Swollen ankle and red lower leg at eight weeks

[lgbran]

Hi folks,
Was going great until yesterday,
Down to 1 crutch and purchased a walking stick , tried it and a tad proppy.
Had difficulties getting into car so stupid me tried to get in using operated leg first.Tried again the proper way once car was driven out of parking bay,walked up.and down a dozen stairs with a crutch
By the end of the day to my horror my lower ankle and foot had swollen, was red, felt hot and when I took my crocks off I could see how badly my foot, lower leg was swollen. I propped the leg up overnight and though swollen it appeared to have eased by morning.  I awoke and my leg is sore, spent  a short time on my feet using the crutch and here I am lying down, feet propped and the lower leg is tight, sore and swollen.
Hopefully a short term thing.From what I can gather I'm in for a long slow recovery.Listening to my body buts it's not a happy camper today.

[Kevin Warr]

Hi Ig

I am at 3 1/2 weeks and have started driving again as of yesterday and have been in and out of the car a number of times. It is difficult to swivel legs into drivers seat but I went slowly and it went ok, I just had to support the leg with my hands. Just make sure when you go park somewhere you have plenty of room to open the door to swing your legs out. See my other post on "Swollen". I am down to one crutch now and is OK but am starting to here some clicking noise, which is surposed to be normal.
Hopefully, the swelling goes away quickly for you.

Kev

[lgbran]

Thanks  Kev
I thnk you get to a stage where you get cocky.something like this gives you a reality check.It certainly hasn't been smooth sailing. I took it easy today, slept for a few hours and 24 hours since I noticed it it's still swollen and red. Off to the physio tomorow for hydrotherapy and if it doesn't go down in a couple of days will go and see the quack. The impression I get from the forum is if you do something which doesn't agree with your hip, it takes days to get over it and sets you back a bit. I am sure this is one of the few dips in the road I will have. I will just have to be more careful. The clicking is quite normal. From what I can gather if you stay hydrated it helps a lot and with time as well. It's still early days for both of us,
Cheers

[hernanu]

Sounds like a standard hippy setback, Len.

You're taking the right steps, elevate and ice, cut it back until your body says ok. It's a marathon, not a sprint, we hit walls along the way.

The clicking (or clunking) is normal and should abate with time. At any time though, harass your surgeons office to get feedback from them, I did - you'll find they love you for it  , but

I figured it's their job and they have the perspective to see a real problem if it pops up.

[lgbran]

Hello folks,
Went to my GP this morning, who recommended a ultrasound to ascertain if their were any problems. Tha chap conducting the ultrasound had a BHR performed this 6 years ago.
So after a bit  of prodding with the ultrasound I was asked what I had planned for the rest of the day, so I responded I should here from my GP in a few hours time to find out a result.

So shortly after received a phone call from my GP, advised me go to ER as they had found a small clot below the knee and a large clot in the upper thigh, so despite doing everything right here I sit in hospital for a few days. My leg didn't feel right over the past 3 or so days, so dont be afraid to go with your gut instinct. This is a minor bump in the road. My hip itself feels absolutely marvelous. Will keep you updated. Will be on warfarin for quite a while and having 2 jabs in my stomache over the next 5 days.
24 hours ago was having a absolute ball in the hydrotherapy pool. Looking forward to getting over this little hurdle

[mari]

I love your optimism, lgbran!  Happy recovery!

[hernanu]

It's great you caught it early Len. That was the reason my surgeon went with the TEDs and a daily large dose of aspirin.

Clots are a definite peril early. Nice 'tude and keep it up.

[lgbran]

Must admit it's floored me a bit,
Wore the TED stockings religiously , did all the right things and even took the aspirin for an extra week after the surgeon said it was o.k.  to stop.Only managed a couple of hours sleep last night. The hip itself is magic, no dramas at all, the leg itself is quite sore. Anyway gotta keep positive and I am in the best place for treatment . Will let you know when I'm up and running:)
Cheers

[Jnick]

So is TEDs and aspirin standard practice where you are? I'm in the US and was prescribed 30 days of a drug called xarelto. It's oral and doesn't require INR monitoring like warfarin and is an oral drug unlike Lovenox which is a sub-q injection. Just curious if these agents aren't standard of practice outside the US. And I happen to be a pharmacist that teaches at a University.

[Pat Walter]

lgbran

Good Luck to you.  Thanks for your post.  Seems blood clots are popping up more often.  It helps for people to read your story.  I always tell people to be conservative and check with their doctors when there is a lot of swelling and pain that seems more than normal surgery problems.

