kimblanchard Posted December 16, 2003 Share Posted December 16, 2003 My mother had a severe blood clot in one of her legs. Her Dr. put her on coumadin then switched to lovenox shots because her leg began to swell and he thought that she could be resistant to the coumadin. The pain from the clot went away but her leg continued to stay swollen and now the other one is just as swollen. She is back on coumadin. Her Dr. says because of the large area of cancer tumors in her pelvic region that she has lymphodema (sp?) buildup of fluid in both legs. She is now confined to a wheelchair because of the weight of the legs. The Dr. says that they are hoping the chemo (Gemzar) will help to shrink the tumors to stop the fluid buildup and nothing else can be done. Has anyone else experienced this? My mother has always been on the thin side and I can't believe how much swelling is in her legs. Kim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelliemacs Posted December 16, 2003 Share Posted December 16, 2003 kim, my mom had unbelieveable swelling in her legs, but a PET scan did not reveal any cancer anywhere other than her chest area. they never told us why she swelled so much, they could not figure it out other than guess it was due to the taxotere as chemo she was given. we believe the amount of fluid cause too much strain on her heart and she may have had a heart attack at the very end because they could not rule on what killed her exactly. please look into a vein specialist for an answer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teresag Posted December 16, 2003 Share Posted December 16, 2003 The dr. could order prescription compression hose for her to wear during the day - they are tight, and it takes some work to put them on, but they do work. They are custom-fitted to the patient. Meanwhile, she should keep her legs elevated as much as possible and work the calf muscles when at rest. Avoid massaging the legs, unless it is very lightly done. Best wishes to you and your Mom, Teresa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimblanchard Posted December 16, 2003 Author Share Posted December 16, 2003 Thank you Shellie and Teresa for your replies. Shellie, did the swelling in your mother last for awhile and did she have problems with other areas of swelling? I have never seen anything quite like this. It just seems like there should be something done to make it go away. My mother was on carbo/taxol and is now on gemzar. It just seems like all we do is wait to see what happens next. Nothing seems to get better. I know her cancer is stage IV and advanced but to be confined to a wheelchair because of swollen legs ....I just don't get it. Thank you again for your replies. Best to both of you. Kim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shirleyb Posted December 16, 2003 Share Posted December 16, 2003 Kim, My husband went through lots of problems with blood clots. From his experience with the blood clots, if it were up to me, I would demand that she be hospitalized and put on heprin(sp) or other blood thinners to get the swelling undercontrol. The cumiden did not work for Randy. Randy had extreme pain because of the blood clots and was to the point he could not walk. If you have any doubts about what to do, call the doctor, tell him how concerned and scared you are for your mother. Or if you feel the doctor is giving you the run around, take her to the emergancy room and have her admitted until this is undercontrol. The support stockings were a blessing for Randy as they did help to decrease the pain and discomfort. You are in my prayers. Much love, Shirley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teresa567 Posted December 16, 2003 Share Posted December 16, 2003 Coumadin and lovenox will help thin the blood r/t blood clots, but lymphodema, I beleive, is all together a different physiologic process...and I don't know how much good those meds will do to alleviate fluid build-up. Is she on any diuretics to help get rid of fluid....or can they drain any of it?? I will be praying for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimblanchard Posted December 17, 2003 Author Share Posted December 17, 2003 The blood thinners don't seem to work. I need to find out more about lymphodema. I will ask the Dr. again tomorrow at her appt. Thank you for your thoughts. I really appreciate it. Kim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelliemacs Posted December 17, 2003 Share Posted December 17, 2003 my moms legs started to swell only 2 weeks before her death. We were told it was a side effect of chemo but she put on almost 25 pounds of fluid in the last 10 days of her life so we knew it was very abnormal and dangerous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teresag Posted December 18, 2003 Share Posted December 18, 2003 The "other" Teresa (spelled correctly, I notice, without that unnecessary "h") is right. Anticoagulants, like heparin and lovenox, do nothing to reduce lymphedema. Lymphedema occurs when the lymph vessels, a network of vessels that transmit lymph fluid throughout the body, connecting the lymph nodes, become blocked. Blood clots do not usually block these vessels, but the tumor itself may make them collapse by placing pressure on them. Thus the recommendation to wait & see what the chemotherapy does to reduce the swelling. Shrinking the tumor is the ultimate treatment, but of course you may not want to wait for that to happen. Meantime, the person is unable to walk, and this causes cardiovascular deconditioning, increased fatigue, and a greater risk for blood clots in the legs. So the dr. should do something, such as ordering the compression hose, NOW. Best wishes to you, hope you get some action. - one of the Teresa's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimblanchard Posted December 20, 2003 Author Share Posted December 20, 2003 Thank you Teresa (the other one). I talked to the DR. about the lymphodema and she does have blockage. We were scheduled to do chemo that same day but her platelet count was 10 and her RBC was 8.5 so she went into the hospital that day to receive both blood and platelets. We knew her days of chemo were over. The previous week she had the same transfusions. When she came home from the hospital on Thurs. she could no longer feel her feet and her legs were buckling. We brought her home and were unable to move her. That night she had major shortness of breath and we heard a lot of gurgling so we called the Dr. who called Hospice (we were waiting for them to be in touch anyway) and they did an emergency call to the house and she brought liquid morphine to ease her breathing and oxygen. The fluid from her rt. leg went away-very strange. Friday morning we called Hospice again and they told us they had a room avail-due to weekend we wouldn't be able to get a lot of help and we didn't want to go back to the hospital. She is now in a Hospice residence which was a blessing. We really needed it. Strange how the timing was. I never though we would have her there but things changed for the worse almost overnight and we really needed help. I don't know to expect yet. We haven't left her side for a minute because I don't want her to be alone. Kim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teresag Posted December 23, 2003 Share Posted December 23, 2003 May God bless you as you attend to your Mother. Take care. - Teresa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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