A Leg for an Arm

[susandennis]

Last week my arm, shoulder and neck were killing me because of my desk/chair at work. I mean I could hardly lift anything with my right arm. It hurt even when I wasn't using it.

It is CURED!!! But, my ankles are so swollen I look like Senior Lodge material. My right one is really huge because of the way I sit. My chair at work is now so high that my circulation is cut off just above the knee. I noticed the foot last night - right one really big, left one kind of big. This morning I checked and they were healed. Right now, they are blown up like balloons.

So before I left work today, I found a footstool that is a good height and now I even have one at home. It may take some more experimenting but I am making progess!

Comments

[pinkrose70.livejournal.com]

Hi Susan,
I too had the "swollen leg and ankle, my feet hurt...so I'll prop them up on something at work" syndrome. And yes, I spent a lot of time behind my desk on my PC in my office, and also at home.

I've always been relatively healthy,and attributed my fatigue to "pushing 50."

One afternoon last September I had an uncharacteristic episode at work, having problems catching my breath.
My fatigue turned out to be "severe anemia" and while being treated for that, I kept complaining of leg swelling, my left leg larger than the right, and both seeming normal in the mornings, yet increasingly swolen in the evening.

Turned out I had "iron-deficiency anemia" (which I don't really understand, I was eating plenty of spinach) but the real reason I am posting his......the swelling was DVT (deep vein thrombosis) in my left leg. Put in more simple terms: a blood clot in my leg. I was hospitalized immediately, and now I still remain on a blood thinner to prevent a pulmonary embolism.

The anemia is much better, but not my leg. As I sit here now, my leg is propped up. It's strange..in the morning my legs look normal, but walking around the house, they start to swell. I wear special stockings to improve circulation. I no longer can walk long distances without stopping to give my leg a rest.

Some people experience these problems from prolonged sitting, particularly in a cramped airplane.

So, to all of you out there.....try to get up and walk around as often as you can. There's no real proof of what caused my DVT, but you may be able to prevent this.

[susandennis]

What great and simple advice! Get up and walk around. I can do that. And I will. I've heard about this in relation to airplanes but not computer but makes total sense.

I shall get up and walk. Thanks so much!