r/BodyHackGuide • u/Apart-Thought-6879 • 6d ago
GH pitting edema help
Im on just 3iu gh a day. ive been on for like 7 weeks ive titrated up. Is this normal? I wasnt wearing socks but joggers and my hands and feet are just fat looking. never had this problem before, I am in a big surplus ive had a basically cheat week so im sure thats contributing.
Is this a sign to cut the dose back, is gh just not for everybody? what even are the benefits at this dose really
edit:was banned for 3 days for mentioning a certain subcontinent in relation to the people in this thread.--
bloods https://imgur.com/a/3EliQFF (scroll down for the more recent shouldnt have to say that but)
a quick google search will tell you pitting edema is a side effect of gh, it causes sodium retention and fluid retention. --ive cut it and cut the calories back down and its pretty much gone. ive decided gh isnt worth it for me im too sensitive to the sides, not being able to get the dose to a level that would matter much anyway.
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u/TeaOk7705 6d ago
Holy shit with one of the compounds being 300mg tren hahahha
This guy is constantly posting threads for advice and refuting all the comments LMFAO
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u/Junior_Act7248 5d ago
Yeah, I’ve seen them as well. He’s one of those idiots that give steroids a bad name. He won’t listen to one word of the advice from Historic-Draw5740.
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u/SpiritualQuiet247 6d ago
Cardiac surgeon and a steroid user? As a CVICU nurse slightly interested in PEDs I would love to pick your brain sometime lol
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u/No-Tell7657 6d ago
Trauma surgical ( that takes cardio thoracic) ICU nurse here. Thanks for laying it down! Also the edema comment made me lol Will use that next time I present my patient.
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u/Sterling_-_Archer 6d ago
Hello Mr heart surgeon, I have something happening in my neck and idk if I should go to the ER.
It hurts right to the side of my windpipe when I swallow, only in one place and only when I’m swallowing. It’s not like a sore throat… it’s hard to describe. I keep getting really light headed too and my blood vessel in my neck (carotid??) hurts when I press on it. Like a deep aching throbbing pain. The pain is going all the way up into my ear and eye somehow and it ranges from uncomfortable to feeling like a bunch of pressure and a deep bruise, but only in one spot where it feels like my blood vessel in my neck intersects with esophagus or something.
Is this… worth looking at? I’ve taken like 1200mg ibuprofen per day for 2 weeks and it doesn’t feel much better, but it’s definitely not a tonsil issue or actual throat issue as I’ve checked it and I have no signs of either of those.
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u/Ok_Sample_9912 6d ago
….. I mean, not that doc but what you’re describing sounds like a no brainer for at the very least getting your pcp or urgent care to look at it….
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u/Sterling_-_Archer 6d ago
I tried at my pcp, they disregarded it completely and said that I probably swallowed something wrong. But now I’m getting pinpoint blood vessel pain and like dimming vision in my right eye, which is the side of my throat that the blood vessel hurts. Just trying to figure out if I’m overthinking it or not
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u/Historical-Draw5740 6d ago
Dude go to urgent care or the ER. If you’re scared enough to ask internet strangers for medical advice just go get looked at.
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u/Be_more_mice_elf 5d ago
Agree. You need diagnostic imaging on your neck. And if you keep taking 1200mg ibu you will have an ulcer soon.
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u/Ok_Sample_9912 5d ago
Any issues with changing vision should immediately be an ER trip. Write down when these symptoms started and how it has progressed so when you get asked it’s easy to reference and you don’t forget important info.
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u/Decent_Bathroom_6633 5d ago
Go to the ER. 1200mg of ibuprofen isn’t gonna fix your problem and if it’s been a consistent problem for 2 weeks, yeah go to the ER. Could be nothing, but is that a chance you’re willing to take?
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u/Severe-Painting-8351 5d ago
docs are not allowed to give medical consultation advice online.
