I've Got Edema. If I Locate a Cure, I'll Let You Know.

Gary North

Jan. 2, 2011

So, I'm sitting in my chair, reading a book, minding my own business. I have no slippers. My daughter, who was visiting for the holidays, says, "What's wrong with your feet?"

"They're flat."

"They're fat."

I looked. She was right. They were fat. No visible ankles. I was looking at proto-balloons.

I went to the doctor. He said I have edema (ed-DEEM-uh]. It turns out that this is a common affliction. Some of my readers may have it.

I had not heard of edema. I'm an historian. I appreciate the old terminology. He could have said that I have dropsy. "Dropsy" makes more sense. Fluids drop into your feet and stay there. So, your feet swell up.

"What causes edema?" I asked him. "Your heart isn't pumping enough blood back up your legs. Then again, your kidneys may not be working well." Heart or kidneys? Completely different failures cause fat feet? That's about the size of it. One site says: "Edema has multiple causes, such as poor circulation, lack of or inability to exercise, heart problems, Diabetes, dehydration, sitting and standing too long, airplane flights, and more." And more? This tells me the experts don't know what causes it.

So, what's the best treatment? "Eat less salt." But I don't eat much salt. I don't eat canned foods. They have salt. I don't have a saltshaker on the table.

"You can wear special calf-length stockings." Instead of my regular black calf-length socks? "Yes." I looked them up. They are called TED stockings.

"Drink more water." That makes more sense. I have never drunk much water.

My wife went to Dr. William Campbell Douglas' site. He recommends Pycnogenol. In the doses he recommends, that's $100 a month. What is it? It's a patented extract from pine bark on French coastal trees. For pine bark pills, I must pay $100 a month. I am in the wrong business.

Then she recommended that I walk every day. She recommends this for everything that ails me. But to save $100 a month, I decided to do it.

I think it may be that I sit, typing away, for too many hours. Maybe this messes with blood flow in my legs. I do stand up to read. My wife designed and built a three-desk system with a stand-up desk. (She is handy with tools.)

I can put my Web-searching 2007 Gateway tablet computer on this desk. I will limit the sit-down desk for typing. (There is a third desk in the U-shaped assembly for my video editing computer.)

So, I will walk. If this fails, I'll drink more water. If this fails, I'll type at my high desk. If this fails, I'll take Pycnogenol. If this fails, I'll buy wider shoes.

Wearing weird stockings is the last resort.

I walked over the weekend. My feet are considerably less swollen. I'll keep at it.

Update: My symptoms are gone. //www.garynorth.com/members/12942.cfm