Edema Question

[Guest guest]

Hi 4

Here is a reply back from one of my Dr friends... Hope its some help to you.

Love Aisha.

Dear Aisha,

I'm in a bit of a hurry and don't have the opportunity to research this, so this is off the top of my head.

Idiopathic means of unknown origin along with agnogenic, primary, essential and one other i've forgotten.

Idio means self and pathic means disease.

However, one of my teachers as a student had a different etymology.

Idio = I don't know

Pathic = what the hell it is.

If it were me especially considering the presence of fluid in the abdomen and possibly the chest I should concentrate not on endocrine organs but on liver KIDNEYS and maybe ovaries.

The following reference may be helpful

Streeten DH.,

Idiopathic edema. Pathogenesis, clinical features, and treatment.

Endocrinol Metab Clin North Am, 1995 Sep, 24:3, 531-47

Abstract

Idiopathic edema is usually orthostatic. It is most evident in the feet or abdomen after prolonged standing or sitting and in the fingers and eyelids after recumbency overnight. It occurs almost exclusively in post-pubertal women and is associated with discomfort in the areas of fluid accumulation (including symptoms of the carpal tunnel syndrome, nonarticular rheumatism, and headaches, sometimes with pseudotumor cerebri), and weight gain with excessive increments from morning to evening. The pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of idiopathic edema are discussed.

Hope that helps

Best wishes

[Guest guest]

Hi 4,

OK you wanted information on edema, specific to your problems... here ya go!!!!

Some more information for you (most of my email was for you lol)

Firstly from my immunologist.... not sure if the lab tests are for you or me as I see him tomorrow lol but remember he is a pathologist also so there are always lab tests to be done!!! He is spot on though, there should be pathology tests done for you - few others mentioned it also.

should see renal physician

diuretics likely to be necessary

need to see lab tests!!

Then from another Dr...

The major causes of edema as described this woman would be congestive heart failure, liver cirrhosis, and nephrosis, I believe. I assume that these have been ruled out, but if not they should be. Incidentally not all cirrhosis is alcohol related but sometimes Hepatitis B, A simplified explanation of edema in these diseases is that the pressure inside the vascular system exceeds that of the osmotic pressure of primarily albumen. In nephrosis, the kidney wastes albumen. If this becomes unbalanced in favor of pressure inside the capillaries then fluid will leak out into the tissues causing edema. There are other causes of edema such as Budd-chiari syndrome, kwashiorkor, a. malnutrition disease seen especially in children, and cancers blocking the venous return system.I saw a woman who wore an extremely tight corset with moderately severe edema of the legs which does not apply here, where the edema seems more generalized. A frequent cause of leg edema is varicose veins, again not applicable here. Hope this may be helpful.

and then from that ...

does Lymphedema fit in there sometimes also?http://www.lymphnet.org/

(ha ha..actually I have it personally and am on their board of directors..)

Then from someone else ...

I know my answer is a little less technical but I may point you to someresearch.First of all the symptoms sound like exactly what I had. I had severe reactions to the blood pressure medications I was using including atenolol. Look at http://www.drglutathione.com Dr. Jimmy Gutman, MD FACEP The role of intracellular glutathione is the most widely researched area in medical science currently more than 44000 papers at medline. Elevating gluathione helps to reduce edema. Which is the body's natural way of correcting for imbalances (electrolyte PH etc.)I have been doing this with good success. And other doctors (Medical) are using this.

And then ...

Hello Aisha,I am surprised that she has not been prescribed Lasix (generic furosemide). I also have edema and ascites (water retention in the abdomen) from liver problems and take 40mg of Lasix twice daily. Has she been tested for hepatitis C? Often HCV will damage the liver without raising liver enzymes ALT and AST (the blood panel that alerts doctors to liver problems). It is thought that liver enzymes may be nearly normal for people with advanced cirrhosis since there are so few liver cells dyeing to release these enzymes.For more information on hepatitis see: http://www.hepnet.com/news.htmlFor information on edema and ascites see: http://my.webmd.com/content/dmk/dmk_article_40024Good luck and best wishes.

and then... (I like the joke lol)

Hello,There is nothing fishy about the term "idiopathic". It indicates that there is no identifiable source for the edema, i.e. the result ofanother illness or condition, such as heart disease. It does remove the possibility of some very nasty causes and it sounds as if she has been tested for a lot of these. Of course it doesn't mean that the cause will now show up eventually--at which point the edema is no longer idiopathic.There is a nasty doctors' joke which defines the term "idiopathic" as: "The patient is pathetic and the doctor is an idiot."My best wishes to your friend,

Thats it so far honey.... hope that has helped!!!

Love Aisha

[Guest guest]

Hi Bee,

I wonder if you think it's ok if I just ignore my edema in my lower legs for

now? I am hoping it's only part of the detox process.

I tried cutting out the electrolyte drink like you had suggested, but that led

to my adrenal fatigue becoming worse, so I had to add it back. It didn't help

to change to Celtic sea salt only as it had for another group member.

My question to you is simply, do you think the edema is due to me doing

something wrong or is it just a natural part of this process?

OR is it unhealthy and I ought to find a solution to the problem (never had

edema once in my life before starting to heal on this diet)

Thanks for your input!

Also, just to double check, the electrolyte drink should be about 6 ounces per

round, so 6 ounces 6 times per day?