My Day at the Hospital
 

So for a little over a week I had been having calf pain in one leg and thought (hoped) it might just be a combination of riding and weight training that was bothering me, but yesterday I was getting nervous because it definitely didn't feel like a muscular issue and I had blood clots in that same leg once before following knee surgery. So I go to bed, wake up this morning and there was zero question in my mind when I stood up what the problem was.

So I go to my primary care physician (because you can't breathe near another doctor's office without a referral) and they refer me to get vein dopler done later in the afternoon at a specialist's office. They do their thing (which is actually pretty cool because you can both see and hear the blood in your veins) and tell me I should go to the ER. It's 4pm. I go to the ER, sit in the waiting room until 7:30 a doctor sees me and goes over the report sent over by the specialist and tells me that they don't want to treat me, but would rather see how it progresses and then determine in a few days whether to treat me or not, but would be happy to prescribe me pain medicine (WTF were talking about bloodclots here not a sprained wrist?!?!). So I essentially say I am not comfortable with that decision and he really needs to get a second opinion. So they do their own test, bloodwork etc. and the doctor comes back and says that I did actually have a very serious clot and that they are going to continue treatment.

What if I hadn't spoken up and just went home?! :zz:

Nowadays people have to be pro-active about their health, and speak up to doctors who play down therapies to be on the safe side! Glad it worked out for you.

DVT or Deep Venous Thrombosis of a leg is treated with anticoagulants when:

1) It occurs above the knee because of the chance of the clot embolizing (breaking off) and causing a pulmonary embolus which is a much more serious problem

2) You have a history of previous clots and have evidence of a clot on doppler
In truth without the previous study to compare it to there is no way of knowing whether this clot has changed at all

In your case if this truly is a second clot in this location you should be anticoagulated for life. In addition you should have a workup for hypercoagulable state to see if there is another reason why you are clotting. There are newer approaches to the clot where vascular surgeons are trying to remove the clot and shorten the period of anticoagulation. GL with this...

a hospital stay sucks... hope ur better soon. U can probably imagine what care would have been like wading thru those w/their new susidized health care cards looking for nothing but a lunch. and they hungry so f' ur clot.

You'd be high on pain meds?

Get well and unclotted Sighty.

Also do not, i repeat, do not take the pipe in the ass in Illinois!! A friend of ours had it done and came home and nearly bled to death. :{>:

I fall under scenario 2. The position this doctor seemed to be taking until they did their own doppler was that I was young and fit and therefore shouldn't be at risk despite having a previous history of 3 dvts developing after my surgery. After doing thier own tests he was singing a very different tune though.

The odd thing is, 3 months ago I got a new doctor and they ordered full blood work when I told them of my history and nothing showed up. I did just fly, but I exercise like a maniac so you would think my circulation would be good although I do have slight varicose..

Thanks for the well wishes! First thing I'm going to do is find a good doctor for this sort of issue and hope my HMO pays for it. :o

If the clots above the knee you should be treated.....

Oh they did finally put me on treatment once I made them do another test. My roommate is petrified that she has to give me a shot in my stomach twice a day. :D

Lovenox .....easier than coumdin

A pill is way easier than a shot! But, they put me on coumidin too.

damn you're old

Sage advice.

Glad you're doing okay, Sightseek - hope you are able to get back to riding soon!

Coumadin is an okay drug that works and really is a lot easier than Lovenox. I've been on coumadin for years as I have a mechanical heart valve. Getting a regular INR protine test while taking it is very important to keep the dosage in balance. Good luck and here's hoping you're back in the irons soon.:)

Don't anyone ever ignore leg pain. I did, and it cost me dearly. Jan. 9, 2008, I had a stroke. Totally paralyzed on my left side. I was with my husband when it happened, and he got me to ER within 10 minutes. Anyone who has had a stroke has a 2 hour window to get treatment. I was lucky. The paralysis lasted 3 hours, and then I was fine again. But, they didn't let me out of the hospital until 3 days later. Did all kinds of tests. Cat scan showed nothing, but MRI did.

I do not fit the profile for a stroke - don't smoke, don't drink much, no high blood pressure, no diabetes, cholesterol is well under 200, no family history, etc., etc., etc. I asked my doctor how come. He said that 20% of stroke victims do not fit the stroke profile.

I'm on Plavix and Crestor - even though my cholesterol #'s were good, they put me on it anyway. No one would notice I had any aftereffects from the stroke, but I notice I have some balance issues.

Take care everyone, and never take your health for granted.

That had to be really scary, I'm glad the paralysis was only temporary.

Illinois?!~ Hmmmmm! I could make a political comeback to that, but I won't.;)

If you're talking about a colonoscopy, don't anyone over the age of 50 neglect having one in spite of advice to the contrary.

Here is a very funny message from Dave Barry on the subject along with a very serious message.

http://www.unsolvedmysteries.com/usm...man%20Interest

It was, and I'm glad, too. Hope all continues well with you. Be pro-active and insist if you think your caregivers are blowing you off.

Glad you went to the doctor.