On Monday, I woke up with a pain in my left calf. I've have leg cramps before, so I brushed it off as a tight muscle and figured I would stretch it out during the day and it would go away.
I stretched it out during the day, but nothing seemed to help. And when I woke up Tuesday morning, the pain was worse. As the day progressed yesterday, I discerned that the pain in my left was a bit different from a sore muscle. In fact, there is one spot in particular which I can touch with my index finger, that seems the most sore. I started considering the possibility of DVT.
I take BCP's and I know that DVT can be caused by them. Plus, I know your chances of getting it can increase if you've had a surgical procedure or if you've been off your feet for a while. Well, two weeks ago I had shock wave lithotripsy done and was resting for about 4 days.
So this morning, I looked up the symptoms of DVT. There were 10 major symptoms listed and I'm experiencing the following 6:
- Swelling
- Localized pain (constant or intermittent)
- Tenderness
- A tight or heavy sensation in the leg
- Unusual firmness or hardness in the leg
- Calf discomfort upon dorsiflexion, or flexing the foot towards the knee
I feel like a hypochondriac, and if this turns out to be nothing, I am going to be so embarrassed. But at the same time, it's not unreasonable to think that DVT is a possibility. I called the doctor about 15 minutes ago and made and appointment for tonight at 5 PM.
Am I overreacting?
Edited to Add: Has anyone else experienced deep vein thrombosis?
So, I saw my doctor last night around 5:30. I really expected him to “poo-poo” my complaints and brush them off, but he didn’t. He said that my symptoms could be from a number of causes but that they were consistent with deep vein thrombosis. Plus, because I take BCP’s (which can cause DVT) and had been on bed rest for a couple days (which can also contribute), it made that possibility stronger.
He said that they do a blood test and ultrasound of the leg to check for DVT. However, the radiology department at the hospital had closed at 4 p.m., so we couldn’t get the ultrasound. He had me go to the hospital for emergency bloodwork, which meant going to the actual laboratory down in the basement of the hospital. They had me sit in one of their office chairs, got some blood, and sent me on my way.
He had indicated on the requisition form to run the test “Stat” and call him with the results. He had instructed me to go straight home and wait by the phone for the results. If it was positive for DVT, he wanted me to go straight to the ER. If it was negative, we would have the ultrasound the next day to confirm that it wasn’t a blood clot.
He called me around 7:30, and said that the blood work did not indicate a blood clot. Whew!!!!. He told me to call his office at 8:30 this morning (which I already did) to have them schedule an ultrasound for me today. I’m still waiting for them to call me back with what time I need to go.
Will update after I have the ultrasound, but for now, it looks like I’m okay. My leg is really killing me today – as much as yesterday, and I took some pain medication this morning for it. I really would like to know what the cause of this pain is.
I am new here and saw your post which prompted me to become a member. I too had these symptoms of DVT, had the u/s (they scanned my whole leg - I wore shorts thinking that would be ok...no I had to put a gown on, so be prepared just in case :-)) any way it turned out fine. I was diagnosed with an infection...how I got it I do not know, but too was on BCP and had just had a baby 2 months prior. Does your skin look bruised where it is bothering you? Mine was and hot to the touch also swollen.
I hope all turns out well for you. Keep us updated.
I ended up in the hospital for two weeks as they were scared that it was going to travel to my lungs. If it is a blood clot they will most likely put you on warfrin and injections to thin the blood.
Let me know what they say.
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I had one too back in 2001. I had started to take birthcontrol pills 6 months prior to the dvt development in my leg. My body had a bad reaction to it. So no more BCP's for me.
As for my symptoms, I had excruciating pain in my calf and it was very swollen. I even thought it was just a muscle spasm gone bad. I went to the ER and they did a Vascular Scan or Dopler (ultrasound of my legs) They start from inside your groin and work there way down through the inside of your leg and calf. If you are a thicker cyster, you might experience some pain from the pressure of the probe on your skin. You will have to put a gown on, but the room is dimly lit if you are worried about them seeing anything. The technician should be very discreet.
When i was diagnosed, they put me on Heprin via IV for three days. I then took coumadin for 1 year. During that time, i had bloodwork done often to measure my PT and INR levels to make sure i was taking the correct dose of coumadin. If you do have a DVT, they may give you a shot of Lovenox, which is a blood thinner.
The doc told me that if i sit down with my legs straight infront of me, and if i flex my toes back towards me and feel pain in my calf, it's a possible sign of dvt.
Make sure to get a dopler of your legs. It will give you much peace of mind to know either way. This is something not to be taken lightly...if you do have a dvt, it can affect the rest of your life.
Good luck and keep us posted!
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So I had the ultrasound on Friday and the doctor performing it told me that there was no sign of DVT.
Don't get me wrong - I am relieved that it's not a blood clot - but I am also discouraged that I still don't know what is wrong with my leg. Yesterday morning, I noticed that the pain has subsided considerably, and I could walk with just a slight limp. I thought "Finally - it's getting better!" By evening though, my leg was aching and throbbing and I could barely walk. I didn't do anything that should have made it worse, so I'm very puzzled. Today it still hurts a lot and I'm back to limping.
I need to schedule a follow-up appointment with my doctor but considering he is just a "family doctor", I don't think how helpful he will be. I'll guess we'll see.
Gnzls924, I know what you mean about when they apply pressure to your leg. The doctor who performed the ultrasound had warned me ahead of time that I might experience some discomfort. It wasn't horrible, but there were definately a couple of times where I couldn't help but grimace because of it.
This whole scare has made me reconsider taking my BCP's. I've been on them for two years. Does the risk of developing a bloodcot from them decrease the longer you take them, I wonder?
So glad to hear that the u/s turned out ok. I know what you mean about being confused not knowing what it is. that is what happened to me.
I too was on bcp at the time it happened, and my doctor said that my leg problem had nothing to do with them. I stopped taking them on my own for fear that it was and didn't want to go through the pain in my leg again (and haven't had that problem since). Like you mentioned, mine too was better on some days than others. I too was limping and on some "bad" days practically dragging my right leg. It took at least a month before I was feeling "better." Since then I have only had very minor pain there and my leg still looks a bit bruised from it (mine happend in Sept 2003).
Did they give you any muscle relaxers or pain medication? I took some and they seemed to help a bit, but once they wore off the pain was right back.
Hang in there! Rest when you can and keep it elevated. I was told that would help.
Well I am relieved to read that the dopler didn’t reveal a dvt. Did you go to the hospital to have it done? Was it done by the vascular department? Those technicians are trained specifically for venous scans. If you did have it done at the hospital, they would have a qualified doctor read the results and prepare a report for your family doctor.
As for BCP’s, I tried them without my primary doctor’s approval. The gyne I had at the time (I have since changed) just gave them to me because I asked for them. When I developed the DVT, my primary doc said that he would not prescribe them to me because although he knew my cycles were irregular, I was overweight and was probably storing a lot of estrogen, and I had hypertension. I was surprised he knew that much.
fyi...
Although I don’t smoke, it is a big “no! no!” when you are on bcp’s. That will cause blood clots.
Good luck and keep me posted!
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This may be a shot in the dark. But recently, i have experienced this. I was experiencing pain and swelling in my leg. I went in for a dopler, and it was negative (no dvt) but the pain was still there...it turned out to be a stress fracture in my foot. The pain went all the way up my leg.
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born and at rest on November 30, 2004.
Lived only 30 precious minutes...(IC at 20 weeks) Forever in our hearts, Together in our dreams.
We now live our life for you. We love you Matthew, our little Angel.
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Scared I Might Have DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) 
I have had one... 
