edema and stuff

[stinky534]

Hi,  my symptoms have been random palpitations  (extra and or skipped beats),   sometimes the flutter in my chest last just long enough to give me near fainting, but usually not.      My doctors office called and said my holter monitor showed these palpitations but it's not dangerous,  but  since when do benign palpitations that flutter long enough to make someone faint?    This is only part of the picture though,  I constantly am feeling like something is tugging at my heart, or putting extra work on it  and I feel weak and lightheaded almost all the time,  but there is a rare day where i feel better.       I have also developed some +1 (as i was told) edema is both lower legs, and my lower legs are sometimes crampy or my legs feel sluggish and stiff especially at the ankles.     Not only that, my urine is intermittantly dark yellow and foamy,  and I have mild left sided pain aroudn the kidney area, but I also have some vague reasons to think this could possibly be muscular.  
I don't understand what's going on,   I do cardio exercise 45 mins a day and cut back my calories to 2500,   and as a 29 yr old man  at 250 pounds I still keep gaining weight.....I mean,   after I started back into my exercise routine seriously,  I gained weight.    It makes no sense, on this same routine a few years ago I steadily lost 3 lbs per week.  

Ok, so the tests i've had are Echo, Chest xray, urinealysis (urine wasn't dark that day), CBC CMP, Liver and thyroid,  BNP,  cardiac CTA and stress test.     Had an abdominal CT 14 months ago for unrelated reasons and I do have bilateral renal cysts by my own reading of the report but my CT was reported normal then to me.

I guess I'm not in heart failure with my EF of 59% and squeaky clean CTA/BNP,  but what gives with all this?  Any ideas please?

[Cleveland Clinic]

I hear these complaints very commonly form patients such as yourself.  I am not sure if my advice from this forum helps them, but typically what I tell them is that weight loss via good diet and exercise and hightly likely to make their symptoms go away.  Unfortuntaly,  jumping into an aggressive exercise routine and cutting your calories to the minimum is not the answer.  You did not become like this overnight and it will take time for your body to get back in shape.  Adapt a slow exercise routine and limit your calories in a slow fashion.  By taking everything away and really stressing yourself your body is reacting the fashion you described above.  The extra heart beats are a sign on increased sympathetic tone either due to deconditioning, anxiety, medications or supplements.  With all the tests being normal you should be glad that your heart and the rest of the systems are normal.  I would not perform and additional tests at this point.  Does the swelling get better in the morning and worse as the day goes on?

[stinky534]

Had my blood clotting factors checked too,  they are normal.

[stinky534]

Wait a second, I just thought of 1 thing I have been doing lately that I didn't do before...could  extended use of antacids (calcium) cause this?

[stinky534]

Doctor,  I'm not sure if the swelling is better or worse as the day goes on.  It's hard to say.    But, if anything,  the area where the edema is all over my shin, especially the left one,  the area has a vague, unusual reddish rash appearance to it...

Could that mean something?

[stinky534]

actually now that i'm paying attention, i think it may be worse later in the day..

[Pulseman]

Isn't this like the sixth time you have posted the same question in the last month? The advice is always the same get off the computer and start exercising. You will feel better and your problems will melt away.