Swollen Feet

chaz · Apr 27, 2005

Hi,
Just wanted to know if anyone ever has gotten swollen feet from driving.Please dont laugh,I'm serious.
I drive a cargo van and my wife noticed that my right ankle was swelling up.
Now it is my whole ankle and foot swelling and coming up my leg is starting to swell.I noticed pain under both my legs while driving.The pain is behind legs,right up from the knees.
I had to deadhead after my 13 pound box delivery in Brownsville,TN all the way back to home(near Pittsburgh,PA) so I can go see the doctor tomorrow.
Chaz

davekc · Apr 27, 2005

Could be several things but I would hate to speculate.
Your own advise is best.
Go to the doctor.
Davekc

theoldprof · Apr 27, 2005

Chaz:

Thanks for the reply to "the good, the bad, and the ugly". Don't forget to tell the doc about the 16 reams weighing 100 pound each you had to man handle. Good advice. See the doc.

Thanks. :+ :+

redytrk · Apr 27, 2005

Wear loose fitting clothes and take walk around breaks.If problem persist see a MD/PDQ.

C5BILL · Apr 27, 2005

On long DH's, I would suggest untying your shoelaces and/or taking your boots/shoes off, thereby allowing better circulation to your lower extremities. I always find this to be helpfull.

PS: Take some breaks and walk around.

Dreamer · Apr 27, 2005

Chaz,

I can relate partially. I never had the swollen feet, but I did have the pain behind the knees, back of thighs, etc. Also I noticed my legs falling asleep a lot. I finally figured out it was the front edge of the van seat cutting off circulation in my lower legs. It's a very subtle thing, you don't notice it. I think it's because van seats, unlike truck seats, are not made for long, OTR driving.

Changing position frequently helps, a seat cushion to raise your hips up so that the front of the seat is not making a ridge under your legs is a possibility to. Another thing I make sure to do, even in my personal van, is to use the cruise as much as possible, and making sure my feet are flat on the floor.. so there isn't as much pressure on the back of my thighs on the seat edge.

Be aware of when your legs start to hurt.. it might be as simple as pulling over, and walking around for 5 minutes to get your circulation flowing.

As others said tho, if simple things don't help, see your doctor... you definately should not be having swelling.

Dreamer

chaz · Apr 28, 2005

Thank you all for your responses.I have an appointment this morning to see the doctor.The whole top of my foot is swelled,from my toes,all around my ankles,and starting to come up my leg.I had an injury to my ankle about a year ago and I dont know if this can be a recurring from that or not.
Thank you again,
Chaz

LDB · Apr 28, 2005

I have some swelling that goes up almost knee high. It's a continual thing. I can see it when I take my socks off as there's a very distinct line where the socks have held the swelling down a little. I know a fairly significant part of it is too much sodium and way too many sodas. It may be that you've reached that age where metabolism just isn't what it used to be and your diet may need changing like mine does. Good luck with it and hopefully it will be something fairly easy to overcome.

Leo
truck 4958

Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.

raceman · Apr 28, 2005

Let me just say that one day after Thanksgiving in 2001 I was rushed to the hospital and was told Goodbye. That is the short version. The bottom line is that foot and ankle swell was one of the symptoms.

LDB is right that too much salt/sodium is one issue. Many other things can cause this as well. Are you using the restroom or are you holding on for dear life so you can keep driving? That swelling can happen when you are having kidney and liver problems. If you body is not removing the pollution so to speak you will begin to swell.

I am not a Dr. but I can tell you swelling can be related to very big issues. Get looked at ASAP. I would bet you are just getting to much salt. The foods must folks eat on the road are packed full of sodium. You do not have to shake salt on yourself to be getting a ton of it in what you eat or drink. The sitting, Boom, swell up

Raceman
OTR O/O

Sawbones · Apr 29, 2005

As a nurse, I can advise you that any swelling in the lower feet can be a sign of one of two major problems. The first is, and more likely, you maybe experiencing early warning signs of a DVT or Deep Vein Thrombosis. This is a potentially life threatning situation. It is caused when the circulation to the lower extremities is impaired. This is caused by either sitting in one position too long usually on long trips in car, airplane or tank. The reason why I mention the tank is that some of you may very well remember that a embedded reporter during the Iraqi war fied from this condition. The marines encouraged him to move more, but the story was too important to him. The solution for this problem is simple, shift your bottom up off the chair hourly, reposition the pressure so that your circulation can flow unimpeded. Also get out of your vehicle regularly, a 5 minute walk to the bathroom can save your life here. The reason that this condition is deadly is that a clot form the DVT can break loose and travel to either the lung fields, the heart or the brain and cause a blockage which can lead to a Myocardial infarction (heart attack), or a stroke.
The other causative factor can be CHF or Congestive Heart Failure. This is ussally caused when a person has suffered a heart attack in the past and the heart becomes an ineffective pump. There is medication that can correct this problem and the situation can usually be identified by a physician.
I encourage all truckers/expediters to see a physician every 6 months or yearly at the most. This can help prevent a lot of health issues from becoming permanent distractors to your driving.
Joe Milligan L.P.N./Paramedic
Telemetry/Emergency room settings.

chaz · Apr 30, 2005

Thank you all for your comments.
I did go to the doctors on Thursday Morning.

He admitted me to the hospital for 23 hour observation.

They performed a doppler on my legs and an echo cardiogram on my heart.Did all kinds of blood tests also.Everything came out good.
Fast foods is the culprit.Along with weight gain.

Gave me lasix and potassium and the swelling went down overnight.

So I am on a mission to lose weight and watch what I eat out there and I hope people can see what can happen and be careful out there.

I was on my way home to go take myself out of service before I checked into the hospital and I got a call for a delivery.lol--Hated to turn it down.
Thank you all again,
Chaz

redytrk · Apr 30, 2005

Glad to hear you are getting treatment.There is a lesson here for all of us.
WATCH THAT WEIGHT and SODIUM intake.
My co-driver has been telling me that for years.
Whoops...forgot the exersize.(Got to do more of that)

Dreamer · May 1, 2005

Glad you figured it out Chaz... got to watch your health out there, or it will jump up and bite you in the a**.. I found that out the hard way!

Dreamer

Broompilot · May 1, 2005

Please keep us all up dated, and use this heading Swollen Feet. Good luck and thanks, mine to swell sometimes. Besides the walk when I get back in I remove my shoes (boots) and drive with just my sox. Thought I would be uncomfortable doing this but with the big foot pedals no problems.

mvbn1 · May 1, 2005

Glad to hear it was just a bit of the "buzzard puss" backing up on you, and not anything really serious. As stated already, you really need to watch your self while your out on the road. I found out that I'm diabetic, back in mid-July last year, and I've done everything I can to make sure that I eat right, (no more soda pop for me), and I try to walk when time allows.

Good luck!