So, I had an appointment with my doctor this week for bloodwork and we talked about possible (very, very minor) PTS symptoms I've been having just in the last six months. Mostly a feeling of tightness and heaviness, with occasional tweaks of pain, that usually come on only when I'm in the shower or after a long drive (1 hr+). As expected, she sent me for an ultrasound to check for possible new clots. We didn't expect to find any, since I'm a lifer and my INR has been steady and even running a little high recently.

As for my background, I had my first (and most serious) DVT in 2005. Did six months on warfarin and moved on. When my second DVT was diagnosed in 2009 (four years later), I was told that the first DVT was still in my leg, although pretty much solidified to the vein wall. My vein was still partially occluded from the first clot (a situation that didn't improve with the second clot) and everyone seemed to expect it would stay that way. I know I've had some other ultrasounds over the years and in all of them, I was told the clots were still in my leg and considered chronic. Although, in all honestly, I have NO idea when the most recent thorough ultrasound was. (I had a cursory one done two years ago, where they were looking at the other leg, mostly.)

So, imagine my surprise when the guy doing the ultrasound told me the clots were gone. Small remnants/scarring on the vein walls but otherwise, he told me, no chronic clots and no partially occluded veins. Also, no obvious issues with valves in the leg, although some were a little sluggish on the upper part of the leg (above the knee; both DVTs were below the knee). Recanalization had occurred and he told me that blood flow was normal. My veins, he said, were about what he'd expect to see in any patient years after a DVT.

Of course, I do take info from the tech with a grain of salt, even though he told me that the director of the lab was fine with techs giving results on the spot since they "know what they're looking at." I'll ask for a copy of the complete report from my doc at some point, just for my own records and edification.

Overall, I'm fascinated with the idea that the clots have pretty much disappeared after 9 years. Maybe my leg is feeling weird because blood has new, recently open pathways to travel on? No clue. And, my doc and I are both a little skeptical that I would just now (so many years after the fact) be showing signs of PTS ... so maybe it is something else entirely. I'll also note that my leg is still an inch larger than the other one, although it seems a little more relaxed (i.e., less tight) than it has in the past.

Anyway... just wanted to share in case anyone else had any thoughts on the subject. And, also, to throw out the idea that maybe "chronic" clots aren't always "chronic."