-
Agreed this is a tough one- it’s hard when you want to help so much but the patient doesn’t feel your recommendations are right for her.
I have had a few pregnant patients recently with bad swelling and can concur it really seems to be so much worse and very hard to treat when it’s hot outside. Also if she’s working on her master’s, she’s probably spending a lot of time sitting at her desk. She must get up very frequently and walk/move.
I like to recommend barley tea for swelling. This might seem less threatening to her than herbs? She can also add barley to her diet. I agree with Sarah’s recommendations for some light bodywork and the points.
Ciara I think it’s so important that you raise concern that it’s happening so early on, and are thinking about how to prevent blood pressure issues down the line. I recall one other patient in my first few years of practice who was also pregnant with twins and had just awful swelling in her feet in legs, to the point she could hardly put flip flops on. Everything turned out fine for her pregnancy and delivery but 5 years later (age 40) she developed high blood pressure.
I recall Sharon Weizenbaum discussing preeclampsia and its related symptoms being related to “crappy blood” (love that term)- so her focus being on building really good quality blood during the pregnancy.
Looking forward to others’ responses and how this woman progresses!