Should compression socks be used on swollen lower legs? - 1254053

Hi Larry, I take it you're still having problems with your legs. I'm very sorry. When I did a search on the subject I came across another thread of yours on the swollen legs from xalkori. Also don't forget about the dedicated thread on xalkori, (it's linked to in your previous post). Not that you should use that thread to ask your questions just a moderator reflex to remind you it's there. You could subscribe to it and contribute when you have something to offer.

http://cancergrace.org/topic/side-effect-of-xalkori-swollen-lower-legs-…

Also the results from a search (you may need to log out to access these results depending on your browser) http://cancergrace.org/search-results?q=compression%20socks%20xalkori

I know they must get pretty uncomfortable after a while and stop having the desired effect. Are you trying any other tricks to stop or ease the swelling?

I will ask a doctor to comment on your question. You should hear back within the day.

All best,
Janine

Hi Larry.

I've been on Xalkori for about 9 weeks now and am having the same problem. I wear TED hose when my legs get uncomfortable, and I get some relief, but the swelling doesn't seem to go down at all. As far as compression socks go, they come in different grades from not much compression, to lots of compression, and I think some insurance pays for them, but not all. The ones you buy at the drugstore don't provide much support. Go to a medical supply store and they will probably have the best information, but be sure your doc is on board before you buy and wear any, just to be safe.

I got put on Lasix (furosemide) to see if that might help. We started with a very low dose and have increased it twice now, still with no relief. But we can still increase it a lot more before we reach the maximum dose, so I'm hopeful we'll get it worked out soon.

There are a few things you can do, which you have probably read already: elevate your legs whenever you can, stay active, and restrict the salt in your diet. I think that last one is a biggie. Processed foods and restaurant foods are high in salt content.

If you get put on a diuretic be sure to include lots of potassium rich foods in your diet. If you start getting leg cramps it probably means your electrolytes are out of whack. Hopefully your doc is keeping an eye on those.

I read somewhere that peripheral edema with Xalkori is cumulative, but Craig, our ROS1 member who is on Xalkori says it goes away after a while.

Good luck with it. If I find any other information I will post it on the ALK or ROS1 patient group thread.
Debra

Thanks Debra for the great info!

I don't have any additional information beyond what Janine and Debra supplied above. I haven't seen this as a common side effect, but it's very reasonable to discuss getting compression stockings or possibly starting a diuretic to try to address the edema if it's bothersome enough.

Good luck.

-Dr. West

My only additional thought is to beware of blood clots. Bloot clots, particularly in the legs (DVTs) are a huge problem in lung cancer patients. When there are other causes of swelling, they become very easy to miss or to overlook. Therefor, in my practice, even when there's another cause for swelling, I have a very low threshold to do ultrasounds to look for clots. Most typically, these evaluations are prompted by an increase (particularly an assymetric increase) in lower extrimity swelling. You can read more about blood clots in lung cancer at http://cancergrace.org/cancer-treatments/2011/05/29/blood-clots-in-canc…

Thank you Dr. Weiss. I was going to add to my post that if the swelling was only on one side to contact the doctor to get evaluated for clots, but I didn't think about the fact that they could be easy to miss when there is already edema. So, I will keep an eye out for one leg looking bigger than the other one and report it to my doc if that happens. Thank you so much for teaching me yet another good lesson about living with lung cancer. I also didn't know that ultrasounds were used to evaluate for clots. That's good news. Very non-invasive. Thank you for the link as well.

I hope married life has been good to you. Say hi to Dr. Walko for me!

Thanks again,
Debra