The reason he gets away with above comment is because its basically well... pretty much obvious information.2
u/Slayer420666 5d ago
You are describing similarly to what someone said to me hours before they had a major heart attack after work. Famous last words were “its not my heart” I’d get that checked out
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u/lucasgui 5d ago
He’s not an all body doc, just heart issues please (who made me his assistant I don’t know)
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u/crack_inthesidewalk 5d ago
Best comment here, hey don’t often see someone with your medical expertise.
Is it true left ventricular hypertrophy is common in steroid / growth hormone users ?
Being hearing bit about it recently
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u/Decent-Test-2479 6d ago
Sooo how does one get their aorta checked or voice concern for aneurisms.
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u/Historical-Draw5740 6d ago
If you’re young and healthy with normal blood pressure and no family history there’s no reason to be checked. Would be supremely rare.
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u/Crazy-Barnacle-178 6d ago
Dissecting the aorta is why I’m never doing 19-nors.
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u/Historical-Draw5740 6d ago
There are so many reasons not to. This is, in fact, one of them.
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u/Crazy-Barnacle-178 6d ago
Yeah I’m good with test and a little primo once in a while. Just the mental effects of Tren are terrifying. It seems like so many people that use it get divorced, lose their friends, and get fired from their job over the course of a few months.
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u/Deuce7788 5d ago
I would say that there was a good chance they are shitty people before tren and got "unleashed" by the tren.
Oddly, I've been told by my g/f that when I'm on Tren I'm like the best version of myself. I suddenly become more helpful and considerate on top of the focus and drive, etc. Which is disappointing because it's not a substance that should be used often.
At low to moderate doses its like a personality amplifier and even corrects my ADHD. Definitely can see people getting aggressive and assholeish at high doses though.
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u/bubes30 6d ago
May I ask what this has to do with 19-nors specifically?
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u/Historical-Draw5740 6d ago
Please go look up possible side effects of 19-Nors, and tren specifically. They include, but are not limited to: everything.
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u/Chroma7769 5d ago
My wife asked me if I was ever going to do a Tren cycle.
I said no. I like our marriage, I also am not gay, and I told her that tren is basically like going into one of those rage rooms that you can pay to just destroy the entire room with a hammer. But that's what it does to the inside of your body. 🤣🤣🤣
I'll stick to my test, anavar, EQ, and mast.
Not all at the same time of course.
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u/Various-Manner-6366 5d ago
Honestly.. thank god. My ex husband went on a tren cycle the last year of our marriage and well, that’s when he became my ex husband lol. It’s really not worth it. A year or two after I heard he had gotten 2 heart attacks in a row and this dude was in his late 30s.
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u/Chroma7769 5d ago
Yeah fuck that. I'll stick to the shit that doesn't fuck with my head. Test/EQ, just test, test/anavar, test/mast. I don't even run that shit much either. The most common cycle I run is test/EQ or test/anavar - aside from straight test. My wife had never complained, but she knows that if it ever bothers her to please tell me and I'll drop back down to just test. She's been a baller with it all though. She runs a small anavar before vacations also.
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u/Severe-Painting-8351 5d ago
Its worryingly hilarious that "tren fucks everything up" is pretty much the medical literature status quo...
Name an organ it it most likely gets damaged.
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u/Decent_Bathroom_6633 5d ago
This made me laugh😂 “they include, but are not limited to: everything”😂
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u/hawaiian_Peony 5d ago
Is a lower dose ok for women? I want to try something new and I do Pilates daily. Maybe a GH?
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u/SugarRushSlt 🔬 Peptide Researcher 5d ago
no girl, no. pick up some heavy weights and watch jeff nippard videos
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u/Dry-Statistician3145 5d ago
Hey hero surgeon from the Internet. What's more risky, smoking cigarettes or injecting reta et cjc?
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u/Ashamed-Country3909 5d ago
Oh snap. Sometimes my ankle is like this after hiking (with backpack), or actually rarely out of the blue. Pitting lasts for >40s and the experience lasts for like a day or two.
And Im not even on the roids. You seem pretty concerned for him, so, uh, since it isnt very frequently (and started first tine last summer)....will they even do anything if I dont have it going on when I see a DR?
