I Have Some Lower Leg Swelling From Taking Sirolimus Should
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Detailed Answer:
Hi and Welcome to 'Ask A Doctor' service. I have read your question and here is my advice.
Leg Swelling is very common with these potent immunosuppressants like sirolimus... Edema has been reported in up to fifty percent of the patients using this drugs. This edema is for many reasons but lymphatic and venous insufficiency is common reasons.
Many times the edema is quite enough to warrant stopping the drug. So probably if edema is there, and there is no other explanation for it, we would be seriously thinking about stopping the drug. This is especially true if you are not a transplant patients as this drug is not much needed for non-transplant patients.
However, one thing should be very clear that sirolimus is not a common drug and starting it is always a specialist's job who is expert in such drugs and regularly follow up and monitor the patient who is on such drugs.
So stopping the drug is not a simple answer. Please talk to the same specialist doctor who would assess the severity of the edema and its need to continue and then he would decide ahead. At the moment it's not an emergency if edema is not very significant, so take your time to see your doctor who prescribed this.
Seeing your doctor is important because there are other causes of edema. For example, it may be because of low protein which is caused by the same drug. It can also cause the clot in the vessels to cause leg Swelling (mostly on one side painful and swollen) that would urgently need stopping the drug and prompt management.
Hope this answer helps you.
Let me know if you have any further questions about it.
I would be glad to answer them.
Kind regards
Dr. Rahman