Wife got a call from Dr. today..

[crustychief]

.. His nurse called my cell trying to get a hold of Mrs. Crusty. I gave them her cell number because they said it was "interrupt her at work" urgent. Wife calls me a couple of minutes ago to tell me she is on the way home early.

Her leg has been bothering her for a couple of weeks, they did some tests in the office with no findings. The Dr. sent her to the imaging lab late on Friday.

She has a clot in her leg. She is 42 otherwise very healthy. Should I be worried? I googled and the stories are all over the board. Sorry, just had to let it out. I would like to hear from anyone with personal experience in this.

[Shadetree930]

Originally Posted by crustychief

She has a clot in her leg. Should I be worried?

Only if it breaks loose and kills her.

[Paul_Heery]

I had a DVT a few years back. They can be nasty, but with proper and timely treatment, the damage can be controlled.

They kept me in bed in the hospital for 5 days and I wan't allowed to move much. The fear was the clot breaking loose and winding up in my heart.

Best wishes.

[red-beard]

My next door neighbor, his father had clot issues. They put in a strainer just in front of the heart. Good thing too! He'd be dead otherwise.

[tabs]

No laughing matter. My approach is psychological, others may deal with the medical end. This should scare the pi$$ out ya and your wife just as if some one is pumpin off AK rounds past yer head. Knowledge and self awareness is the key to survival as it is fore warned is fore armed...so ya can roll with the punches.

I believe that everything will work out just fine with your wife and yourself.

[Hydrocket]

Do exactly as they say. When they say stay off your feet, DO IT. When they say don't rush it, LISTEN TO THEM.

This certainly can be fixed, but don't fool around with this. The consequences could be dire.

[pavulon]

As stated, the concern w/ deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a significant chunk of it breaking loose and heading north...through the heart to the lungs->pulmonary embolism->potentially causing problems that start with dramatically deceasing lung perfusion w/ blood and inadequate oxygen pickup/CO2 drop off for exhalation. A big enough free clot is a show stopper. Treatment frequently involves slow clot dissolving w/ anti-coagulants and evaluation for cause. There are lots of them that show up across the nation everyday and most resolve without issue. Still, they are nothing to mess with. Good Luck!!

[azasadny]

Originally Posted by Hydrocket

Do exactly as they say. When they say stay off your feet, DO IT. When they say don't rush it, LISTEN TO THEM.

This certainly can be fixed, but don't fool around with this. The consequences could be dire.

Good advice here!

[gshase]

We lost my wife's dad because he would not go to the Doctor. Be happy you caught it and it is treatable. Good luck and remember you have just increased your work load because she will require some down time.

[Outback Porsche]

It would depend upon where in the leg the DVT is. My wife had DVT in her calf at about the same age a few years ago. I do not recall any prescription for inactivity or the Dr's being worried about any pieces breaking away and being a problem. I believe they commented that it would have been different if the DVT was in her thigh.

It took a long time for the rat poison to get her INR stabilized. What did help was a glass of red wine with dinner each day (a nurse told her that this may help). To this day she still 'self medicates'.

As she is a very active person and we hadn't flown any long flights for some time when it occurred, Dr's suspected that the DVT was as a result of her being on birth control for many many many years. The impact for me was attacking myself with a blunt butter knife (was making sure it'll never work again).

Hope she recovers quickly.

[matt f]

Originally Posted by pavulon

As stated, the concern w/ deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a significant chunk of it breaking loose and heading north...through the heart to the lungs->pulmonary embolism->potentially causing problems that start with dramatically deceasing lung perfusion w/ blood and inadequate oxygen pickup/CO2 drop off for exhalation. A big enough free clot is a show stopper. Treatment frequently involves slow clot dissolving w/ anti-coagulants and evaluation for cause. There are lots of them that show up across the nation everyday and most resolve without issue. Still, they are nothing to mess with. Good Luck!!

agree 100%
approx 7 weeks ago i thought i pulled an intercostal (rib) muscle.
waited for 3 days for it to resolve.
pain then radiated over left kidney, thought it was kidney stone.
waited 3 days for it to pass.
1am day 6 could not breath, talk, stand, sit or lay down.
i was the potrait with the caption, " dont' know whether to sh't or go blind".
ambulance scraped me off the floor.
3 DVT's in left calf, one to middle of left lung, one to upper lobe of right lung.
happy ending.
4 days hospital, self administered injections of lovenox for 10 days, 10mg coumadin daily as per INR (bloodwork) values.
follow up is ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING my pulmonologist and hemotologist tell me.
when i went to thank the EMT's 2 weeks later at the firehouse they were shocked.
one reason was that i was alive and the second reason was they said i was the first patient ever to take the time to stop and thank them.
you and your wife are fortunate it was detected and by following Drs orders her prognosis should be excellant.
i send all positive thoughts and prayers to you both.

