Thank you, Annie, for the horse chestnut recommendation! (I thought it was Annie who first mentioned it; but I also think I remember Heather and Clara on that thread, so if I've gotten that wrong, credit wherever it is due.
)
I ordered some horse chestnut from Swanson's last week, and it arrived a few days ago. I guess it's possible it's just my imagination, but already I think my calves look and feel better.
(23-06-2014, 11:58 PM)MichelleM Wrote: [ -> ]Thank you, Annie, for the horse chestnut recommendation! (I thought it was Annie who first mentioned it; but I also think I remember Heather and Clara on that thread, so if I've gotten that wrong, credit wherever it is due. )
I ordered some horse chestnut from Swanson's last week, and it arrived a few days ago. I guess it's possible it's just my imagination, but already I think my calves look and feel better.
Yes, Horse Chestnut helps to repair damaged (leaky) veins. As I've written previously, HC + a diuretic (for me it was Spiro) completely eliminated water retention in my feet and ankles. I'm hoping that what discoloration has occurred with fade away in time, too. Good luck, Michelle.
Clara
(24-06-2014, 01:04 AM)ClaraKay Wrote: [ -> ] (23-06-2014, 11:58 PM)MichelleM Wrote: [ -> ]Thank you, Annie, for the horse chestnut recommendation! (I thought it was Annie who first mentioned it; but I also think I remember Heather and Clara on that thread, so if I've gotten that wrong, credit wherever it is due. )
I ordered some horse chestnut from Swanson's last week, and it arrived a few days ago. I guess it's possible it's just my imagination, but already I think my calves look and feel better.
Yes, Horse Chestnut helps to repair damaged (leaky) veins. As I've written previously, HC + a diuretic (for me it was Spiro) completely eliminated water retention in my feet and ankles. I'm hoping that what discoloration has occurred with fade away in time, too. Good luck, Michelle.
Clara
Thanks, Clara!
I was already on Benazepril-HCTZ 10/12.5 mg for hypertension, but still had stasis dermatitis on both calves, which lead to swelling and discolored patches. I've been wearing some medium strength compression socks to manage that, but the HC seems to be leaving little for the compression socks to manage!
That's fantastic! I'm so happy for you.
Clara
(24-06-2014, 01:04 AM)ClaraKay Wrote: [ -> ] (23-06-2014, 11:58 PM)MichelleM Wrote: [ -> ]Thank you, Annie, for the horse chestnut recommendation! (I thought it was Annie who first mentioned it; but I also think I remember Heather and Clara on that thread, so if I've gotten that wrong, credit wherever it is due. )
I ordered some horse chestnut from Swanson's last week, and it arrived a few days ago. I guess it's possible it's just my imagination, but already I think my calves look and feel better.
Yes, Horse Chestnut helps to repair damaged (leaky) veins. As I've written previously, HC + a diuretic (for me it was Spiro) completely eliminated water retention in my feet and ankles. I'm hoping that what discoloration has occurred with fade away in time, too. Good luck, Michelle.
Clara
Oh great, thats another supplement I need to buy
...
Im glad I read this post, My calves are badly discolored too, I always, think they need a good scrub as they always look dirty.
Thanks for the suggestion.
(24-06-2014, 02:57 AM)ClaraKay Wrote: [ -> ]That's fantastic! I'm so happy for you.
Clara
Thanks, Clara! I know I'm happy to hear how much it's helping you, too.
Michelle
(24-06-2014, 12:18 PM)Janet doe Wrote: [ -> ] (24-06-2014, 01:04 AM)ClaraKay Wrote: [ -> ] (23-06-2014, 11:58 PM)MichelleM Wrote: [ -> ]Thank you, Annie, for the horse chestnut recommendation! (I thought it was Annie who first mentioned it; but I also think I remember Heather and Clara on that thread, so if I've gotten that wrong, credit wherever it is due. )
I ordered some horse chestnut from Swanson's last week, and it arrived a few days ago. I guess it's possible it's just my imagination, but already I think my calves look and feel better.
Yes, Horse Chestnut helps to repair damaged (leaky) veins. As I've written previously, HC + a diuretic (for me it was Spiro) completely eliminated water retention in my feet and ankles. I'm hoping that what discoloration has occurred with fade away in time, too. Good luck, Michelle.
Clara
Oh great, thats another supplement I need to buy ...
Im glad I read this post, My calves are badly discolored too, I always, think they need a good scrub as they always look dirty.
