Hi Bindy, Something you are eating could contribute to your inflammation. When I ingested too many hidden sources of MSG (a list can be found at truthinlabeling.org), my fingers swelled so bad they split and were very painful.

Turmeric and ginger both reduce inflammation. When I ingested about 1/2 tsp. (a little over) of turmeric in about 6 oz. of warm water, the swelling and pain left right away. I try to alternate a tea of ginger or turmeric throughout the day and sprinkle both on my food. They both fight cancer and ginger kills salmonella.

The flowing agent in common table salt contributes to edema. I use RealSalt obtained from the HF Store. It does not contain the flowing agent. Our bodies need sodium.

I think the fat-free and salt-free craze has contributed to more ailments than is recognized. I hear about a lot of gallbladder removal surgeries. The gallbladder needs fat to contract.

Do you eat a lot of whole grains or fresh fruit? Our entire food supply has been tainted with GMO's in one way or the other and "organic" is no longer as safe as it was thought to be.

B-6 will help but you need to take all the B vitamins together so you don't cause a deficiency in the others. Blackstrap Molasses (BSM) is an excellent source and contains minerals we need. I dilute a TBSP in any combination of 2% milk, water or coffee. Sometimes I put it in my oatmeal. I just make sure I get at least one tablespoon a day. The magnesium in it needs to bind with protein for absorption.

Not everything will work for everyone. Try to keep a list of what you eat and the time you eat it so you can identify any pattern.

It is also important to get at least 15-20 minutes of sunlight each day. Three days a week should be fine if you are not deficient. No sunscreen. The sun exposure converts cholesterol into vitamin D needed for your bones. I hope some of this will help you.

Dear Bindy,

Regarding your edema - your statement about it being more under control when you were working outdoors in a garden center and not sitting or standing behind a desk jumps out at me. Perhaps one key is activity and sunlight. (Kt also mentions sunlight! ) If sounds like now you are behind a desk sitting/standing? A mini-trampoline/rebounder may help. Five minutes a couple of times a day is helpful to get the lymph really moving.

Kt has great dietary and supplement suggestions. I also use realsalt (or celtic sea salt.) Many processed foods and fast foods have a lot of sodium which is not the same as a natural salt. These can make you retain the fluids. We have a farmer friend that is generally very healthy and eats what he grows. But he went out of town and was eating fast foods and had edema for the first time in his life.

It is important to drink plenty, though this seems counter-intuitive. It will help you to flush out the excess. Adding a pinch (1/8 teaspoon or less) of salt (realsalt or celtic salt) to each glass of water may be helpful, too.

Dandelion Tea would be another good thing to drink.

Let us know how it goes. I am very hopeful that natural remedies will help you get past this condition!

~Mama to Many~

Also worth mentioning in the food dept, the excessive consumption of Nightshade veggies like Potato, Tomato, Pepper, and Eggplant can cause pain & inflammation.

More info here http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/link-between-nightshades-chronic-pain-and-inflammation

Thank you both for your comments. I used Real Sea salt and get copious amounts of sunlight. Working in garden center was wonderful, but swelling still there, it was just more manageable. I do work in an office again. I joined the YMCA and went to classes religiously, yoga, pilates, walking, tennis, swimming. Compression stockings, diuretics, herbs, manual lymphatic drainage, ta chai yoga therapy, deep tissue massages, chiropractor. I do turmeric and ginger, daily, take vits B & C, dandelion tea almost every day. I have used a rebounder, swim (this helps the best), but the edema just redistributes and never goes away

I lost 23 lbs, changed up/got off and got back on my bio identical hormones, stopped eating sugar, and still cannot figure out what is causing this blockage.

I had several mri's, cat scans that noted subcutaneous edema noted in feet (when swelling was in ankles), ultras sounds for blood clots. Normal. On the mri and cat scanss, they found benign adrenaloma and hepatic lesions on liver, but nothing to be concerned about according to docs

I don't feel bad, but it affects my social life greatly. I was dating a really nice guy a while back and its so embarrassing to not be able to plan an activity because I need to put my legs up over a pilates ball so the edema will go away..

The upside is that I have discovered coconut and hemp seed oils that I ingest and use daily on my skin. You'd never know I was 50.

Hi U BINDY, , , , , , , , , , , , , , yep, drink water, but that's just a start. Your lymph system has no pump like your blood system so you need to excerise, learn to skin brush and elevate your legs when you sleep at night. Kt has the right string, but the wrong yo-yo, but the boss gets angry when I take a poster on, so I won't this time.

In Feb '14 I crushed my T 12 vertebrae and my legs swoll to the size of an elephant's. Did the PT thing will little help. Started with a lymph massage person and she told me to elevate my legs when I sleep and it all goes away temporally. So she was right. I recently learned that my lymph system goes to my legs from my T 12 vertebrae and that must be where it is restricted.

My guess that you have the same problem. Either you are not excising enough or you have a lymph restriction somewhere. Or your lymph fluid is too thick to flow. I really don't think taking ACV will help your situation. Pun intended.

I suggest a good lymph massage person who can tell you where your lymph is not flowing with their machine, and you can take it from there.

Keep posting how your situation goes and the bright folks on EC will help you. My intention is to get you to think logically.

