always, more so in the summer. I found some foot jewelry online that gives the appearance of sandals....better than bare feet. now for the medical advice. my wound doctor had me approved for special compression pumps. I will have to research the name of these but an hour in the morning and night you zip them on your legs. from ankle to above the knee. it reduces by pumping air in and out. i'll get back with you. dianna
-----Original Message----- From: Lori Michaelson <[email protected]> To: quad-list <[email protected]> Sent: Sun, Apr 17, 2016 2:08 pm Subject: [QUAD-L] Lower extremity edema in feet and ankles I was wondering if any of you have had to deal with lower extremity edema whereby you can't even wear tennis shoes/sneakers or anything but sandals that stay open and there is only a Velcro strap that allows the top of the sandals to close or buckled straps to allow for the stretching/lower extremity edema in my feet? This began with me probably 3-4 years after I began to work and was in the chair by 8 AM and did not lay down until 8 PM or 9 PM on weekdays. But it has gotten much worse since then and then in 1998 I had to stop wearing shoes or tennis shoes/sneakers and resort to what I spoke about above. The only thing that helps it is me laying flat with my feet straight up and down against a pillow whereby my lower extremities are equal to my heart. In other words, they go down overnight but not always. Yes, I will wear compression stockings and did so before moving to Arizona in the summer of 2001. I wore Jobst stockings for the first couple of years after moving away from the humidity of the Northeast but I eventually did not need them. When I moved back to the Northeast to be with family after losing my husband my lower extremities became worse so I thought when I moved back here they would get better but nope! Yes, I tilt back my chair several times a day because that is all I have time for and I am not up in my chair all that long anyway. Now, I do not have any heart problems or anything. It is all because of gravity. I very much wish I could go back to wearing sneakers but even with my compression stockings... my feet and ankles swell and I can't risk any skin breakdown. Best, ~Lori C4/5 complete quad, 36 1/2 years post Tucson Arizona -- "Petting, scratching and cuddling a dog could be soothing to the mind and heart and deep meditation and almost as good for the soul as prayer." ~Dean Koontz
