On Friday night, I came home from visiting with a friend. As I started to unwind for the night, I noticed that my ankles were extremely swollen. I could barely see my ankle bones, which isn't normal for me. I was worried, but tired. I put compression stockings on, drank water, elevated my feet all night, and took magnesium (known to help with water retention).

By morning, nothing was better. My right ankle had lessened, but the left was looking like an elephant. I kept drinking water, eating fresh fruit, and hoping that a few more hours would bring things down. I napped for awhile and eventually ate a baked potato for lunch. Around 2pm, I decided that I'd had enough. I'd been battling a headache (tension from clenching my teeth at night) and I was worried the swelling meant disaster.

I went to Marvin's house to check my blood pressure on his wrist cuff. I checked it twice at both times it was in the 160/100 range. Way too high, especially for someone who typically has low blood pressure issues. I immediately called the doctor and asked what I needed to do. Emergency room? Was I dying? What the heck was going on?

She prescribed some fluid pills, told me to eat bananas, and call if anything changed. I  went to the pharmacy to pick up the prescription and grabbed my own blood pressure cuff. Before heading into the grocery store to get the bananas, I checked my blood pressure on the new cuff. 104/68. Completely normal for me. I checked again. Normal.

Another check when I got home. Normal. Thirty minutes later. Normal. Each time I checked on this cuff, it was totally fine. And the swelling in my ankles had gone down. What was happening?

I honestly have no idea. I have never had high blood pressure in my life. I've also never seen my ankles so swollen. Was Marvin's cuff wrong? Did I do the test wrong? Was the ankle swelling completely unrelated to blood pressure? It would appear so. All subsequent blood pressure checks have been in my normal range. My ankles have returned to normal. I'm feeling fine.

I plan to have tests run at the doctor's just to make sure that nothing is going on. The swelling can be concerning, considering it may imply kidney, liver, or heart issues. All of which tested normal in June at my last endo check up. I return to the endo in October so she can continue to run tests.

The jury is out as to the ankle swelling. Could it have been salty food that I didn't realize was that salty? Was it the new job and having to stand on my feet more than normal and wearing heels for so many hours each day? Is it something to be worried about?

I have no idea. I suspect the job and standing issue mixed with salt. I feel fine in all other areas. No shortness of breath. No back pain. No sluggishness. Nothing to suggest a bigger problem. That being said, I still plan to take it as easy as possible this week. Wear flats at work, try to stay off my feet as much as possible, and make sure my diet is perfect. Hopefully it's just a one time thing and my blood pressure stays within normal range (I also plan to retest on Marvin's cuff just to see what comes up).