swelling

[Lorie]

Hi there all,
Just wondering if anyone that is on cytoxan iv, has any swelling, in ankles, wrists, fingers and legs?
I can hardly get my shoes on, never mind my weding rings?
My current meds are
pred. 20mg
plaq. 400mg
actonel 35mg
baby asprin 81mg
was on
immuran
cellcept
But nothing seems to get my numbers where they should be
other than the cytoxan

[raggedyann1]

Lorie,

It sounds like you have edema rather severly at that. Please call your doctor right away. If it started after you had a Cytoxan treatment it could be a side effect. Lupus Nephritis also causes edema is that why you are having cytoxan treatments. Edema can be a signal that something severe is going on this is why I am urging you to call your doctor right away.

Take care,
Karen

[peonyprincess]

I totally agree with Karen. Edema is a MAJOR indication that something is amiss. You need to contact your physician ASAP and let him know what is going on. Let us know what you find out!!!



Nancy

[Lorie]

Sorry it took so long to reply,
Not been feeling well enough to be on the computer!
Went to see my GP and he put me on Furosemide(water pill).
The swelling went down right away.
The doc said to take 1 tablet everyday for a week, then 1/2
a tablet for a week.
When I went down to 1/2 a tablet
the swelling came right back.
The office is closed as the holiday, I will call tommorow
to see if it alright to take the full tablet.

[raggedyann1]

Lorie,

Many water pills will also deplete your potassium so make sure the doctor takes care of your potassium issues. If it is coming back then something is causing the edema please call your lupus doctor right away.

Take care,
Karen

[CaseyMV]

Lorie, wow, we are on a lot of the same meds. i take everything u take, except im down to 10mg of pred. i was on cellcept too but i had a realllly bad allergic reaction to it. i have swelling in my face and on my back of my neck. its from the prednisone. my doc is always checking my ankles and hands too. he always just tells me its going to take time to go down. im on cytoxan as well---- i havent had any swelling from it, i just get loopy the day of and after. do u have any side affects from the cytoxan?? i used to get reallllllly bad abdominal pain, i felt like my kidneys were going to burst, but they gave me meds and now it barely phases me. i hope u have better luck w ur swelling than i have had!!!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Lorie @ Jun 21 2006, 10:18 PM) Quoted post</div><div class='quotemain'>
Hi there all,
Just wondering if anyone that is on cytoxan iv, has any swelling, in ankles, wrists, fingers and legs?
I can hardly get my shoes on, never mind my weding rings?
My current meds are
pred. 20mg
plaq. 400mg
actonel 35mg
baby asprin 81mg
was on
immuran
cellcept
But nothing seems to get my numbers where they should be
other than the cytoxan
[/b][/quote]

[Lorie]

Casey,
The swelling in my face and neck have always been there(since I started the pred.)
The doc says that once my meds have completely stopped (pred.)
style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/Thanx.gif that the moon face should diappear.
The swelling gets better than worse, depending on the day and weather.
Hot and humid swelling is up,
Cool and mild swelling goes down.
I find that my rhemy, doesn't leave my on any meds long enough
to find out if they are working or not.
I see him every 3 months and every 3 months he is changing the meds.
Imuran(caused upset stomach)
Cellcept(did nothing for my numbers)
Cytoxan seems the only medicine that works.

Thank you for everyone's input.

[momto3]

I was on the Prednisone and over a course of a few months my face became so swollen that I hardly recognized myself. I know it's vain, but this made me so sad. I felt horrible and I looked awful. I saw a photo of myself with my son on a field trip and my face was so swollen you could hardly see my eyes. I went to the doctor and told him, I didn't care if I my joint pain came back, I couldn't take the moon face any more. So- he tapered me off of the prednisone and increased my methetrexate dosage. It took three months for the swelling to go down and five months later I am finally looking like myself again. All my friends thought I had lost a lot of weight when the swelling subsided, but I hadn't lost a pund, just the moon face.

It was difficult to come off the prednisone, I would become very sore as we lowered each dose, it took about 3-4 days for my body to adjust to the lower dose and then once a week we lowered it until I was done. I didn't think I could function with out it, but I truthfully feel better now that I am off of it.