I weighed myself this morning, and I weighed 166 pounds. That is 4 pounds over my normal weight. Two pounds could be fat from not running during the past month, leaving about 2 pounds of fluid (approximately a quart) from my swelling.
I've received a pair of special compression socks ($90) for use during the day, and I'm waiting for another (different) pair for use while I'm asleep. As soon as I have both pairs, I'll wear the socks for the next two years and won't have my legs bandaged anymore. The bandaging consists of two layers of compression tube socks, two layers of 1/3 inch open-cell foam, and about 4 layers of Ace-type bandages. The bandages go all the way from my toes to my groin. It takes my wife an hour to reapply the bandages after I've had a shower. I look like a mummy (at least the legs of a mummy).
The bandages put compression on my legs, and that helps my lymph system to function correctly. My arteries take blood from my heart to other parts of my body. My veins return 90% of that blood back to my heart. The remaining 10% goes into my lymph system and goes up my body to my shoulders, across my body, and down to my kidneys and then out as urine. My lymph system wasn't working correctly, and that 10% collected in my body as swelling.
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