Posted by carolyn (204.251.203.215) on July 26, 2000 at 00:12:48:
In Reply to: swelling posted by Pam on July 03, 2000 at 13:23:00:
My son was put on dex a few months before his surgery for brain tumor. The tumor returned within a couple months, and the dexi is still needed to control swelling in the brain. He's been on the med for nearly two years.
In April he was declared "terminal" with the following: diabetes, kidney damage, liver damage, compression fractures in the vertibrae (all steroid-induced) and the now inoperable tumor. Once it is begun, dexamethasone seems to put one in a catch 22. While it is needed to control swelling caused by the tumor, the side effects ruin what was left of a healthy body!
In answer to your original question: yes, he now has swelling in his feet and ankles. In fact, it is termed "pitting edema" and seems associated with kidney dysfunction and/or liver dysfunction.