Accepted Answer

Thanks for the additional information. Sorry, your "already tried" posted after I had asked for more info. A Baker's (popliteal) cyst develops behind the knee due to excess joint fluid in the knee, often caused by osteoarthritis. This fluid can go down the leg and cause swelling. Treatment is removal of the excess joint fluid by aspiration, and anti-inflammatory medication like Advil and possibly corticosteroids. While it isn't impossible to have Baker's cysts in both knee joints at once, it isn't common. Caffeine at the level you take it isn't likely to have much to do with the situation.

 

Other reasons for edema (swelling) in the legs are congestive heart failure, and chronic venous insufficiency. The latter is a problem with the valves in the veins of the legs that allow blood to pool in the extremities rather than closing at the relaxation phase of the heart cycle. The fluid components of the blood leak out into the tissue and cause swelling. Treatment for this is to wear compression hose and keep the feet above heart level as much as possible. Your vascular specialist would have ruled this out with a duplex ultrasound or venogram.

 

http://www.vascularweb.org/patients/NorthPoint/Chronic_Venous_Insufficiency.html

 

Expert:	Schuyler_ANP
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Answered:	1/16/2009

Nurse Practitioner

Board Certified Nurse Practitioner, MS, RN. Private practice and hospitalist experience.