[Hugh R]

Originally Posted by Outback Porsche

As she is a very active person and we hadn't flown any long flights for some time when it occurred, Dr's suspected that the DVT was as a result of her being on birth control for many many many years.

On planes, get up and walk often. Get a vasectomy. It only mildly hurts for a day or so. Advil takes 99% of the discomfort away, and the best part is you are ready for it NOW!

[Nostril Cheese]

Get her to the hospital immediately. It can be treated very easily, however it can get bad really quickly. She will likely be on an anti-coagulant med for some time after.

[85eurocarrera]

I assume they will do a whole body scan/check to make sure there's no more? when docs found my renal aneurism via mri, they checked my whole body scan to look for more.

Hang out with her, I was scared thinking ( and it was possible ) that my aneurism would burst and I'd be toast. it took 2 weeks till I was fixed. I was very fortunate the er doc was insisted I needed an mri as I was/am a relatively healthy person. I happened to be your wifes age at the time.

good luck..I'm sure everything will work out well!

[tweezers74]

As stated, the concern w/ deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a significant chunk of it breaking loose and heading north...through the heart to the lungs->pulmonary embolism->potentially causing problems that start with dramatically deceasing lung perfusion w/ blood and inadequate oxygen pickup/CO2 drop off for exhalation. A big enough free clot is a show stopper. Treatment frequently involves slow clot dissolving w/ anti-coagulants and evaluation for cause. There are lots of them that show up across the nation everyday and most resolve without issue. Still, they are nothing to mess with. Good Luck!!

This. DVTs (blood clots) are a common diagnosis but yes, can be life threatening. Get her in for treatment immediately. And Outback Porsche is right. Considering her young age and if she is active, birth control pills can be a likely cause. Smoking and takin birth control pills increases your chances as well.

Hope your wife gets well soon.

[mikeesik]

I'm so sorry for your worry.
It makes it worse when it's someone you love rather than yourself.
I used to know that. I do still remember.
Take care of her......and yourself.

Best.

[ElmerBento]

They can be nasty, but with proper and timely treatment

[crustychief]

Thank you all for the support.
The doc finally called her back to go over a couple of things. It is in her lower calf. He wants her to keep it somewhat elevated and he prescribed Naproxin . The imaging tech said no DVT when she was there on Friday ( my wife is a nurse and coaxed the tech ). The Doc says it is a small, early clot. She goes tomorrow for some more tests but the Doc is confident it will resolve in a couple of days. She doesn't drink or smoke but does take birth control. I guess it is time to say goodbye to my vasa deferentia.

[NY65912]

I had a few DVT after back surgery in '94, 6 hours in a fetal position jig. They broke loose and went to my lung, not good.

I had to have a titanium umbrella filter (Greenfield) installed in my Vena Cava to filter out any new clots. I was put on Coumadin for 6 months.

I have had phlebitis, a superficial clot, and wear a compression sock for that bad leg, varicose veins. I woke up one morning and had a golf ball in my right calf. It was hot to the touch and my leg ached something fierce. It took about six weeks to get better. I had to elevate and use hot compresses and take a NSAID.

Thankfully it is not a DVT, sounds superficial,and the beginning of phlebitis. Was her leg feeling heavy and very tired, especially at night?

Good Luck!

[Tobra]

Be very glad it was caught early, do what they tell you. When she is over this, buy her some support stockings to wear on long trips, car or plane, and make her use them. As Mr R said, get up and walk on airplane trips, stop and get out of the car periodically in car trips. The heavy, tired or cramping is frequently an arterial issue, also very serious.

BTW Hugh, you really should be using support stockings on your frequent plane trips.

I take half an aspirin a day, just because. I have no risk factors and no family history. Had a patient with no risk factors or history up and die on me after they got their hip replaced, and it sort of freaked me out a bit.

She will be fine Chief, give her a kiss and a hug for all of us. If she turns the pillow so the long axis is parallel to her leg, it will be more comfortable for her, small pillow at lower back will help with the back if it bothers her sitting like that.

Make her drink more fluids, or rather, encourage her to do so.