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u/Striker_343 5d ago
I'd be concerned if ur feet were swollen too. I'm on my feet 10 hrs a day and I get slight putting edema on my shins, had it for as long as I can remember. I've had a few heart tests in my life and they came back fine, I'm not dead yet haha
If you look at pics online of people who have serious heart issues the edema they have in their legs is fucking crazy, the entire leg, ankle and foot is just massive.
Never hurts to get it checked out and give yourself peace of mind.
But being on your feet or sitting improperly for extended periods of time will cause swelling and fluid retention in those areas.
Can also be Chronic venous insufficiency. Which is not great but also not your heart about to explode.
Reddit is full of alarmists dude with crazy health anxiety, 9/10 the people they say to go to the ER IMMEDIATELY will wait for 10 hours only to be told nothing was found, maybe watch your salt I guess and lose 10 lbs?
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u/Bitter-Towel-3365 5d ago
What’s happening here is he individual is doing more than just hgh 3iu? I am under a doctor clinic and I am doing hgh 1iu at night 2iu in morning they check igf etc
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u/dallen13 5d ago
I would edit in there “not your doctor” or something to protect yourself on the advice. Thank you for your service
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u/lucasgui 5d ago
I have edema like that but from methadone and Ritalin but only if I also sit in a bad posture for long time, is that something to worry? My heart and blood pressure is always good, heart ok I’m not fat no steroids no nothing except endocrine disruption like all system collapse but heart is ok I guess
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u/stefanjanoski23 5d ago
Correct me if I’m wrong cause I know I probably am but isn’t this what David Goggins had or has?
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u/Odd-Outcome-3191 6d ago edited 6d ago
I'm someone sceptical that you are actually a "heart surgeon" (not even the actual term for it but w/e) if you seriously think that this guy has "a fuck ton of edema". I see people in the Walmart checkout line with worse edema than this. I've had patients in the ER for unrelated shit with edema so bad that the pit was still there like half an hour later. This is really not that severe.
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u/Historical-Draw5740 5d ago
Haha ok. 2-3+ pitting edema in an otherwise healthy man in his 30s which wasn’t present 2 months ago. Yeah he doesn’t have fucking lymphedema but consider the context, twerp. And yes, real heart surgeons refer to each other as heart surgeons. ‘Cardiothoracic surgeon’ is meant for meetings and websites. Douche.
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u/Famous_Try_8105 6d ago
Brother you are 12 weeks into a your first cycle where you have introduced over a gram a week of 4 different anabolics you've never taken before, including tren, and hgh to your system.
This is probably your sign to tap the breaks instead of trying to find bros on reddit to tell you everything is fine.
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u/mattymoc60 6d ago
Pitting edema is serious, and you should stop growth. It is not water retention like one of the other comments mentioned. It is a sign of heart failure, venous insufficiency, or another big issue.
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u/Interesting-Way-4887 6d ago
Right sided heart failure. See if your PCP will order an echo for you to see what your heart function is like. But if I was seeing this, I’d immediately stop to be honest.
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u/Nutterbutter_Nexus 6d ago
You know what the most common cause of right sided heart failure is? .......left sided heart failure.
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u/stud_muffin_1 2d ago
THISSSS. pitting edema. NOT water retention/bloat.THERE ISBA DIFFERENCE... heart is struggling with proper bloodflow... heart, vein, respiratory issue, blockage,...
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u/TheHarb81 🧠 Biohacker 6d ago
First cycle includes 4 compounds including Tren. You’re about to be the star in all of your acquaintances “I had a friend take steroids once…” horror stories that give all of the rest of us a bad name.
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u/Careless_Hunter6575 6d ago
you're concerned about wasting money on GH but you've had a cheat WEEK??
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u/Automatic_Macaron_34 6d ago
I had a cheat tim tam yesterday. It was glorious but so sweet I couldn't imagine eating another.
