Anyone ever had a blood clot?

[Luv Bunnies]

I've been having pain in my calf for the last week or so. I saw my OB/GYN today for a check-up and I mentioned it to her. She is sending me for an ultrasound tomorrow to rule out a blood clot.

All I have is pain. It's worse in one spot but sometimes other areas of my leg hurt, too. I don't have any swelling, redness or warm spots. The doctor said she doesn't think it's necessarily a blood clot but she has to rule it out before going any further. She said it could also be muscle pain or a benign widening of the veins.

It's got me a little freaked out, though. Has anyone ever had one? What kind of pain or other symptoms did you have? What was your treatment like? The doctor told me the treatment is a hospital stay on IV blood thinners.

Thanks in advance.

 

[honugirl]

I had one once after an ankle reconstruction. It started out as the worst cramp in my calf that I've ever had, then progressed to the point that I could not walk at all and had to crawl to the bathroom, to get food, etc. Standing up was the worst pain imaginable.

I didn't have to do the hospital stay thing. I did lovenox shots in the belly twice a day until my pro-time got up to an acceptable level, plus warfarin pills for several months.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My sister had developed a blood clot after her ankle reconstruction surgery. She did catch it early which if it is a blood clot you did to.

Basically she was put on coumadin for 7 months. She had to get weekly blood testing to check her levels. If your levels are too high you will have bad side effects.

You also are prone to bleeding with this drug. You have restrictions like not being able to have dental procedures or teeth cleanings.

It was a PITA but she got thru it. I took her to get her blood tested alot.

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

I have had DVTs & PEs......I wish she sent you to the ER. I never had red spots or swelling, just pain.

My clots started in my legs but when they shot to my lungs I almost lost my life.
I had intensive medication therapy for years & major life changes.

Good Luck!

 

[LindaM]

I had one in my thigh, it all started very quickly. I started having pain around 1am by 5am my DH had me in the ER. My leg swell and was really red, and I was very uncomfortable. I ended up in the hospital for 14 days on coumadin through IV, after that I was on the pill form for 8 months with weekly blood tests for 3 months.

Good luck, hope all works out for you.

 

[Scurvy]

I had a clot in my arm. As LindaM said, it happened really fast. I was fine and then my arm started looking a little red and swollen. Within half an hour I looked like I was wearing a bright red opera glove on one arm and it was really swollen. No real pain, though my hand and arm were very achey, probably from the swelling. I was in the hospital for around a week on IV Heparin. I spent the next year on Coumadin. That part was a pain - I was always covered with bruises, I couldn't use a razor, couldn't eat some things, had to go at least once a week for blood tests. . . but since then I've been fine and I don't have to take the meds any longer, though I do take aspirin often.

 

[ksjayhawks]

I had one. I was doing physical therapy after knee surgery, so favoring that leg and putting more pressure on the other.

Ond day I didn't feel good, so stayed home from work--thank goodness. All of a sudden I had a tremendous pain in my groin in my good leg and I almost went down--I thought I had put too much pressure on my good leg and that I had strained it somehow. I could barely move my leg, it was swollen and red.

My neighbor took me to the emergency room (dh was traveling in Canada). They took one look at my leg and the next thing I was getting an ultrasound, then upstairs to a room before admitting papers were filled out.

A short time later they came in, took my water away, put a catheter in and told me I had to lay flat and perfectly still. The dr told me the clot had hit a kink in a vein and burst down my leg--thank goodness!

I had eight hours of intensive treatment over the next two days and they were able to clear 99% of the clot. I had to lay flat on my back the whole time, only have fluids, etc. I was on so much pain medicine that it made me sleepy and I slept alot, thank goodness. I have never had more blood drawn in my life! My arms were black and blue. I was the talk of the lab.

I gave myself the lovenox shots for two weeks. I had to go for daily blood draws for about a month until they got the medicine where it should be. I am on coumadin and have my blood drawn once a month. I still go to the dentist, etc. But even a small cut can bleed a long time. I sliced my finger in January and had to go to the er as it wouldn't stop bleeding. Luckily my count was low, so while it was a steady bleed and wouldn't stop, I was not spurting like I could have been if the count had been too high (I could have lost a lot of blood before we got to the er).

I do have to watch what I eat as too much of certain fruits and vegetables does not set well with the medication and can change my counts. How much medicine I take depends on the results of the blood tests. There are certain medicines==prescription and over the counter that I cannot take.

So, please have this checked out!

It was very scary. I am lucky I am alive.

 

[safetymom]

I had a very very bad one in my leg. It started out feeling like I had pulled something in my calf. I did a heating pad on it for a few days. I woke up one morning and my leg was swollen.

I ended up in the hospital for a week on blood thinners. I was also on them for almost two years.

