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.
I'm a newbie looking for more information on a very rare type of clot. I was recently diagnosed with an ovarian vein thrombosis a few weeks after my hysterectomy. The clot is 6.5 cm long and causes so much pain from my hip all the way up the side to my shoulder. I've been on Warfarin for almost a month now and am not feeling any better. I can only sleep on my back due to the pain and can only sit for short amounts of time. Anyone have any info on this clot? I would like to know how long my body will take to absorb the clot and when will the pain go away. I've seen a hematologist, my gynecological surgeon, and two general practitioners and no one can tell me anything about this clot. I keep hearing it's not normal to still be in pain but I am! I have had a CT scan, ultrasound and abdominal xray done and they don't see anything else that could be causing the pain so we are assuming it's the clot. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
As for your questions, I might be able to address some of them. First, everyone's body works differently when it comes to dissolving the clots. For me, I had a clot in my leg that took 5-9 years to completely go away. But, I had clots in my lungs that were gone in 5 weeks. Really depends on the clot, the person, the situation, etc. No one will be able to tell you how long it will take for the clot to go away.
Having said that, however, it is possible that your clot is already gone. Even if the clot disappeared five minutes after being diagnosed, it can still leave a ton of damage behind it that takes a while to heal. I can't speak to that exact location, of course, but many people have to deal with pain for quite a while.
Have they given you any pain medications? If not, you should definitely ask for some to see if you can get the pain down to a normal, tolerable level. I wish I had other suggestions, but clot recovery really is a waiting game after a certain point. Many people who have clots--both DVTs and PEs--are dealing with pain for weeks and months. It gets better over time, for sure, but it almost always takes longer than we want it to.
One other possible option is light heat or cold (depending on what your doc says). I used heat on my leg for months after diagnosis and it seemed to help a lot.
It sounds like your docs don't have a lot of experience with clots, or they'd know that recovery isn't as straight-forward as they are telling you. Even if you can't find anyone who has had experience with your particular type of clot... we've all had experience with clotting and some things seem pretty consistent. Docs who are clueless are one of those things...
Keep us posted! Hope you start to feel some relief soon!