If you have water around your ankles, you have a significant fluid balance issue.

Can you see your ankle bone at all?  If not, you likely have water in your lungs.

Is there a gurgling or crackling sound when you breathe?

You may need medical care before you are able to discover the cause of the water on your ankles.

My friend Terry was at deaths door, before she got her answer.

For 15 months she has been complaining of abdominal pain, ongoing diarrhea,  being unable to eat or take medication, recurring fluid retention (even with the use of diuretics), and rapid weight loss.

Other than medication, she got NO SIGNIFICANT RESPONSE from the clinic where she was being treated.

Terry has been in the hospital many times in the past 8 months.  Just two weeks ago, she was in the emergency room again.  This time Terry was writhing in pain.

This lady must have some amazing pain tolerance. When she was  FINALLY taken to surgery they had to cut out two feet of dead bowel.

The surgeon said it had been dead so long that it was brittle.  It had been there so long that it had damaged the blood flow to her bowel.

Terry was flown to Oahu, a more populated island with a better equipped hospital.  There the doctors told Terry and her family that if she didn’t have surgery immediately, to restore blood flow to her bowel, the rest of Terry’s bowel would die, and she with it.

The surgeon gave her a 50/50 chance of surviving the surgery this time, though without options, she really didn’t have a choice.

Terry made it through the surgery, and after two days on the ventilator, she is now breathing on her own.  Though she is in a lot of pain, I know she is going to get through this.

The first thing she said when she was finally able to take my phone call from her hospital bed was,

“I am mad as hell!”

Terry is my hero.  Though her incredible pain tolerance (and the doctors that
wouldn’t listen to her) almost did her in, I am in awe of the strength it took to survive what would have killed most people.

So, How DO YOU get Rid of Water Off Your Ankles?

As Terry’s story illustrates, that depends on the individual.  The issue that
is common to anyone asking the question, is the need to find the answer as quickly as possible.

The answer needs to be found before the extra fluid overworks and damages the heart muscle.

I’ll tell you how to get rid of water off your ankles!

Search until you find YOUR answer!

Since the best hope for patients with CHF is to catch the disease early, before it causes permanent enlargement of the heart, it makes sense to attend to fluid retention without delay.

If your doctor is not able to address your fluid retention issues, you may find the help you need with a Nutritional Therapist, or a or naturopath or doctor that is trained in Nutritional Therapy.

Remember, prescription water pills are very harmful, and your doctor does not want to give them to you until you develope water in your lungs. At that point, you are in trouble, so you don’t want to wait that long!

Nutritional therapy is inexpensive and effective treatment for numerous chronic conditions that your medical doctor may not be able to treat effectively.

I encourage you to enlist any and all help you can find, as water retention can be a very elusive beast, especially for women, probably due initially to the bodies attempt to protect any possible fetus from harm.  You will want to stay tuned for future posts discussing foods and herbs that help release water.

There are many causes of water retention:

• Dehydration

Believe it or not, the best thing you can do early on for water retention is to drink more water.  We will talk a lot more about the importance of taking in enough readily available water on a daily basis.

• Hormone issues

This can easily be ruled out IF you are tested.

• Vitamin and mineral deficiency

Even if you eat a wide variety of whole foods, you can still suffer from malabsorbtion.  You may have a deficiency and not be aware of it.

The seemingly “magical” cure of many chronic ailments using specific nutritional supplementation has been well documented.

• Food or food additive intolerance/sensitivity/allergy

Many sensitive people can not tolerate chemicalized foods.  As well, eating the same foods all the time is likely to cause intolerance, which is why eating a wide variety of whole foods is so important.

If your gut lining has been damaged, Leaky Gut Syndrome, you are definitely going to experience intolerance, sensitivity, and allergy as food is being absorbed directly into the blood stream, where it should not be, causing  immune response and water retention, as well as plenty of discomfort.

• Environmental intolerance/sensitivity/allergy

Here again, any time you have an allergic reaction (or a sensitivity reaction), you experience an immune response, and the body will retain fluid in an attempt to dilute the offending substance.  Chemical cleaners and fumes released from carpets, draperies, furniture may be contributors.  Be creative and listen to your intuition when trying to isolate any possible environmental irritation.  It may not be obvious.

• Insufficient caloric intake
  

If fluid is your issue, then even a very low calorie diet will not take weight off.  Since your body will retain water when it is starving, some people may need to increase quantity and/or quality of calories in order to shed the excess fluid.

Enzymes and Probiotics may be helpful by aiding in digestion, improving absorption of nutrients, and repairing the intestinal wall.

• Infection or toxic overload (dead bowel might be an issue here)
• Liver Failure
• Kidney Failure

We will be discussing factors of fluid balance in many future posts.

IF YOU RETAIN A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF FLUID, YOU WILL BE UNABLE TO ABSORB OXYGEN CAUSING HARM TO ALL YOUR ORGANS AND WEAKENING YOUR HEART MUSCLE!

Please let swollen ankles be a RED FLAG!  If you have water at your ankles, it is very likely that you have water in your lungs.  As a matter of fact, water retention needs to be addressed before it starts collecting at your ankles.

YOU CAN’T BREATHE THROUGH WATER!

Every time your body suffers an unmet oxygen deficit, damage is caused that you will soon notice in your eye sight, short term memory, and the strength of your heart muscle.

You may have an oxygen deficit you don’t know about, but you know that you are always tired.

Ask your Doctor to check your blood oxygen level with a pulse oximeter if you are experiencing any of the following symptoms:

• water retention (especially feet/ ankles)
• shortness of breath/ difficulty breathing/ dyspnea
• extreme fatigue
• chest tightness
• mental confusion/short-term-memory loss
• tingling fingers
• chronic cough
• blue coloring around lips

(If you wake up at night gasping for breath, TELL YOUR DOCTOR!)

Remember that anything below 92% blood oxygen saturation level warrants treatment with supplemental oxygen, though insurance companies won’t pay until readings fall to 88%.

Your body requires more oxygen with physical activity, and levels should
be checked DURING normal daily activity.

There is nothing simple about fluid balance or water retention. At Heart Failure Solutions we are a community dedicated to learning together.

What we can do to help ourselves?

• Sometimes we simply need to learn more about how our bodies work.
• We can reach out to others to develop a network of support helping us to
  make those difficult changes in order to attain our goals.
• Subscribe or tune in frequently to Heart Failure Solutions to educate and build support systems.

Many blessings,

Carrie

PS- Beat heart disease, enter your name and email address in the box at the right, and get your heart defense education delivered to your inbox.

PPS– Remember everyday:

1. Relax and Release tension
2. Take deeep breaths
3. Be active in a way that adds joy to your life

Plus pure water ~whole foods~sunshine~and laughter

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… C: wait… SD: wait…

Tags: anemia, arrhythmia, arthritis, cardiomyopathy, chest pain, concentration problems, congenital heart disease, congestive heart failure, cough, diabetes, emotional distress, fatigue, heart attack, heart disease, heart failure, high blood pressure, hyperthyroidism, inability to sleep unless propped up, low oxygen level, lung disease, lupus, retaining fluid, shortness of breath, sleep apnea, smoking, swelling, technorati, tiredness, waking up breathless at night, weakness, weight gain