Any have a prob with swelling pre-op?

I have really bad swelling in my legs and feet. They've done every test under the sun to try to figure out why and they've pretty much concluded that it's because of my weight. I was wondering if anyone else had this problem pre-op and if losing weight helped get rid of it.

My weight caused me major circulation problems.  My feet and legs were a constant concern of my primary.  Every visit included a check of my ankles and feet to see if we were getting into dangerous territory.  The swelling fairly well disappeared completely in the first 6 weeks post op.  You have additional fluid retention and swelling after surgery in many cases so you actually come home even more swollen but it comes off pretty quickly.  I am now 2 years and 8 months post op and have no swelling issues at all, even when I am on my feet for long periods of time.  The closest I get is some very minor puffiness around my feet after car rides of longer than 5 hours.

Thank you for your reply. I am so happy to hear that your problems went away. Hopefully I will have the same results.

I guess my condition is a little different.  I have what they call lower extremity venous stasis.  Basically this is when the veins in my legs no longer function in regards to getting the blood back to my heart.  Not only are my legs swelled, they are totally discolored (almost black in some areas).  They told me that with the weight loss, my veins should start working again and eventually the swelling will go away but the discoloration may linger for years.

Yes this is a common medical issue for many of us.  The weight causes undue pressure on the artery that brings the blood back up to your heart, which means blood and fluid are being pumped out of the heart faster than it is being returned.  As a result excess fluid can pool in the legs and feet.  This can happen at a more severe level and causes lymphedema, which can be very painful and causes larger areas, sometimes HUGE swelling in the legs.  I saw a special on TLC Big Medicine that described it like a kinked garden hose.  The abdominal fat causes pressure on the garden hose and causes it to cut off or tighten the flow. I have the edema caused by weight and I take a diuretic for blood pressure that is supposed to be helping with this.  But still every day after lying in bed horizontal I wake with thin ankles and feet, only at the end of each day to have edema causing a lot of swelling in them and sometimes pain.  Elevating the legs and feet is supposed to help.  The good news is that losing the weight will help this, and I for one am looking forward to that!. 

Have they considered Lymphedema?  I had it for almost 10 years before I found a doctor who could tell me what it was.  A lot of doctors are not really familiar with it.