The Case of the Vanishing Ankles

[aadler]

 
The fluid retention in my feet had gone down some after a night in bed, but hadn’t gone away. By the early afternoon, it not only was back but had moved up into my calves as well. My ankles had disappeared under the puffiness — my toes looked like little sausages — and there was “pitting” at my shins. As in, you push your thumb into the flesh, a little pit remains in the tissue before slowly filling in. This is not a good sign, so Susan got me an immediate appointment with her personal physician. (I don’t have one outside the VA, because I’ve never needed one.)

So, I got in and they looked at me. My urine was completely clear, my breath sounds were clear, my EKG was good. They took some blood also, and I’ll be going in tomorrow to get some imaging done: on my chest (to further rule out congestive heart failure, probably) and bladder area (to make sure last week’s asymptomatic kidney stones weren’t a symptom of something bigger).

I still feel fine. No pain, not even any discomfort. I just have Alley-Oop feet.