swollen feet & ankles

[fins302]

Hello, my feet and ankles are very prone to swelling.  If i am on my feet for a while this tends to occur. Heat also seems to attribute to the swelling. More than anything, i will notice my ankles swollen after a night of drinking. i try to elevate my feet as much as possible when i am sitting at a desk or lounging. I am 30 years old, 6' 175 lbs. I eat right and stay in shape. The one unhealthy thing i do to my body is binge drink one sometimes two nights a week. i have probably had this for about 8 years. i have gotten my legs-ankles-feet examined by a cardiovascular doctor who pretty much laughed at me and said i was perfectly healthy, my blood just pools and the valves in my veins do not work as well w/ return blood flow. if i do not drink and am able to get a decent nite's sleep w my feet slightly elevated, my feet will not be swollen the next day. However, as said before, a nite of drinking will cause them to be swollen. this is not normal obviously, & while i am not totally alarmed when it happens, i still would like some answers. i have read about edema, dvt, blood clotting, hypercoagulation, compartment syndrome, etc. should i consider blood thinning drugs? Plavix? Although if possible i would like to avoid this. Any assistance/knowledge you can drop would be most appreciated to try and figure this out.

[Poetrywriter828]

Before going on blood thinners I would have a doctor do a Doppler of your legs. They start at your feet and work up with an ultrasound machine. what it does is checks how well your blood is flowing to your feet.

With the amount of alcohol you drink it may also just be a problem of not drink enough water that night and/or the next morning and so your body is retaining what water it has.

[victoriab1974]

DO YOU TAKE ASPIRIN IN EXCESS TO GET OVER A NIGHT OF DRINKING?IF YOUR BLOOD IS VERY THIN, IT COULD BE THE MEDICATION YOU ARE TAKING AS SOME NSAIDS CAUSE YOUR LEGS TO SWELL IN MISERABLE AMOUNTS SUCH S MELOXICAM.

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
Usually conditions of heart, kidney, liver or low protein or severe anemia, which cause ankle swelling cause both ankles to swell. Hence if both ankles are swelling then you will need to get heart function assessed by ECHO and EKG, get kidney and liver function tests done and get a complete blood picture for anemia. Low sodium in blood, hypothyroidism and malabsorption syndromes causing low protein in blood have to be looked into.
I think you should discuss these possibilities with your doctor. It is difficult to comment beyond this without examining. A comprehensive investigation is required keeping all the points in mind.
Hope this helps. Please let me know if there is any thing else and do keep me posted. Take care!