Swollen feet and ankles

[Curlyems]

Does anyone have any suggestions re swollen feet which are a little painful to walk on? I am 24 weeks pregnant and, it would appear, retaining a lot of water in my legs and feet. Any tips re reducing the swelling? As it is, I look like the elephant man and it is not a good look...

Thanks

put your feet up more, don't cross your legs.... erm..... drink MORE water and wear super comfy shoes.

Bet my legs are more elephanty than yours :p

Aw thanks MotherPanda but I very much doubt it. I am actually disgusted when I look at them!

Mine have just gone elephanty in the last 24 hours. The only consolation is that I remember a few days after DD1 was born looking down at my feet and rejoicing that I had toes and ankles once again. It was as though I'd lost 10 stone overnight.

Put your legs up, slightly higher than your waist if you can (footstool with a pillow on it) and, as MotherPanda says, drink loads of water.

I'm sure you know, but do keep an eye on any swelling elsewhere, particularly around your face and make sure you mention it to the midwife. With DD1 my swelling crept up on me but it turned out to be pre-eclampsia. Might be worth running a urine sample in to the surgery and getting them to check it for protein. That said, I saw my mw yesterday and blood pressure and urine were fine, despite my enormous ankles.

This happened to me and it turnd out I had pre-eclampsia, it wasn't picked up when it should have been, so please tell your midwife and get i checked just in case. Though it's probably not :)

Thanks for your comments. I was at my consultant yesterday and they tested (as they do each visit) my urine and said that it was clear and it's just one of those things, apparently. Coincidentally, at 24 weeks I have gained the best part of 4 stones which may have a lot to do with it. The consultant said that he would keep an eye on it but that some women retain water more than others...

Yeah, I was told just some of us are unlucky and we retain water...my DH is now referring to my feet as 'flump feet'
I agree with the other ladies - loads fo water and get them raised when you can, my feet normally go back - almost to normal - overnight then get big again as day progresses. My swelling started getting bad around the 24 weeks mark, at 29 weeks it's still here and I'm expecting it to continue until the end. Interestingly though I have only gained 20lbs. But I can gain 5lbs during the day only to have lost it by morning again.

I read on here that dandelion leaf tea can help. I got some to start having as a preventative thing. It is really, truly foul. Almost undrinkable. But it might help.