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swollen ankle and diabetes

by glenda
(austin Tx)

I have type 2 diabetes...I am 62 yrs old...female....It has almost been a month since my left leg and ankle swelled up very bad...I have kept my leg elevated on and off all day...the swelling in the leg went down to almost normal. The ankle did not! After a month, my ankle feels like it has turned to stone...very rigid! It hurts and it itches sometimes....the ankle and part of the foot is red...there is no warmth in the affected area and I have not had any accidents! can you tell me if this is serious or if it would be ok to see a doctor in late January..(i have an appointment on Jan 22) I really hope you can shed some light on the matter as it is increasingly hard to walk and I lose my balance very often. Thank you

RESPONSE

Hi Glenda,

Where do I begin? You are a type 2 diabetic, but I do not know if you are a controlled diabetic, nor do I really know anything else about you such as whether or not you are overweight, or perhaps a smoker, so I will consider the worst case scenario.
Swelling in one leg can occur for any number of reasons, ranging from simple venous insufficiency where the veins that bring blood back up to the heart are no longer working properly so the blood ends up pooling in the foot and ankle. This condition is somewhat common in aging individuals and as such is not

cause for concern. In general, the foot and ankle and perhaps the lower leg will swell as the day progresses, but upon waking up in the morning the limb will appear almost normal only to swell again during the course of the day.
On the other end of the spectrum is the possibility you have developed a DVT, deep venous thrombosis which is a blood clot. These can have serious consequences if not treated immediately.
Compounding this problem is the fact that you are diabetic and over time diabetes if not properly controlled can have a devastating effect on the circulation to the feet, primarily the arterial circulation which is blood flow into the foot.
The problem with any type of poor return of blood flow to the heart is that such a condition can also compromise the overall circulation to the foot which as you can imagine, not a good situation in any individual, but is particularly worse in a diabetic, more so if you also happen to be a smoker.
The best advice I could ever give you would be to see a doctor immediately. It is safe to say that if you have been suffering from this condition for almost a month, it is not going away on its own. This coupled with the fact that you are diabetic , controlled or not, makes for a potentially dangerous situation.

Marc Mitnick DPM
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