I'm having an up-close-and-personal experience with the edema phenomena with
my sister, who just gave birth by c-sect after PROM to twins at 34wks. She
was already having problems with her ankles, but nothing like now!  She says
that the edema started to increase after she received pain and anti-nausea
medications post-surgery (she had a rough recovery; the medications made her
sick) and her perception is that they caused the problem. Water had broken
at midnight, she went to the hospital and was put on IVs but no pit, no
labor, prior to surgery at 9am. Edema became worse within 24 hours after
delivery. Her feet are horribly puffed up and her lower legs look like tree
branches, with a crease for ankles. At 11 days postpartum, she tells me that
it has improved "a little."  She lives 4 hours away and I was only able to
see her 30 minutes last week in the middle of a whirlwind Mother's
Day-grandbaby dedication visit. 
 
As I'm talking to some of my other colleagues, I'm finding that this
keeps-getting-worse thing is not uncommon. I do not know how much pitocin
may have been given to her postsurgery, and I don't think it is just the IV
fluids; she should have long ago peed that all out. Either something is
upregulating ADH receptors big time or some similar process that does *not*
reverse quickly. Onset more than a day *after* delivery, increases in
severity for the next few days, then takes 2 or more weeks to resolve. What
puzzles me is that I don't think her exposure to pitocin was veryextensive,
and that's the only potential connection I know of so far. 
 
Does anyone have any other ideas on what may be causing this postpartum
edema besides the pitocin theory? I'm interested in any insights from those
who notice and follow these things.  There has GOT to be a connection here
somewhere. I just don't remember this happening like this to mothers a
decade ago.
 
~Lisa
 

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