I am very lucky to be alive. Don't fool around with it. Blood clots are very serious.

 

[Tosie]

My dh had one last year in his lung. It probably started in his leg (he travels so is sitting for long periods of time in the car). The pain was so bad he almost got into an accident (on Rt 80 for any Jersey folks out there - super scary!!)

he was in the hospital for 4 days on IV blood thinners. He was supposed to be on Coumadin when he got home but had a severe allergic reaction so went on Lovenox (the belly shots) instead. Personally, I'd vote for the Lovenox.

Run to the doctor and get this taken care of - it is very serious - my husband is lucky he didn't die in his car.

 

[SingingMUA]

I had a DVT and PE 2 years ago (2 years ago in Dec). I had terrible pain in my calf and behind my knee that I thought was a pulled muscle, and the pain got worse whenever I stood up. After about a week of dealing with the pain I went to the ER, and I was told I had a clot and was admitted right away. They discovered the PE about a day or so later. I was in the hospital for a week on IV Heparin. Then sent home to do Lovenox until the Coumadin (pill form) got to therapeutic levels. Then I stopped the Lovenox. I was home from work for about 2-3 weeks. In my situation, there was no known "cause" of my DVT... no long plane ride, no recent surgery, etc. My hematologist ended up doing a bunch of bloodwork, and I ended up being diagnosed with Lupus. I'm now on Coumadin for the rest of my life (most likely), as well as other meds for Lupus.

 

[mill4023]

My sister had developed a blood clot after her ankle reconstruction surgery. She did catch it early which if it is a blood clot you did to.

Basically she was put on coumadin for 7 months. She had to get weekly blood testing to check her levels. If your levels are too high you will have bad side effects.

You also are prone to bleeding with this drug. You have restrictions like not being able to have dental procedures or teeth cleanings.

It was a PITA but she got thru it. I took her to get her blood tested alot.

While it's true that you have a higher risk of bleeding while on anti-coagulants, the bolded part above is NOT generally true. Teeth cleanings are not a problem. Fillings and other minor work are generally not a problem. If you have to have something major like having a tooth pulled, then the dentist will probably want you to have a blood test before your procedure to make sure your blood isn't too thin. It's also possible that the dentist may talk to your doctor about temporarily lowering your dosage of coumadin or skipping it for a day. In fact, DW just had spinal surgery a couple months ago. They simply had her stop taking coumadin and switch to Lovenox, then take her last Lovenox shot 24 hours before surgery and start taking it again right after surgery.

My DW has been hospitalized 3 times for blood clots, including one time when she had a pulmonary embolism and was in the hospital for a month. She's been on anti-coagulants for the past 14 years and will most likely be on it for the rest of her life. She takes coumadin when she's not pregnant and has to have Lovenox, Fragmin, or some other variant of low molecular weight heparin shots when she's pregnant. While on Coumadin, she gets a protime test about once a month and occasionally has to adjust her dosage.

With DW, she had a clot right after our first child was born. After a couple months, they took her off coumadin and she immediately got her 2nd clot. Her 3rd clot came after our oldest DD was born. DD had to have surgery to remove a tumor when she was 8 days old. So with all the stress, DW wasn't good about remembering to take her coumadin and she got a clot again.

Now that I've scared the OP, let me say that my DW is NOT the norm. The majority of people who have blood clots do not have to stay on coumadin permanently. Most people take it for several months and are then able to stop, without getting another clot.

 

[mamamary]

I had one too. A few years back I noticed a pain in my arm. It wasn't terrible so I ignored it. After a few days I could feel like my vein was sticking out. I had no redness. I happened to have my ob/gyn appt. and I just asked her to take a look at it. Within a few mts. she had me next door getting a sonogram (actually the test had a different name but that's what it basically was). They told me that it was a small clot that was very close to the surface (which was a good thing). All i had to do was take aspirin and within 3 days it was gone. Guess I was lucky.

Good luck to you

 

[apirateslifeforme]

My mother spent a week in hospital for one (and a PE) starting over Labor Day weekend in 1993. She'd been complaining for a few weeks about pain in her calf, and her lower leg was swollen, red, and hot to the touch. She said it felt like a charleyhorse that wouldn't go away and she limped a lot. After a week or two, she also started getting short of breath. Luckily, she had an appointment with her endocrinologist, who has an office in the hospital, and who immediately sent her to radiology, where they discovered the PE as well. She was admitted right away and by the time I got to the hospital, less than two hours later, she'd already been set up on a blood thinner IV (Heparin, I think). She was there for a week while they worked on getting her started and regulated on Coumadin, which she had to take for 6 months. She's been told the only way she'll need to take it again is if she spends more than 2, 2 1/2 hours on an airplane.

