Blood clot at 4 weeks

[pasinvabch]

Well, I did not think it would happen to me, but it did.
I had some discomfort in my calf, then the leg swelled up then pain in the entire leg from thigh to ankle. I called the doc and he sent me to do an ultrasound and they just put me in the hospital. I spent 6 days with IV (heparin) and they did an angiogram inyecting solution to try to dissolve the multiple clots I had on the leg. They left the catherer on my leg over night with the solution working and the next day took pictures of the veins and by then(day 4) decided it worked and took it out. The vascular surgeon thinks it cleared the clots. 
I will be on coumadin for at least 6 months, and I have to wear the TED again.....This has been an scary experience,unable to move at all. Now thank God I'm back home since yesterday and I'm able to resume the walk and the exercises. This whole thing is very discouraging since I was doing so well my home care nurse had discharged me a week earlier. I think I waited too many days before calling in and I blame myself for that.
I was walking over 2 miles at day but that is not even close to what I was doing in terms of exercises even with a bad hip.
I get to see them in 2 weeks and I have to get my blood drawn every couple of days to regulate the coumadin.
If anyone has swelling of the leg that does not go away when you ice and elevate, pain(feels like an extreme soreness), redness, call your doctor RIGHT AWAY.
Piedad (excuse my grammar, english is my second language)

[halfdone]

Hi Piedad.  That sounds very scary, uncomfortable and discouraging, but I'm glad the doc and his team have you back in a safer place.  I'm sorry that you had to face a second medical ordeal, and I hope that the recovery goes more smoothly from here.  Good luck.

[newdog]

Piedad,

I'm glad the problem was found and you are safe. I too had a blood clot in my left leg about 8 years ago. Deep vein thrombosis or DVT for short. I had the exact same symptoms you had. I was 48 years old and was running 2-3 miles a day. It was misdiagnosed and it went on for at least two more weeks. I was very lucky it did not move. It turns out I have a blood disorder called prothrombin factor II. It is hereditary. Fortunately I am on the low risk end of the scale of this condition. Very scary and I think about it a lot especially since I had HR surgery. I had to inject myself with the Lovenox type shots for 30 days after surgery instead of the routine 10 days. Now I take aspirin daily as a precaution.

You described the symptoms exactly. Beware fellow hippies and don't hesitate to see a doc if you have the symptoms.

Take care of yourself Piedad, it's a scary thing but you are safe now.

Steve (newdog)

[phillwad]

Piedad good to hear you are getting better, thanks for shraing the story - it is good to be reminded of what we all need to look for - Phill

[hernanu]

Piedad, really sorry to hear that you've gone through this, but also very glad to hear it's taken care of. Keep your spirits up, the long term recovery will be worth it despite the scare. Thank you for describing it, it will help others to know what to look for.

[Dayton96]

Thanks for the post Piedad.  I'm glad to hear you are on the way to recovery.  Thanks also for telling us what happened.  Once again it is a reminder that hip resurfacing is major surgery and there can be complications, even with good surgeons.

Mac 

[katekosar]

Thanks, Piedad, for the post.  I'd just taken the stoopit magic fingers sox off of my legs late this morning for a "little break" and then put them on after a couple of hours.  Guess now I'll be keeping them on.  They sure do rub on my left ankle, though.  Heavier socks, maybe?

Glad they got yours in time and that you are safe.

Kate