What Causes Swelling In Foots And Ankles?

Posted on Mon, 27 Apr 2015

Question: I am a 30 year old female that as of 48 hours ago began experiencing intense tightness and swelling- which is painful and very hard to move these particular body parts; my feet (especially tops of them, they won't fit in any boots, shoes, etc.), my ankles (which I would now call "cankles"....), my entire front of calves and calves themselves, and my thighs. All painful and extremely rock hard to touch. I am menstruating currently but I have never, in 15 years, had any remote swelling with each month's cycle. I have also noticed EXTREME fatigue the past 5 days, which again, is not typical. There is 150% chance I am absolutely NOT bearing a child, so that is not it. Also, no medication changes either- solely take 60mg Cymbalta each night and immitrex as needed. Once we have got a little further in the conversation, I do have photos from the calves down to the feet showing how severe the swelling is. I just was curious if this is something to go to ER for or if it most likely something new coming along with my menstrual cycle? Thank you and look forward to waiting on your opinion..
XXXX

Answered by Dr. Dr. Rovena (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
need evaluation

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

Welcome to Healthcare Magic.

I read carefully your query and evaluated the picture you provided.

The swelling in your foots and ankles is very obvious.
It is true that hormonal changes during menstruation can cause edema on legs, but however the swelling in this case is mild.
In your case ,menstruation can't explain the severity of the swelling.
The fact that the swelling is severe and painful in your case, indicates that a complete evaluation is necessary to determine the cause.

You should consult your physician and get examined.If it is not possible to see your doctor soon ,it would be recommendable to go to ER.
You need to get some tests done like to exclude serious causes of peripheral edema :
-kidney function tests
-liver function tests
-heart check-up

Hope it helps.
Let me know if you have any other question.I will be happy to help.

Kind regards,
Dr.Rovena Murati

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar