Never experienced pain like this

[papsrus]

Some of you may be aware I had some surgery last month. All is well with that. Very pleased with the outcome. But ....

As is not unheard of in patients recovering from surgery, I developed some blood clots in my lower left leg. Deep Vein Thrombophlebitis. Two inner veins in my leg have clots that extend about six inches along the veins. Kind of like clogged up piping.

In addition to being kind of a scary thing because of the risk that a part of the clot can break off and migrate to your lungs (extreme emergency 911 situation) it is without doubt the most painful and debilitating thing I've ever experienced -- and I've had my fair share of broken bones. Nothing comes close to this.

Merely standing up is excruciatingly painful and leaves me gasping for air. Walking (hobbling with the aid of a cane) is accompanied by a constant grimace and lots of huffing and puffing. No joke. I've been gobbling up pain killers at a steady rate, and they help, but have been unable to sleep for more than a couple of hours at a time, and have had to inject myself twice a day with blood thinners for the past three days. I'm just now starting to feel some relief.

I will need to be on blood thinners for several months while the condition clears itself, and during this time I have to avoid any activity where I might risk cutting or scraping myself. I won't clot easily. I will bruise quite easily, too.

So be warned, if you ever have surgery and begin to feel some soreness or tightness in your legs, get examined immediately for blood clots. I waited too long and ended up in the ER on Friday.

The catch 22 with surgery is that you can't be on blood thinners immediately afterward because your body needs the clotting -- part of the healing process. The downside is you can be prone to developing these blood clots precisely because your body kind of goes into hyper-healing mode.

Anyways, there it is. Not looking for sympathy, just offering up my experience because frankly, no doctor advised me that this might happen after my surgery and so how was I to know what was happening when my leg began to get stiff and sore? I mentioned the soreness several times, but only when it began to increase dramatically late last week did the surgeon tell me to get my ass over to the ER.

[Joe G]

Do your best and keep a positive attitude. Hopefully the worst is in the past.

[Free For All]

Hang in there, paps! You have a pretty decent support group here, and we're thinking good thoughts for you.

Sorry for your pain, but glad you caught it before something worse happened.

Edited November 9, 2009 by Free For All

[WorldB3]

"ecause frankly, no doctor advised me that this might happen after my surgery and so how was I to know what was happening "

I hear this kind of stuff all the time, the only way to survive is to do your own self diagnosis and and ask a ton of questions.

Like Joe said try keep a positive attitude and get well soon.

[7/4]

Hang in there and I wish you the best.

After I had some major surgery on my left leg 13 years ago (I had an aneurysm in my thigh bone), they put a screen in my Vena Cava to catch clots.

.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

My goodness! Sounds horrendous.

Do keep looking after yourself Paps.

MG

[jazzbo]

It does sound horrendous.

You're very stoic. Keep getting well.

[BruceH]

My heart goes out to you. Hope you get better much faster than predicted.

[jeffcrom]

Ouch! Hang in there and listen to lots of music.

[AllenLowe]

Paps! Oy veh - take it easy, please - keep us informed of your condition -

[.:.impossible]

I hope things improve quickly. In the meantime, as was said above, you can count on us for positive vibes.

[connoisseur series500]

I feel for you, Paps. I've worked with patients in the hospital suffering from blood clots in the legs and they scream out with pain.

Do the doctors feel they can dissolve the clots without endangering your heart of lungs? Hang in there! Looks like anticoagulation therapy is unavoidable.

[Chuck Nessa]

All good thoughts coming your way. Best of outcomes.

[Van Basten II]

Sounds painful just reading it, get well mate.

[Quincy]

Thanks for passing on the health info as it's always useful to hear from someone going through it. And boy, talk about an awful Catch-22!

Wishing you a speedy recovery.

[Bright Moments]

hang in there paps!

[papsrus]

Thanks to all of you for all the kind words. You're all very kind and it is wonderful to have a place such as this to come and vent a little and seek support.

I'm doing somewhat better now than I was the previous few days and should get continued relief fairly quickly as they adjust the level for the blood thinners. I'm doubling down today after a visit to the doctor this morning. I must have naturally thick blood.

Part of the problem going into all this is that everyone wants to be very positive and reassuring about the outcome, and rightly so. So as a patient you're kind of lulled into a false sense of security.

The other complicating thing for me is that I have for years had some very minor trouble with my leg veins, and so I assumed, wrongly, after the surgery that the discomfort I was experiencing was associated with that. I guess I downplayed it a little because I didn't want anything to be wrong.

Once they suspected blood clots, it was all hands on deck though. And the treatment I'm receiving now is the right treatment and should be highly effective.

The way it was explained to me is this: the blood thinners prevent further blockage from occurring and the natural enzymes in the body slowly dissipate the blockage that has formed. A slow process that could very well take months. But you don't want a fast process with this condition because of the danger of a clot breaking free and traveling to your lungs.

I've never really had a major medical problem, so this whole deal has been kind of an eye-opener for me.

Here's a side note that may be good for a few laughs -- I got the invoice for the surgery itself from my insurance company the other day. The cost for the surgery alone was ................. $52,000. My co-pay is going to be something like $1,100. I had to laugh.

And Allen, thank you. You're very kind.

You're all very kind.

Now, time for some more painkillers. I'll be writing some gibberish in the politics threads in about an hour. Should be fun.

Edited November 10, 2009 by papsrus

[mikeweil]

Take care to drink at least two litres of clean water every day, that helps. My best wishes, I underwent some minor surgery two months ago, but nothing like this ...

[Hardbopjazz]

I wish you nothing but the best. Before you know it this will be a thing of the past and you'll be your old self.

[sjarrell]

I'm looking forward to the gibberish! A speedy recovery to you.

[Jim Alfredson]

Eesh, sounds awful! Hang in there!

[Chalupa]

Good luck with the healing.

[medjuck]

Hope your feeling better. Are the blood thinners working?

[Dave James]

Hope you feel better fast. I think we all have tendency to hold physicians in high esteem, assuming that they are all uniformly good at what they do. The problem is, some are and some aren't. The fact that someone you relied on didn't mention the possibility of a potentially life threatening post-surgical complication is more than a little troubling. It just emphasizes what others have already said, that it's really up to the patient to make sure the right questions are asked. Not as it should be, but as it is.

Up over and out.

[JSngry]

Have the sex. The sex fixes the blood things. So take the sex all the lots of times you can.