An alternative to diuretics

By Dr. Sonja Stiller, Center for Advanced Vein Care

Now that 2020 is behind us, it’s time to focus on improving our health in 2021. Last year’s inactivity had a major impact on our health. Over the past few months, our practice has seen a sharp increase in everything from leg pain and swelling to venous ulcers.

Being stuck at home meant that we were less active. Our step count decreased. We didn’t walk to our cars in the parking lot; we didn’t walk daily down the long halls in our places of work. This inactivity can lead not only to reduced cardiovascular function, but also to the deconditioning of our calves, quads and hamstrings—muscles essential to good health, especially as we age.

Thankfully, more and more physicians are referring patients us before simply prescribing diuretics for leg swelling. While diuretics can be appropriate when there are accompanying heart or lung issues, they can cause more harm than good when simply used for leg swelling. It’s far better to treat thecause of swelling rather than put a “band-aid” on it with a medication. Instead of drugs, we focus on venous health and improving leg strength, especially the calf muscle, which doctors call “the second heart” because it is responsible for pumping blood and toxins up and out of the lower leg.

If you’re experiencing leg swelling or any of the following symptoms, give our office a call. By starting now, we can help you get ready for the fun, active summer we missed out on in 2020:

• chronic leg pain
• fatigue
• itching
• burning
• inflammation
• leg cramps
• Restless Leg Syndrome
• swelling

Dr. Sonja Stiller is a diplomat of both the American Board of Emergency Medicine and the American Board of Venous and Lymphatic Medicine. She is the founder of the Center for Advanced Vein Care, a Tier 1 provider with Lake Health Hospital System, located at 7200 Mentor Avenue, in Mentor. For an appointment, call 440-710-1140. More information can be found at YourHealthyVeins.com.