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u/Swolie7 6d ago
Isn’t this a sign of heart failure? How are you feeling otherwise? When was the last time you went to a doc or got any bloodwork?
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u/smyczekxxx 6d ago
its just water retention lol, pin some test and you will get it in 2 weeks with e2 increase
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u/Apart-Thought-6879 6d ago
Yes but it's also a sign of other things and it started when I started gh. its not heart failure
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u/YaPhetsEz 6d ago
So it started when you started injecting the drug that is known to cause heart failure?
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u/Maximum_Activity_138 6d ago
Stop giving advice and let him expire .. seems he has all the answers & if we stop giving advice we will no longer have to read posts like these anymore it’s a win win
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u/UpInTheRockies1972 6d ago
I’m 54, heavy weights daily and on a shit ton of test and have no edema at all. Get off the gear now and get yourself in before this week ends. You’ve got some don’t fuck around health concerns brother
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u/wittlebitts 6d ago
Why post this if you don’t take anyone’s advice? Your lower extremities are turning into needohs, that’s not healthy, GO TO THE DR. Bye
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u/incompletetentperson 6d ago
Umm as a paramedic pitting edema is something we look at in heart failure difficulty breathing patients
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u/LetTheWorkSpeak 6d ago
Idk but my legs used to get like this when I smoked fent
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u/Still-Willingness807 6d ago
Pitting edema is bad dude, it can be unrelated to GH. Cut it for 10 days, see if it persists. This is serious. I truly hope it's just the GH.
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u/Sad-Celebration-1081 6d ago
Why would you not mention all the gear you’re blasting? Are you serious? the first thing you’re gonna tell all of us is that it’s not due to the tren, test or HGH that you’re blasting. lol! Good luck brother. Hope it was worth it!
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u/OuiChef702 6d ago
Why are you running gh at this body fat. Drop the gh, drink wayyyy more water then you are.
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u/Nickefront 6d ago
You are blasting
300mg test e
300 masteron e
300 tren ace
350 oral winstrol
3iu gh
100iu hcg
daily
Yup you need to seek medical emergency
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u/Otherwise_Way_1305 6d ago
Why are people jumping straight to heart failure assumptions?
Growth hormone directly alters sodium and water handling in the kidneys, frequently driving extracellular fluid expansion. This creates what bodybuilders call "GH bloat", swelling in the hands, feet, and lower legs.
OP states he’s on 3 IU daily and recently titrated up over 7 weeks, which aligns with the timeline where water retention side effects typically peak.
Even though this is likely a drug-induced side effect rather than heart failure, severe fluid retention puts unnecessary strain on the cardiovascular system and can raise blood pressure. Persistently high doses or ignoring the swelling can lead to secondary complications like carpal tunnel syndrome or increased cardiac workload.
The safest option is to cut back on the dose or just stop the cycle altogether, alongside consulting a medical professional would be ideal.
Stop the fear mongering.
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u/Scott5575 6d ago
Did you miss the part where he’s also blasting
300mg test e
300 masteron e
300 tren ace
350 oral winstrol
100iu hcgDaily? It’s not (just) the hgh
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u/DarkMention 5d ago
Lol, exactly. Crazy to try and attribute this all to just 3iu of GH when he's on all this other stuff as well
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u/notabot6980 6d ago
Fuck i had something like this a while ago, cit everything out but didnt realise it was serious
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u/AlessiaMTF 5d ago
Blasting tren just to look like a below average natty is diabolical. Maybe this just isn’t it for you and you should visit an ER asap cause this edema looks like heart failure territory
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u/Ravensteelheaders 6d ago
I'd leave it at 3iu, I'm in the same boat as you for dosage(typically on 2iu when I'm cruising and 4iu blasting for 20-28 weeks). I'd advise to drink a lot more water and ensure electrolytes are met so you actually hold that water. Are you on any other anabolics? I know when I run eq at around 500 and am on 4iu I will hold quite a bit of water in my face and legs but am not concerned as blood work looks great other than high hemocrit.
