BAD Fluid retention

@Kaza – Other than the edema (swelling) do you experience any other unwanted symptoms? Also, do you eat completely unrestrictedly? How long has the edema been a problem? The entire time refeeding? How is your sleep? What are your stress levels like?

@Caz – I’m sorry if I’ve hijacked your thread by responding to Kaza. I hope that the information I’m sharing with Kaza is helpful for you too. If you haven’t already read this blog post at YE then I highly recommend it.

@Kaza – I would also recommend to you to read this blog post at YE (same as I suggested to Caz) if you haven’t already. It offers some really helpful information. I think that the information applies whether you were ever restricting calories or not because it sounds like your metabolism was slowed for one reason or another, and you were restricting carbs, so edema during refeeding is likely.

What is puzzling to me is that you started experiencing edema after three months of refeeding. But then I’m not sure what your age is, and I made the assumption (not sure what basis I had for this) that you are female. If you are under 25 and female then according to MiniMaud guidelines your minimum calories should be 3000 a day. If that is true, then you’ve been undereating, and that could account for the delayed onset of edema during refeeding. In any case, if you are retaining water as a healing response due to refeeding then the YE recommendation is to eat more, relax more, and pamper yourself with massage if possible.

As I have said, it is darn near impossible for me or anyone else here to know what is causing your edema. And refeeding is not the only reason for edema. My best recommendation is to give a shot to eating more. If you’re having trouble with eating 2500-3000 calories then it is possible that you could be more creative about how you get the calories. With foods like chocolate cake, ice cream, pasta with cream sauce, etc. you can find some very calorie-dense foods that are highly-palatable. And I find that adding sugar to foods (I add sugar to fruit or fruit juice, milk, or anything else I can) is a good strategy that works for me if I’m wanting to get in more calories without having to feel that I’ve eaten much more in terms of bulk.

I have never experienced edema to the degree that you describe, but I have experienced it, and I can certainly understand your distress. I understand that it can be more than just unpleasant and can prompt an intense desire to do something about it. With that in mind, I will second the opinion expressed in that YE post to avoid diuretics when possible. My own experience bears that out. My own experienced with water retention were part of greater health problems that I was experiencing, and I was at the end of my rope. I am an amateur herbalist, and in my desperation I tried to use some mild herbal diuretics. Not only did I not get the relief that I hoped for, but I believe (but cannot prove, obviously) that it only prolonged my recovery. I now believe that the way out for me was to eat more. So I am not suggesting that diuretics are always inappropriate, of course. I am just saying that I agree with the YE caution against them because of my own experience.

As I have said, there are plenty of other possible causes for edema. I have a few insights into that area. But, nothing that you have shared so far suggests that other causes are likely. My very best guess based on the little information I have is that you might find relief by continuing to refeed and by increasing your caloric intake. Also, I believe that adequate salt is necessary to keep the water in balance. Get someone to give you massage if possible. If not (or even if so) then give yourself a massage. And relax as much as possible. I’d recommend seeing what you can do to improve your sleep because sleep can work miracles. I know that none of that is an easy quick fix, but it is the best bet based on what you’ve shared.

Please keep us updated. If things don’t improve with more refeeding then there are other possibilities to explore. Oh, and definitely read that YE post. And if you’re a member at the YE forums then you will probably find lots of reports from others who have gone through or are going through similar water retention challenges.

@Caz when i ‘fell off my wagon’ and started refeeding,it felt great mostly mentally,but like you i began experiencing severe edema after a while to the point where i couldnt open my eyes anymore and i had bloody and burning shins bc of all the waterpressure in my legs,where skin spontaneously cracked open!
So,i dont want to diss the 180approach at all nor YE but for me it doesnt work like that.

I think my edema and other issues were bc of major bloodsugar rollercoasters bc im probably wired to be prone to diabetes.
Lots of my symptoms improved when i took out all starches,especially all grains unfortunately:(

And the grains probably made me hypothyroid again and causing mineral deficiencies,despite the fact that i was eating thousands of calories. Even the ‘safer grains’ like white rice and corn. Apparently they have some kind of quality that can bind minerals to them.
From what it seemed,it was also a huge burden on the liver detoxing capabillity as i started to experience several livertoxicity issues,jaundice from butter etc.

So,its my personal belief that when you start having severe problems after initial phase its NOT a positive sign of metabolism healing and that you just need to push through it,bc i sometimes get the feeling its a bit becoming dogmatic among some people here that you should not restrict certain foods and that everything is just a sign of metabolism healing.
Unfortunately,ive found it isnt always ‘that simple’….

• This reply was modified 10 years, 3 months ago by Dutchie.