Blood clots don't happen often, but everyone needs to be aware of them and watch for them.

I hope you will be back on track with your recovery soon.

Pat

[Kevin Warr]

Hello Jnick

My surgeon in Brisbane recommends TEDS or SKINS (surgical tights) for a period 4-6 weeks and also to take Xarelto until I run out of the script aprox 5 weeks for the blood clotting.
I am at 4 weeks today (62 years old) and getting stronger daily. I have stepped my exercise program to be doing 10 different exercises X 15 reps 3 times a day and now walking 30 mins 3 times daily. I still have a lot of stiffness where the surgery was and some in my groin but is bearable.
I have gone of Panadol Osteo and Tramdol and am just taking Ferro Grad C ( iron tablets and xarelto). When I wake up at night and am pain I may pop a Pandine Forte.

Igbran

Do the doctors say what might have caused the clot ??

How long do you think it will put you abck and what other precautions do they want you to take eg: Wearing your TEDS again and for how long. I was going to stop wearing mine this weekwnd but now I think I will go back to them for a couple more weeks.

Kev

[lgbran]

Hello Pat, Kev and the rest of the crew,
My local GP seems to think that the clot was there all along.Once the asprin and TED stockings were ceased it came to a head.
48 hours in hospital, blood samples taken every day to.ascertain, thickness, thinness of blood, that have to get it right.2 x daily jabs with some medicine to thin the clots as quickly as possible.
Home tomorow and visits daily by home nurse for a daily jab in the stomache.This will cease once the warfarin kicks in.Will be on warferin for 3 to 6 months with weekly blood tests.Also getting measured up for some different compression socks and leg to remain in horizontal position?Although I have private health cover because I was admitted via ER I am in a public hospital.
Before long my stomache will resemble a pin cushion with the amount of jabs . Bed bound for the next 24 hours.DVT is quite painful once it really kicks in.Just the luck of the draw

[Kevin Warr]

Heh Ig

Gees mate that doesn't sound too good......grrrr bet you are pissed.. Hope it goes smoothly moving forward. I am not a needle fan but we do what we have too..

My latest problem is I developed a really bad tooth ache on Saturday and it has taken over the pain from my hip. Trying to get to dentist this morning. Nothing worse than a toothache and the pain killers don't seem to be helping much.

Then comes the pain in the hip pocket........!!!!!!

Kev

[lgbran]

9 weeks to the day that I had my surgery. Hard to forget given it was rememberence day.
Discharged yesterday and given a show bag full of meds. Every day have to take warfarin and given an injection by a home nurse.They have to get the balance right between bleeding and clotting. The ideal number is between 2-3.At the moment it's 1. Advised to do no excercise or physio for 2 weeks, to keep feet elevated and limit time on feet. Will have to go in and get special compression stockings.
Apparently it's common with this surgery tho the paperwork from my surgeon states they have had 0.03 % of DVT over the years. I was really active and have been for years cycling regurarly , swimming and former runner. Week before op cycled 200 ks and swam lots. They seem to think its from doing lots to doing very little. The strange thing is I can feel the volts moving at times.So it's set me back a bit. On a positive side it's easier to get off the couch now, I managed to sit on a normal toilet seat with no riser needed in hospital and I managed to lie on my operated side. The Australian Open starts today so will kickback and follow drs orders.

[hernanu]

Well Len, several of us have had to restart due to some setbacks. Hope things are good, learn to chill a bit until you get the go ahead.

[Kevin Warr]

Hello All

Another question about tightness around the incision area. Would like to know how long it long to get the stretch back into the leg and what exercises you did to stretch it. It seems really lumpy around the area. I am hoping that is normal.

Len

It is a good time of the year here in OZ with the Australian Open on and of course the One Day series. It helps to take the mind of stuff. Good win last night by the Aussie team over England.
Aussie, Aussie, Aussie,Oi, Oi, Oi, ( Sorry all non Aussies ).
Get well soon. (Oh and how did you know you had clots what were you feeling?

Kev

[Granton]

Kev,

Hmm. I'm a pom visiting Sydney at the moment. And it hurts!

Going to tomorrow's ODI match. If we couldn't win yesterday's, I can't see us winning anything....

[Kevin Warr]

Heh Granton

Well you guys gave us a real pasting in the UK last year...everything goes in cycles...but it was a fab win yesterday. The atmosphere should be electric at the SCG.. but go Aussie...hahahaha

Kev