In my opinion you should go back to the doctor again, as soon as possible, don't wait for additional symptoms. If you haven't been on blood thinners, then your clot could have grown even though it did start in a superficial vein. I would be especially concerned with the symptoms you mention in regard to breathing. I personally suffered a terrible PE and I would do anything to prevent someone else from having that, so please be smart and take care of yourself. It is definitely better to get checked out again, even if it ends up being a false alarm, than it is to take the chance of the alternative.

I hope all turns out well,
Sarah

DVT can cause Pulmonary Embolism which is life threatening. It is where part of the clot breaks off and goes to the lungs blocking them. Are you sure you don't have DVT? Do you have an underlying lung problem or are these new symptoms? Please get checked out to rule out pulmonary embolism.

Thanks for your reponses.
The blood clot/s that caused the foot to swell last time were superficial - outer veins as my dr got the doppler ultrasound which apparently shows it.

I do get asthma - mainly allergic or from exercise so he checked that & not wheezy. I tried to see my Dr Friday but he was booked out. I didnt want to see any of the others there as one sent me for ultrasound & xray on bottom of foot for spur - saying referred pain & the other took one look at it & said cellulitis.
It took till I saw my usual gp which was probably 4 weeks from when foot had started swelling as I kept hoping it would go away for first couple of weeks then when it got more painful I went. My usual gp knows I dont go running for slightest thing even though I seem to end up there every 2 weeks. He understands with all my other health issues it is hard to control (have ms, excema, asthma, allergies, hemiplegic migraines & irritable bowel) so have more than my share.
Will try to see him tomorrow even if I have to leave work early to get in as it takes me usually 2 hours from when I leave work to get home (scooter, train & scooter). Dr said last time to mainly worry if start swelling anywhere else so I guess the calf counts.

If i cant get in to him I guess I could go to emergency at the local hospital or after Tuesday when I am having an endoscopy. I just hope that isnt a danger as it is where you swallow a small capsule that takes photos of the upper bowel. Have had colonoscopy & gastroscopy in January & they cant find a reason for me being very anaemic which is just one more thing to add to the bucket. Would that be a danger do you think? I will phone where I am getting it done & ask incase anyway.
Sorry for long ramble.

In January 2008 I reported to a doctor, who sent me to the lab. They found a "superficial" calf vein blood clot, which explained the hard painful niggle that was between calf and skin. Ditto the explanation for the swelling that went down to the foot. The thrombosis extended the length of the vessel. I was sent to an ER doc (my referring physicial had gone home; it was getting late Friday afternoon). The ER doc, white coat and all, calmly explained that such a superficial vein clot was not harmful. Aspirin and heat would be fine. The next week, my PCP consulted with some high-up vascular specialist, and all agreed; no anticoagulants or agressive treatment was necessary. Sure enough, the clot began to shrink and the pain abated.

In the eight weeks to follow, I had some bouts with shortness of breath, which I chalked up to falling out of shape. Then came sensitivity to cold, and finally a day when I could barely get enough breath. By the time I got to the ER (part deux) I had extensive thrombosis up the popiteal and superficial femoral as well as a serious bilateral pulmonary embolism.

Due to the damage from those lost weeks, I may be on anticoagulants for the rest of my life.

Long story short, I did not get to see a hematologist until it came time to consider going off Warfarin, more than a year after that "superficial" thrombosis. I was found to have Factor V Leiden Heterozygous mutation, which causes predisposition to venous clots growing and spreading out of control. It is not even especially rare, given that 5 per cent of the caucasian population shares the condition.

I suggest you read http://www.oxygentimerelease.com/B/Bonnie/p25.htm , especially the paragraph about particulars of calf veins. Many doctors simply parrot their old beliefs that they got from medical school books. Also, they tend to give broad-based prognoses without respect to individual patients' risks, be those risks detected or not.

From what you are telling us, it appears you are still at a stage where more aggressive treatment can get you back on track to put this whole thing behind you. Good luck and Godspeed.

Thank you more2be for your response & the link which was very informative. it sounds like my path is closely following yours too. On the link it also said seizures & I am waiting to see my neuro about my ms on 4 June & since I last saw him I have been having what my gp thinks may be seizures.
I will be sitting talking or doing anything & suddenly stop talking, sometimes stare & other times close eyes. When I come back I am blinking rapidly, often shaking myself & confused as to where I am or what happened. I actually did it one time when I was at the gp & he said it looked like a seizure. I hadnt even thought that would have anything to do with the blood clot. Dr didnt say anything about the relevance too so will ask him.
I am going to insist on an appt tomorrow as the office manager knows me & will fit me in if I say urgent as she knows that means it is. I was one of the first (ifnot the 1st) patients to tfr all my records to his new practice - he had been at another clinic I previously went to & when he opened his own closer to my home he told me before it opened (which he wasnt supposed to but knew I usually saw him).

