Have you ever had one leg significantly more swollen than the other? Did you find out the cause? How was it resolved?

Did you have any trauma?

Several times. Usually cellulitis, usually treated with antibiotics.

I wrecked bad during a motorcycle race once. Right leg had some noticeable swelling.

@jca Nope. No trauma.

@bandit

Did they figure out what caused the cellulitis in the first place?

Hubby has, after a trauma. Usually mosh-pit or work related. A day or two of RICE clears it up.

Does the swollen leg hurt? Is it red? Warm? Or, the skin is normal and you are just swollen? Where on your leg? The entire leg? Your ankles and feet?

Doesn’t hurt much to speak of. Uncomfortable but nothing more. Not warm or red. (Those are all things more characteristic of a blood clot.)

Pretty much the whole leg but not the ankles or feet are swollen. The knee more so but that’s been true for years since there’s no more cartilage left and down to bone on bone.

That’s probably why I didn’t notice it sooner (until I put on shorts on Fri.) because I’m so used to seeing the knee swollen about twice what’s normal for years.

@Seek

Yeah, that’s why I tend to avoid mosh pits altogether :)

Cellulitis would be painful and likely have redness too, not just a DVT. When I have had cellulitis it has been very painful, and grows very quickly.

My guess is maybe a cyst ruptured. Maybe a cyst near your knee, since you have trouble with your knee. The fluid could cause some swelling, but would be absorbed eventually. The fluid would run down the leg. How long has the leg been swollen?

That’s all just a guess. I’m not a doctor as you know.

Were you aware of a cyst by any chance?

Wouldn’t a cyst show up on a DOPPLER ultrasound?

If it burst maybe it wouldn’t. There is a special type of cyst that forms at the knee. I think it’s the back of the knee? I think people with arthritis in the knee are more prone to it. I could try to google a little for you. My knowledge on this is very sketchy.

I’m assuming that there’s not much that could be done if it were a cyst?

Do you know what caused your cellulitis?

I found this regarding a cyst. It looks like it’s called a Baker’s cyst. I used to get a cyst on my wrist. Maybe it’s the same type of thing. It doesn’t say if it is diagnosable if it has already burst, but I think you will be interested in the information it does provide.

My cellulitis was twice from ant bites on my foot, and once from a bee sting on my foot. I now am careful to wash my feet well, and I think it helps. I think maybe it was bacteria on my skin. I’m not sure. I’ve never had cellulitis on my arms or legs when I have been bitten or stung there. It’s brutal! In my cases it grew a centimeter every 12 hours if left untreated. The bites were years apart. It hasn’t happened again in over 12 years.

@JLeslie

That was a really helpful article and I’ll definitely be asking ny doc about that when I speak with him tomorrow.

Thanks for that link.

I would wonder if it were lymphoma.

^^I hope not. I didn’t know swelling was a sign of that. I always think of it as swelling of the lymph nodes, not a large section of a limb. I guess that would show up in blood work, right? Anemia or something? I know very little about lymphoma. Wouldn’t the OP feel sick? Very tired?

Re: cellulitis – each time I have had this, I have asked “why, what caused it” – and each time the answer is -“you never know. A germ infects a cell, but the germ could come from anywhere at any time. No way to track it down.

^^My cellulitis episodes had a definite “event” that got it started, but I’ve heard of people just seemingly having it start from nowhere. Does it reoccur in the same place every time?

@JLeslie – no. different places over the years. Always on limbs (arms, legs) but not the same ones.

@elbanditoroso That seems so odd to me. Do you have diabetes? Like I said, you’re not the only person I’ve heard having this sort of thing happen, so I don’t doubt it happens. What I’m not clear about is whether there actually is some sort of break in the skin you were unaware of (very possible) or it just starts up without injury?

No diabetes.