Good luck

 

[clovergirl5]

I had 2 superficial ones in a varicose vein in my leg. Once right at the beginning of a pregnancy and once after a c-section. They felt like knots in my leg and felt bruised. The spot was hot too. I just had to elevate legs and take baby aspirin. These were superficial and not serious clots.
I have always heard if when you have a hard time flexing your ankle/foot due to pain in your calf, you should have it checked out ASAP due to big chance it could be a life threatening clot the could travel to lungs. That dr. should have sent you to er.

fyi....I had a friend who would have very painful calves alot. She had a calcium deficiancy. Once on extra calcium, the pain subsided.

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

My sister had developed a blood clot after her ankle reconstruction surgery. She did catch it early which if it is a blood clot you did to.

Basically she was put on coumadin for 7 months. She had to get weekly blood testing to check her levels. If your levels are too high you will have bad side effects.

You also are prone to bleeding with this drug. You have restrictions like not being able to have dental procedures or teeth cleanings.

It was a PITA but she got thru it. I took her to get her blood tested alot.

I was on Coumadin for 4 years...blood tests sometimes 4x a week.
This is a very small bump in the road when you have faced death.....

I had several in my legs & several in my lungs. People complain about the pain in their legs but that is nothing when you can't breath.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Small update - Had an ultrasound of my leg earlier today. The tech said she wasn't allowed to tell me if she saw anything unusual. My doctor will have the results later today and will give me a call. All I can do is wait. Thanks for all the info. It was helpful.

 

[MIGrandma]

A few years ago I noticed a spot on my leg, just above my left knee on my inner thigh. It looked a bit swollen, and was reddish and felt warm to the touch. I had it for a few days but then it "went away" so I forgot about it. When it "went away" it had started traveling in my body and ended up in my lung.

One day all-of-a-sudden I had trouble catching my breath. I could not walk from my couch to the bathroom without huffing and puffing. Went to the doctor and she didn't know what it was but sent me for x-rays, nothing showed up. Said to come back on Friday (this was on a Tuesday if I remember correctly - and I started having trouble breathing on Monday) if it didn't improve. It didn't so I went back. She sent me for a CT scan, and that's when they discovered it.

I was in the hospital 4 days on a heparin drip, having my blood drawn every 6 hours. Then I was on Coumadin for a year, with blood drawn monthly to check the levels.

They said I could have died. A blood clot is nothing to mess around with. If I ever have a problem like that with my leg again I will know to go to the doctor right away and they can do an ultrasound.

They just never suspected a blood clot at first, because of the kind of work I did then. Waitressing. I was on my feet, walking, a lot.

I hope you get good news from your doctor, and that it is not a blood clot. But if it is get it taken care of.

 

[my3sonsagn]

I was diagnosed with one at 12 weeks gestation with my 3rd son. It started as what I thought was a charlie horse but never got better. I went to the er 4 days after it started hurting, but the u/s showed nothing, so they told me to rest it and see an orthopedist if it continued. A few days later I got really short of breath, but I thought it was just from pregnancy. My gp wanted to repeat the u/s (five days after original showed nothing), and there was a massive clot going from my calf up through mid-thigh and also small PEs. They started Lovenox (Coumadin is a no-no if pregnant) and kept me for a few days until it stabilzed. I stayed on Lovenox until after delivery then they switched me to Coumadin until 1 year after the initial "event." I take nothing now; it's just something that would need to be addressed prior to surgeries and long trips.

All that just to say that clots are nothing to mess around with, but when caught early (which if you have one it seems to have been) they are easily treatable.

I hope it all works out ok!

 

[my3sonsagn]

Small update - Had an ultrasound of my leg earlier today. The tech said she wasn't allowed to tell me if she saw anything unusual. My doctor will have the results later today and will give me a call. All I can do is wait. Thanks for all the info. It was helpful.

U/s techs can't say, but there are normally signs; when they found mine I knew something was up when they walked me into the exam room but refused to allow me to walk back out - they brought me a wheelchair. My dr wasn't there, but they got her on the phone while I was waiting. Anyway, I know waiting is tough, but I'd take it as a good sign that they let you leave. ;-)

 

[Desiree]

I had DVT's in both legs and clots. Alot of them. Just stared all of a sudden last July. I couldn't walk; the pain was unbearable. I went to every doctor imaginable and FINALLY got in with a Rheumatologist 3 weeks later. She was the one to discover the DVTs and subsequent clots. So I ended up in the hospital. It was later discovered that I have Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome so now I'm on Coumadin forever.

I pray that no one ever has to endure what I did. I was extremely lucky. I now wear compression stockings all the time. My veins are basically blown now and I deal with constant swelling. But the main thing now is that the pain is gone and I can walk again.