Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) Support Group
Deep-vein thrombosis, also known as deep-venous thrombosis or DVT, is the formation of a blood clot ("thrombus") in a deep vein. It can be caused by something preventing blood from circulating or clotting normally. Join the support group if you are coping with DVT and find others who are going through the same challenges.
Hi everyone,
I'm new to the group and new to DVT. They found an approx 10cm occlusive clot in my right poterior tibial vein. I'm post surgery two separate surgeries in my legs in June and October 2016 (popliteal artery entrapment release and anterior/lateral fasciotomies) so I assumed the pain was from the operations or lack of conditioning. Anyway, my physio thought it was taking a bit longer than expected and (in hindsight I think) he was worried about some of my tenderness and suggested I go and see my doctor for an US.
Well, he was right and I have a DVT! Should have listened to him weeks ago!
The doctor put me on aspirin (300mg for 3 days and then 150mg until 1 week after symptoms resolve), compression stockings and maintain hydration. Thats it! no injections or anything else needed unless it gos above the knee. He didn’t even ask many questions to find out how long I might have had it. I checked with my surgeon (luckily vascular) and he only added a followup ultrasound at 2 weeks, unless it starts to grow.
Anyway, I have a few questions right now:
1)Will I know if it gets bigger? or goes above the knee? I've had some dull pain in higher areas but nothing I would normally notice and it doesn't persist.
2)Would a clot in my posterior tibial vein also make the front of my leg uncomfortable? I have a 'classic' tender spot in my calf in about the right spot (they kept running the ultrasound probe over that spot) but I don't remember them testing the front/outside aspect of my leg at all. Can they ‘see’ that section from the rear? I find that at night and when resting I am more conscious of the dull pain/fullness in the front of my leg than the calf. I read somewhere that they don’t usually look for clots in the anterior tibial vein, so now I’m wondering if they even looked and if I might have some more lurking around too!
3) Can a DVT give you nerve pain/numbness? Shortly after my second operation 25 October (anterior/lateral fasciotomy) I got quite nasty burning pain in my foot and some funny bruising on my ankle. It has been settling down over time but I’ve still got areas with little/no sensation. Could this have anything to do with the clot?
3)Exercise - I've been forced into more resting than I usually do from a really bad cold/flu, but am back on the mend and I'm really not in very much pain.... how much can I do? The doctor helpfully said I could do housework from day one, but didn't mention anything about stretching, strengthing, bike riding etc. I know I can’t walk for long distances, but should I be trying to walk/move as much as possible? I’ve stopped riding my bike, using my rowing machine, and my beloved vibration plate just in case its the sort that could dislodge a clot… now I’m left wondering if I need to change anything else (e.g. Walking, stretching, calf raises, strengthening). I already have a foot stool at work for my desk job which I will try to keep using.
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Look at what my best friend did with my picture!
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We all have 24 hours in a day. How we spend these hours is important. Watching a little bit of a video about how sitting affects us made me aware of how much sitting and laying down I do. Gonna have to work on that.Your turn. Tell me another truth.
1). Not sure; you'd probably see increased swelling, pain and/0r redness start to migrate up your leg.
2) I think a clot anywhere in your leg can cause discomfort in random places in your leg. It could be from the clot, or just from how you are using a leg that probably hurts.
3) Not sure but my guess is possibly.
4). If your doc gave you the ok, I would do light walking, bike riding. Talk to your doc about this though.
Sorry I know these aren't great answers but there aren't a whole lot of definitives sometimes.
Just another condition to add to my growing list - at least people have heard of dvt though!
As for the numbness, I've been trying to disentangle the dvt from other issues I've had since my operation. I thought they were unrelated but now I'm wondering if it is all linked!