high bp (usually)

when you press your fingers does it leave an indentation? this is oedema.

fluid retention can be a sign of something more serious, go back to the gp if you think this is the cause

As far as I was aware oedema is just the medical name for oedema. They are one and the same. One of the major recommendations that were given to me (after ruling out serious medical causes) was to drink more (but not alcohol or caffeine), cut salt & try support stockings (in this weather - I don't think so).

2plus, oedema is more serious than fluid retention, if that is what you mean

and advising someone who has possible oedema to drink more is slightly dangerous

Katy, i dont think you do have oedema, but maybe another trip back to the dr is what you should do

I know drinking is counter-intuitive & I was sceptical about drinking more (unless the oedema is sudden onset, which this doesn't sound like). I researched it at the time it was recommended to me & it helps draw water out of tissues & back into blood stream from where it can be excreted (could go into the science behind this but I don't think this is the forum). I have also googled it this morning & found it on a number of sites, just in case I had dreamt it.
I didn't intend to start an argument. Just passing on my own experiences & knowledge (& google results).

im not arguing!

i am a renal nurse and have seen hundreds of patients with fluid retention/oedema. advising them to take on extra fluid would be very dangerous, and thats just one example

i just did not want to say that before as i didnt think it was relative to Katy's case

Slow down ladies - I was kinda looking for confirmation that I wasn't fat despite what the dr said

swollen fingers is not likely to be because you are fat (at size 14 you are probably not that fat anyway).

I was just specualting that it may be a result of fluid retention. when I had that in pregnancy they did advise me to drink more - but I am happy to bow to nailpolish's professional experience.

If it is just in hot weather I would accept it is part of your bodies way to cool off (if you didn't wear rings you may not have noticed it). If it is all the time I would go back to the gp (or a different one) and get some more checks done.

I ONLY KNOW ABOUT RENAL STUFF!

Katy, i still think its jsut blood in your extremities

plunge your hands in a bowl of ice water

Katy
I have had swollen fingers in the heat for as long as I can remember and just accept it as part of me. I am not over or underweight.

Bowl of ice water is a good idea.

Katy
I have had swollen fingers in the heat for as long as I can remember and just accept it as part of me. I am not over or underweight.

Bowl of ice water is a good idea.

My ankles have been swelling up in the heat and sometimes at night - I am not overweight and my blood pressure is fine.

You are not overweight .

I have swollen fingers in the heat as well. Doesnt mean you are fat!

I dont know about any of the other medical stuff Just wanted to say well done you for losing all that weight anyway!

Throkenholt & PiccadillyCircus have the right answer THANK YOU........