Thanks everyone for yor responses, I am so glad I found this group & posted as I didnt understand how much the risk is. I will let you know how I go.

Whether or not it's in a deep vein or superficial isn't critical. It can still cause all the problems associated with DVT and they can all kill you or make life very bad. Get it checked. The other options of not getting it checked is pulmonary embolism, heart attack, or stroke. Take your pick because regardless of the cause, the size of the clot or it's final location once it breaks lose it can be devastating.

I am trying to imagine the resistance you will encounter when trying to get the pros to take this thing seriously.

If you are not already aware, anticoagulant treatment takes one of two forms. One involves injectable drugs, either once (newer Axixtra) or twice (older Lovenox) per day. Such treatment has a cost about $100 US per day, be it paid by the individual, insurance, or a national health authority. Coumadin (generic equivalent is Warfarin)is taken orally and is an inexpensive mature drug. However, Warfarin is slow-acting and everyone's sensitivity to it is different. Getting its dose adjusted is a project involving frequent blood draws and dose adjustments for a period of one to four weeks, with monthly monitoring thereafter.

What they may tell you is that the time and expense involved in an anticoagulation protocol is not justified unless you have progressed to far worse shape; which people here know is an oversimplified, outdated line of dangerously misinformed BS.

Given your history of getting on top of serious health problems, I believe you would be a good candidate to manage what it takes to make this thing go away harmlessly in relateively little time.

I am with ShilosMommy on this; preventing just one person's case from escalating needlessly would go a long way toward making the whole bad experience worthwhile.

Hi there,
Welcome! I remember when my DVT started.I thought I had a real bad charlie horse in my leg. Well guess what im sure you know what cqame next....Please dont take this situation for granted, it may really begin to hurt bad. I would have rather had a baby as bad as mine hurt. Not all of us are the same and for this reason get it checked. I never have had a PE so I cant speak on that, the pain in my calf front and back was enough for me!!!!!Good Luck!

I must add to this discussion that I am living proof (thank God I can say that) that superficial clots can and do cause deeper problems. I my case I have been dealing with superficial leg clots for 12 yrs. I was also told, "they will not hurt you, just take an aspirin and ibprofen for pain and swelling." Long story short: Jan 09 I had a DVT go to my lungs and caused serious damage. The painful red and only slightly swollen calf veins had masked a DVT. Since I thought I knew what I was dealing with, I just wore compression socks and took ibuprofen until the PE. Several years ago after having thrombophlebitis, I had severs chest pains. An Xray was done and I was told I had pneumonia and that explained the pleurisy. This time (Jan 09)the Dr ordered a CT scan which showed prior PE events. So just last week I finally had a consensus with pulmonologist and cardiologist that agree that I will be on warfarin now for life.

So please do not ignore any deep pain in your legs nor pleuritic pain in your chest. Maybe you should try again and go to the ER. Tell them you have had clots in your legs and now have chest pains and trouble breathing. That should get their attention. Do not ignore this just in case....hang in there!

Any news?
I certainly hope she made her way to ER...

Here is some good information about superficial clots:

http://www.fvleiden.org/ask/81.html

Though superficial clots may lead to development of a DVT/PE, it is relatively rare. There are cases, as evidenced by several members of our group here, where a superficial clot will break off and travel to the deep vein and then becomes a more serious issues. Usual course of treatment is Ibuprofen.

During the period I was off of Coumadin, post DVT, I suffered several superficial clots. Mine may have been non-life threatening but they still hurt as bad as the DVT clots I had. Since I am homozygous for Factor V Leiden I was placed on low-intensity Warfarin treatment and have had no further clots; superficial or deep vein.

Thanks to everyone who replied. I did go to work on Monday but got into real sstife with not being able to breathe well, speech bad, eye closed, leg throbbing & swelling so got sent to hospital by ambulance. They upgraded me to cat 1 which is bells & whistles, & straight into resus at the hospital. They were worried about dvt & esp stroke.
I was looked after very quickly with chest scans, doppler scan & a variety of other tests. DVt was ruled out, bronchial trouble was found which they did further tests on to check it wasnt a clot & it wasnt.
After all teh tests etc they diecided that the svt & probable bronchitis/bronchial infection were masking a ms flare up.
Dosed me up with antibiotics, on oxygen & then the methylpred for the ms.
I was in a bed on a ward early evening which is good for here. I reacted to the methyl prednisolone on the 2nd night with swelling, rash & red body then high blood pressure & very low oxygen.
The 3rd night the nurse sat there doing 30min obs & part way through stopped it & called a dr. he was up very quick said no more of it & gave me some strong antihistamine. Had a very bad night sleep with hot/cold & severe migraine so not fun.
They talked rehab but sent me home as no beds available which suited me fine. I am now home & glad its over.
Thanks for all your responses, you were so right that I needed help.
Sue