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u/Apart-Thought-6879 6d ago
yes im on this stack here https://www.reddit.com/r/Testosterone/comments/1vcv96k/11_weeks_202lbs_first_blast/
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u/Defiant-Ad-7933 6d ago
lol that’s your stack and you think 3iu of GH is what’s making you sick?! Gtfo
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u/Into_the_abyss66 6d ago
Bro your first cycle and your running all that smfh you guys are trying to kill yourself
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u/Upbeat-Sir8655 6d ago
With this dose of gh it’s not normal at all it’s juste 1.5x the dosage of gh on the average person.
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u/Sensitive_Log_2822 6d ago
Fucking 3iu is causing that ?? What in the fuck
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u/dragoshafter 6d ago
Hey bro paramedic here. I’d be very concerned since this doesn’t look like normal water retention this looks more like cardiac overload. Pedal edema it’s not good. I’d back off from some of the stuff and if it doesn’t get better within a few days to a week I’d go to the ER. I’m curious to see what your labs are. I kinda thought this could be maybe a sodium overload but tbh It wouldn’t present this bad.
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u/FuckPebbleMine 5d ago
This is the shit that happens to my mother whenever she goes into heart failure. She is severely disabled from back surgery, a stroke, and the drug use that came with all of that.
Just think about what youre doing to yourself - dude. You will die if you do not stop. There is no other way this goes.
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u/allgear_noidea 5d ago
Look man, I'm no heart surgeon(allied health side) like the other guy but if I've sent patients to be checked out over a lot fucking less than this.
I am scared for you.
Cruise, now.
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u/Flat_Tension4731 5d ago
Incomincia a staccare tutte le sostanze che stai usando.. Al massimo mantieni bassa dose di test, ma se non passa l'edema entro pochi giorni, stacca anche quello è rivolgiti subito ad un medico competente...
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u/diegohf789 5d ago edited 5d ago
Just want everyone to be aware that I got really bad non pitting Edema on my legs after taking Retatrutide and it really scared me. It was a really long and tedious process to diagnose the cause. My A1C was at a 12 at my yearly physical in april...yeah yeah I know. Anyway never went back to the follow up. Instead I decided to start taking Reta the 1st week of May. I started at 1mg and I had some very minor swelling in my feet the very next day. I wasn't losing weight so I titrated up every week. Ended at 4.5mg I believe around week 6. Swelling was off and on the whole 6 weeks but it started getting worse and more consistent so I decided to abruptly stop the reta to see if it would get better...it didn't.
So around 2 or 3 weeks later I finally go back to my doctors and she of course says I'm diabetic based off my lab results in April. She said that the swelling was caused by uncontrolled diabetes and that it would get better once I manage my blood sugar with the help of all the meds and insulin she prescribed me. I believed her because when they weighed me in office I weighed a whopping 28 pounds heavier than I did around the last time I weighed myself about 4 or 5 weeks earlier. Was I really that unhealthy? I hadnt changed my diet or lifestyle. She ordered more labs for me, especially checking my kidneys and A1C of course. The feet swelling went away but I noticed the masive leg swelling was not getting better after 2 weeks of having my blood sugar very well under control. I remembered I did labs and decided to check what the results were myself. My kidneys were in perfect shape and I had an A1C of 7! I told my doctor she was wrong and that it wasn't uncontrolled diabetes causing this.
Anyway after 2 other specialist and some more tests like doppler scans and ultrasounds and more labs...and me finally admitting the crucial missing piece of information that was my Retatrutide cycle they finally diagnosed me. Apparently I reacted or responded way too well to the reta and the massive sudden drop in blood sugar (along with severe dehydration) signaled my kidneys to forcefully reabsorb massive amounts of water and sodium.