Thanks for the suggestion.
Janet,
I know what you mean about "yet another supplement"! Lol
But given what you're describing, it does indeed sound like something for you to check into.
Michelle
(24-06-2014, 02:30 PM)MichelleM Wrote: [ -> ] (24-06-2014, 12:18 PM)Janet doe Wrote: [ -> ] (24-06-2014, 01:04 AM)ClaraKay Wrote: [ -> ] (23-06-2014, 11:58 PM)MichelleM Wrote: [ -> ]Thank you, Annie, for the horse chestnut recommendation! (I thought it was Annie who first mentioned it; but I also think I remember Heather and Clara on that thread, so if I've gotten that wrong, credit wherever it is due. )
I ordered some horse chestnut from Swanson's last week, and it arrived a few days ago. I guess it's possible it's just my imagination, but already I think my calves look and feel better.
Yes, Horse Chestnut helps to repair damaged (leaky) veins. As I've written previously, HC + a diuretic (for me it was Spiro) completely eliminated water retention in my feet and ankles. I'm hoping that what discoloration has occurred with fade away in time, too. Good luck, Michelle.
Clara
Oh great, thats another supplement I need to buy ...
Im glad I read this post, My calves are badly discolored too, I always, think they need a good scrub as they always look dirty.
Thanks for the suggestion.
Janet,
I know what you mean about "yet another supplement"! Lol But given what you're describing, it does indeed sound like something for you to check into.
Michelle
I'm really glad that horse chestnut is helping you, Michelle and Clara, and it certainly sounds as if it could be useful for you, Janet. Yes, its one more thing to take, but well worthwhile, particularly at Swanson's prices. When I first ran into heart problems 15 years ago (atrial fibrillation, compounded by a leaky mitral valve and high blood pressure), I had problems with edema in my legs due to CVI (chronic venous insufficiency). I was put on ramipril and lasix, but had to go off calcium channel blockers because they made the edema worse. Ramipril didn't really fully control my BP, and the addition of a low dose of beta blocker, although conventional wisdom, didn't produce much improvement. Successive doctors progressively increased the beta blockers trying ineffectively to control my BP (but progressively killing my male function, capped with spiro for eighteen months), During this period I started wearing pressure socks, which certainly helped control the edema as well as providing some protection to the waterlogged tissues of my legs and feet, but didn't do much for the additional ulcers that developed on my toes. I came across horse chestnut when looking for something that would work more generally than the pressure socks, although the original Mayo Clinic article that I found on horse chestnut eems to have disappeared. I've now been taking HC for more than eight years, and the only problem has been preventing excessive water retention by my body. The HCTZ that I now take as a diuretic instead of lasix (it is an oddity of pharmaceutical marketing that the combination pills of ramipril and HCTZ are substantially cheaper than ramipril on its own) is sometimes barely adequate now that I am off beta blockers and digoxin, and back on calcium channel blockers (currently diltiazem) which have at last properly controlled my blood pressure. I do encounter a relatively long term (several weeks) fluctuation in water retention which at its peaks can result in slight edema and a weight gain of a few pounds. I suspect that it may have something to do with cumulative effects of inadequately controlled sodium intake which take some time to correct themselves. The spiro when I was on it seemed quite good at controlling this effect, being a diuretic itself.
I hope that this background may help a bit.
One more thing. The discoloration only disappears very slowly if at all.
Its prominence does vary somewhat day to day but it's still very much there. It used to be said that one's body renews itself completely every seven years (probably myth) and I hoped that the staining would eventually fade away, but no such luck, although the occasional re-appearance of edema may have something to do with this. I do believe that an effective diuretic is needed, and a once a day dose of the short-acting HCTZ may not be adequate. It has been said that doctors tend to over-rate the effectiveness of HCTZ because the usually see their patients in the few hours before its effectiveness has worn off. Also, when I was tried out on gabapentin recently to see whether it would help with my peripheral neuropathy, it did nothing for that but brought back the edema with a vengeance and even some liquid filled blisters, and temporarily pushed my weight up by 10 lbs. I'm only just back to normal after that episode!
Annie, dear, reading about your medical travails is heartbreaking. The frustrations you've endured must themselves have taken a toll on you. How you manage is beyond me. Looking for a positive someplace, I can only say that it's made you a bit of an expert on many pharmaceuticals. Thanks for sharing your helpful experiences and insights.
Clara