[Anonymous]

#1039185

My legs are swollen from my knees down and my ankles and feet swell terribly also. It doesn’t seem to be excess fluid since my hands are usually O.K. I do a lot of sitting and computer work during the day – and by the end of the day I am so stiff and swollen I can hardly walk. I had told my endo about this – but he didn’t seem very interested in this fact when I told him how bad it gets. I really never had bad looking legs before having GD – but I really hate the thought of putting on a pair of shorts this summer!!!

[Anonymous]

#1127110

Ask your doctor to please check to make sure that what you are experiencing is not a form of pretibial myxedema, which is a condition of the lower legs that can sometimes come with Graves. Like the thyroid and eye disease, the skin on the legs can be affected by the antibodies. Rarely, but sometimes, this looks like swelling, or fluid retention. Usually, it looks like hard patches of skin that resemble orange rind. PT only occurs in about 1% of us, so it is not something an endo may see often, and the swelling look is even rarer yet. But if it IS P.T. there are things that can be done to help you.

Bobbi — NGDF Asst. Online Facilitator
Bobbi@ngdf.org

[Anonymous]

#1127111

My ankles swell. My Endo blew me off when I told him about it. I plan to mention it again at my next appt.

[Anonymous]

#1127112

I’ve had a problem with fluid retention, especially in the legs and hands, since Graves’ began. I can’t get any answers from doctors about why this happens, but my doctor has prescribed some mild diuretics to help when I need them the most. My ophthalmologist told me he believes people with Graves’ have a tendency to retain fluids in their tissues, and I know from talking to others that I’m not the only one.

Dianne W

[Anonymous]

#1127113

Thanks for the inputs that I got to my question – I see my endo next Mon. and I will put the question re. pretibial myxedema on my list of questions to him. Also, has anybody else had stress fractures since being diagnosed?? I’ve read that GD takes calcium out of the bones. I’ve had two stress fractures in the past 18 months. One of which was my tibia – which, I might add – took 4 months to heal. Right after
X-mas this year I started to limp on my foot and low and behold I had a fractured bone in the top of my foot!! (It should be noted that I didn’t fall to cause these fractures – I was exercising on a daily basis – for about a half hour – just walking. I walked on this last fracture for almost 6 weeks because it didn’t show up on a regular x-ray – it finally showed up in a bone scan. Since my endo runs an osteoporosis center – I’m going to ask if he’ll order a bone density test. It would be interesting however, to know how many other people out there may have suffered from these same kind of fractures. Thanks again for your help.

[Anonymous]

#1127114

My ankles use to be swollen.

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