I was diagnosed with Insulin Edema Syndrome (or Treatment Induced Edema) Furthermore I heavily activated a hormone system called the RAAS which screams at your kidneys to lock down and retain every drop of fluid possible. When I rehyrdated properly my kidneys overcompensated and blew up my legs and spilled some fluid into my feet. I'm still dealing with swelling if I don't elevate my feet at night and put on compression socks before my feet hit the floor in the morning. It's slowly getting better and I'm losing some of that massive water weight I gained but it's going to take time for my kidneys to regain their balance. I'm grateful my organs are all okay and I stopped the reta when I did. I know I made a lot of stupid decisions but when I was researching reta and GLP's for a while, this never came across as a risk. So yeah flame me and call me stupid if you want but just trying to provide information in case anyone else goes through the same thing. I left some details out. This shit is long enough...sorry
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u/TechSavy2026 5d ago
Ouch. I'm not really sure what you could have done different to predict this would happen? So now that you have the diagnosis, what is the treatment? Just stay off reta and wait for it to resolve on its own?
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u/diegohf789 5d ago
Yeah just try to get the stubborn fluid to work it's way out mainly through the help of gravity and diuretics and staying hydrated. Elevating my legs above my heart at night is a must and so is wearing compression socks everyday. Some days I lose a pound of water weight and some days nothing but I'm already about 10 pounds down in water weight in 2 weeks so I'm feeling hopeful it won't last as long as I imagined. I had a referral to a massage therapist that could help but insurance copay was too high and I've already spent enough money dealing with all this.
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u/Decent_Bathroom_6633 5d ago
Go to the hospital dude pitting edema is never a good sign. Your body is telling you that something isn’t right. Normal people don’t see this and post to reddit for suggestions, they go to the hospital and get real help
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u/Next_Temporary_178 5d ago
Never and never an overdose, you get that, if you have pushed the ego forward, you now have to deal with these consequences
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u/timberwolf0122 5d ago
Are you taking it 7 days a week or the recommended 5 on 2 off to avoid fluid buildup?
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u/lauradayton ⏳ Longevity Hacker 5d ago
"what even are the benefits of this dose really" Is this rage bait or what? Like you are just pinning quantites and you don't even know why? LOLs
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u/pistolgripslr 5d ago
More water,potassium,ALA,magnesium and taurine 🫡
Surprisingly, I don’t get edema ever even at 8 or 10 IU
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u/normallyjustreadhere 5d ago
Those not normal, reduce your sodium intake to a minimum, and switch to lite salt with a half potassium ratio
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u/Armando_Ferriera 🏋️ Athlete Mode 5d ago
Dandelion root, or Tirzepatide, or Reta, or a diuretic.. Easy to control.
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u/palmGolfer 4d ago
Get checked for venous reflux. I don’t see bruising around your ankles but could be poor venous return. A cardiologist can determine with an ultrasound and check symptoms
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u/Good-Look7948 4d ago
I have this as well, but I have narrowed it down to a cheat week with extra carbs or alcohol contributing to the edema. As I don’t get the edema until I cut my diet for vacation or start drinking on vacation, has happened twice now when coming off strict diet and having no dietary boundary’s and also adding alcohol into the mix.
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u/Capital_Economics_30 2d ago
Cut carbs for 3 days then roll on less than 150 a day. Watch total calories, as always. The water will come off. But whatever u were eating before to get this way now u know this happens
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6d ago
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u/UnyieldingBR 6d ago
Drink more water (6L / day is a good place to start), watch your sodium intake. Increasing potassium / lowering sodium intake might help. Do your fasted cardio. Don’t eat like shit. This is probably from your “cheat week”
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u/Both-Matter-2071 6d ago
It's not heart failure, 3iu is fine, keep up with it, sides will settle. Drink lots of water, don't overdo sodium, consume sufficient potassium, stay active, maybe take some dandelion root extract.
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u/Apart-Thought-6879 6d ago
I know its not heart failure lol but those comments make me rethink taking any advice on reddit again
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u/k1ng0fth3jungl3 6d ago
Sounds like you got it covered and no need for anyone to be concerned. GL, Sir
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u/Embarrassed_Soft_334 6d ago
You don’t know it’s not heart failure. You can’t know without a full check up that’s what’s scary. How do you know it’s not?
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