=========ORH============

Dear Bindy,

Wow, you are doing a lot to not be having success with your treatment! I would encourage you to keep reading and try things - sounds like that is what you are doing. A few things that sometimes work when nothing else will:

carrot juice - fresh. Start with 1/2 cup and work up to 3 cups daily if it suits you.

cayenne pepper is good for circulation - start with a little (1/8th teaspoon) and work up to more as you tolerate it. I like it a lot in my carrot juice.

Castor Oil packs

Hydrotherapy - we have seen this help when nothing else would. Sounds crazy. You alternate soaking your legs in cool then warm water. (cool, warm, cool, warm, cool, warm, cool.) Daily.

Keep us posted. I am hopeful that you will soon figure out the missing link in your treatment plan and I can't wait to hear what it is.

~Mama to Many~

I have just recently started cayenne pepper and will give carrot juice a try.

Understand that my edema is much better than it was 3 years ago and everything I have listed are things that I have tried and each provided some sort of temporary relief.

The bottom line is that no doctor has ever been able to tell me WHY this edema developed out of the blue.

In 2011, Eight months before edema started, I quit smoking using Chantix for 4 weeks. I know - but I was desperate to quit. I haven't smoked since and that has been 4.5 years.

I was on 4 doses of antibiotics in 2011 for dental problems. In the fall of 2011, I broke out in terrible painful dermatitis that lasted two weeks exactly, it turned my ears to cauliflower. As a result of the antibiotics.

Right around that time, I tore my Achilles' tendon (50% tear). I was in walking boot for six weeks. No meds. It was in the last week of my walking boot that I noticed this strange swelling of my ankles and abdomen. I gained weight overnight it seemed and thus began the mystery of my swelling in my ankles and all over my body, esp my abdomen. it lasted for 4 mins until I discovered the aldactazide 50/50. Almost immediately, the swelling went away in my ankles and other places (my face and arms).

I walk a lot and frequently have ponytail holders with me and around my wrist - the edema is still in my entire body and that is evident from the marks of the ponytail holders. So the edema is body wide, but due to gravity settles in my upper legs. I have to stay busy exercising to keep edema from taking over and this makes me think that there is a blockage. I did 6 sessions of manual lymphatic drainage with no real results.

HI U BRENDY, , , , , , , , , , you know how your lymphatic system works, right? It has no pump, so something has to make it move. It can be exercise, skin brushing or bouncing on a rebounder. Also, it can be due to low hydration, so you must drink lots of water.

All this is fundamental and and you probably know all this.

I crushed my T 12 vertebrae and my feet became elephants legs. My lymph masseur told me to sleep with my legs raised and whala , my ankles went to normal size. My problem is that I guess the restriction is permanent because I have to constantly sleep with my legs raised. Stuff happens, especially when you get old.

I know I have not solved your problem, but just wanted to give you some things to think about.

Wish you well. =========ORH=====

Check out the exercise videos from Teresa Tapp at t-Tapp.com. Her focus is on moving lymph fluid throughout the body to reduce inflammation. It is a no impact method of full fiber muscle activation that is easy for all. She has a 'try before you buy' option on her site with links to videos to preview. Best to you..

Hello Bindy;

Re Edema...

There are two MAIN reasons for Edema in lower extremities....lack of Vitamin E... natural E...d alpha tocopherol and lack of "sprints" in exercise regime .... a few per week. Read about "High Intensity Interval Training" to see how the lung will atrophy if some anaerobic is not accomplished weekly. (Aerobic is produced by brisk walk or jogging...anaerobic is a sprint.) Lack of E and oxygen from lungs, will mean lower involuntary muscles cannot produce enough energy for pushing the blood BACK UP the legs. So the resulting slow flow allows the water to fall out of the legs and builds up as Edema.

If there is insufficient E or oxygen facilitated by the lungs, (or both), then Edema may result. E is an oxygenator and also will slick down platelets, veins and arteries.

I take at least 400 IUs daily of E. Twice a week I get in 30 seconds sprint, three times within a twenty minute aerobic routine.

Even if I can ONLY vitamin E ... that will help a lot. Have seen results MANY times.

Dear Bindy,

I can only suggest you temporarily stop eating fresh fruit, corn and cook all other vegetables until tender. I feel the microwave is God's provision for breaking down the GMO's in grains and vegetables for easier digestion. HOWEVER, do not microwave in any plastic. Only use clear glass. If you don't have clear casseroles, use mason jars.

Too many carbohydrates cause me and my husband both to retain fluid. Our entire food supply has been genetically modified in one way or another. This "engineering" of disease-free, drought-free produce and grains makes food last longer so it doesn't spoil easy and we feel it is why ailments seem to be increasing and more efforts for cures are not always working. (lawsuits filed for failed drugs and devices)

The animals we eat, get milk and eggs from are being fed GMO grasses and grains. Infiltration of GMO's cannot be avoided in fruits, vegetables and grains just due to wind and bird droppings. Organic is no longer safe and both my husband and myself had experienced more health problems when we tried all free range, grass-fed critters, eggs, milk and organics. It appears that many farmers and the Amish are truly unaware of what is happening.

It is becoming harder to learn how to eat food so that it can be assimilated. It has taken me over two decades of piecemeal learning to become aware. I obtained the video "Food, Inc." (a trailer used to be available at www.foodincmovie.com) and my husband and I have learned a lot from my friends at www.truthinlabeling.com