Anyone who knows FIRSTHAND about CHF & leg edema please reply(MD's preferred but all welcome)?

Every few days, my leg turns red, swollen, itchy,
& outerskin turns patchy white, Skin flakes off, then blisters form, ontaining water which soon breaks, water oozes down my leg, blisters turn dull yellow, then dark red scabs form. Skin looks slashed & gouged, Pain is cruel & beyond belief. I take less than 1 ltr water daily. I take ACE-inhibitors, virtually no sodium. & diuretics galore. Yet the skin on legs is forever, blistering, oozing, cracking, flaking. TELL ME:
Does everyone with CHF get this? Cardiologist says only a new heart will end symptoms. I wrap my wounds in gauze, I dare not rub with soap -even water will sting like electricity. The water & yellow oooze stain my pants legs too, my pain is surreal. For those who have CHF, is there no way to stop this from occurring? Please help. The tissues inside legs are tight and loaded with water. Legs are stiff & painful upon walking and standing. EAch morning, fresh new blisters appear & crack the skin. Help!!!

per surgeons whom I've consulted, the excess water within the tissue drives out the natural lipids from within the skin layers (oil &water don't mix, remember?)leavingthe skin dry as oldleather, prone to split, crack, blister, ooze, bleed, etc. the paiin ofthe cut skins is so great, but not doctors will give opiates. I suspect that you don't have my symptoms since you have less of ?CHF than I do. I have a severely scarred heart with maybe 1/3 tissue mump force left to me. the emore dmaaged the heart - the more severe the CHF. No cures exists - "management isn't working.

I just have one comment, most of what you are being told is accurate but DONT DRINK MORE WATER certainly its a natural diuretic for people without CHF but it can be deadly to you.

at the stage youre at i expect you have other issues even more difficult than this. About all i could suggest is to elevate the foot of the bed about 10-15%, and thats not going to stop it just slow it down. You need pain management, demand it.

This is a bad cycle. There are things you can do to help.

1. drink water. believe it. diuretics rid the body of water. what you have is lymph fluid. water intake helps rid the body of this.

2. get ace bandages. wrap from the ankle up to the thigh. The compression will help. look into una boots, you'll need a doctors order for that.

3. It also helps to walk, if you can. With CHF you may be short of breath and not in such great shape. walking gets the venous pumps moving. even a little bit is better than nothing.

hope this helps

Make sure it is not pitting edema. To check, gently push one of your fingers into one of the swollen spots. If it stays indented for longer than a couple of seconds and keeps a discolored appearance then it's pitting edema and you need to get to an emergency room or your cardiologist ASAP.

Edema and swelling of the feet, hands and ankles is a very common condition with congestive heart failure...but when the edema is pitting, it can be deadly because those fluids are building up more around your heart than what should be considered typical.

If you wrap your legs, make sure you get them wrapped BEFORE you get out of bed. You can get a pair of support hose to wear. Just make sure you put them on before your feet even hit the floor in the morning or they won't be effective.

you systems are just overloade and sometimes the lasix's stop giving relief, arent as effective.i wish u had included ur age.but the best u do is manage the wounds and pain and monitor infection sorry... or transplant

Danny,
Go to naturalcures.com and look up the specific disease/symptom. A real sound investment is the book Natural cures they don't want you to know about bu Kevin Trudeau.
Most Respectfully,
Milo Ketchum

You need to see a Cardiologist who will adjust your medications (Heart and Diuretics) to relieve these problems.
Then you need UNA Boots for the edema. UNA Boots are white medicated gauze wrappings with coban stretch bandages that are wrapped tightly from the foot up to the thigh for reduction of edema in conditions like CHF and Lymphodema.
The next thing is to elevate your legs all the time you are not walking...and only walk for short periods, like to the bathroom or getting into or out of bed.
Watching your diet for hidden salt will help, no canned, boxed, or prepared foods. All fresh, natural foods are good.
Fluid restrictions are not advised if you are taking any type of diuretics as it will dehydrate you very rapidly and cause the body to find any fluid it can and that ends up in the legs as the heart cannot keep up with the overload.

Edema such as you have described leads to heart attacks in a very short time. Depending on your age, weight, and overall health, you can lead a happy life if you can get the edema under control.

added: I worked with the leading Cardiologist, Dr. John Sullivan, through the Oklahoma Heart Hospital last year following patients past open heart surgery. During this time I helped develop care plans for people of all ages with cardic problems. What I suggested is the cutting edge of treating acute edema associated with congestive heart failure. Also, this site will give more information. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/...

DO NOT DRINK MORE WATER! Drinking more water could easily cause pulmonary edema in you. You have at least, left heart falure, probably from longterm hypertension. Ace bandages or TED hose will help, elevate your feet and I think you should feel better. You do have lymph build up and possibly seeing a D.O. or doctor of osteopathy can help with lymph drainage. D.O's are not homeopaths and are liscenced in all 50 states and members of the AMA. Most people go to one and don't even know it.
Most in late stages of CHF get this and I am sorry and good luck.

why don't you try elevating your legs at least 2x a day, more important before you sleep. I have CHF but edema is not that bad as yours, everytime you're at rest why not try to elevate your legs...
when diuretics take effect, i mean when you are urinating, try to sit or lie down in bed, rest and wait for the trip to the CR. Making time to rest in between always increases my output of liquid... sweat is another way...
To avoid dehydration, a sip of water, usually does it, just to water down itchy, dry throats prone to coughing...

I've lived with CHF for the last 11 years. I've never had blisters, nor my skin break. don't listen to anyone who tells you to drink more water, that's a no no for CHFers unless you are exercising or in hot weather. However, my skin is drier than I would like. That could contribute to the skin breaking if you are not putting lotion on throughout the day. You should see a dermatologist for the skin problem, to rule out infection. Yes the constant swelling and reducing can cause stretch marks eventually, but your skin should not be cracking unless you never took care of it and used a lotion.