So this is a bit random

[alwaysontimeneverlate]

I think (no logical reason why, just gut feeling) I may have a blood clot in my leg.
My lower left leg aches and I get cramp in that foot very easily I just have a gut feeling it's a clot.

No other medical issues, no health anxiety etc.

Wibu to go to GP cause of a gut feeling, they'll think I'm nuts!

Any visual signs? Or just pain?

You could always get it checked.

Go tomorrow.

Nope
Nothing visual, it's just a dull ache in a very specific part of my leg. Aches more if I lift my foot up , so toes pointing upwards and calf muscle stretching.

Does your leg feel hot?

No not hot or red no other symptoms

Don't waste your GP's time (or your own) because you have a "feeling" and no symptoms.

This IS health anxiety, OP!

@Medea13 I know I hate wasting valuable resources and I also know it's a bit crazy. Can't into my GP for love nor money anyway.

@HollowTalk maybe would have been more Accurate to say never had health anxiety previously.

Maybe I just need my holiday more than I though!

OP, Google "Wells Score". This is the criteria used to determine whether to treat for DVT. It might help you to decide whether it's worth seeing an HCP. If the score is too low to meet treatment criteria, a GP will not refer you based only on any gut feeling you may have.

Measure that part of your leg - string round it and mark length of string.
Try string on same part of other leg. Now. is the hurty/crampy leg enlarged, compared to the same place on the other leg?
If no, vanishingly likelihood of blood clot or DVT.
If yes, could be lots of other, more innocent reasons, but keep an eye, and maybe get it checked out.

This is so weird. I have been googling DVT symptoms all evening as I've been having weird twinges in my leg all day.

Muscle cramps can be caused by mineral deficiency in hot weather, including salt. Dehydration can also cause it. And sitting oddly.

If you have a permanently cold foot in the heat then you might have a problem. It is very annoying to have, I know, and it is a symptom of a circulatory problem, along with palpitations/ectopic heart beat, diagnosed by a cardiologist which is much worse in the heat and during stress.

If you really have symptoms which you can't rule out by drinking water or using salt or taking a supplement/changing your diet, then see a GP. Otherwise you are lucky not to have a problem.

Take into account, if you use the string method mentioned above, most people have one side of their body which is larger than the other so that might not be accurate.

Get to the doctor. I had a clot with no visual signs but just increasing pain. I ended up collapsing from pulmonary embolism which resulted in 2 years of recovery as was so severe.

If you suspect a clot, please get yourself to a&e.

Just to add, I had an additional clot recently which I suspected and saw my gp. Again, no visual signs at all, just the calf pain but because of my history they sent me straight to a&e. Where I was diagnosed with another clot.

Don't mess about with this.

Don’t risk the chance that you might have a dvt. Get an emergency appointment and put your mind at rest either way! Good luck!! X

Have you had an operation recently? Is the area throbbing, painful? Are you a sedentary person?

If you do go, you may be referred for a scan. Mine was very obvious, the pain was ridiculous, loads worse than the operation that caused it.

If you do have one, ask about Rivoraxabin rather than Warfarin.

Another one who had none of the "typical" symptoms of DVT until it was too late and I ended up blue lighted to hospital and a week in intensive care.

I had what felt like muscle cramps on the first day, on the second day it hurt to put weight on my leg (though not unbearable at all) I did go to my GP and was sent home with a sheet of excercises to do. That night I woke up crying in pain and was lucky I was already in A&E when the PE happened, if I'd still been in my bed who knows.

Definitely do what pp said with the string to measure your leg, when I woke up my leg was visibly a different size but it hadn't been earlier that day. So I'd keep doing the measurements until you either feel better or until it shows your leg is swollen. If not swollen perhaps make an app to see GP tomorrow.

The fact that you have pain when pulling your toes up is disconcerting. This is called Homan's sign.

Risk factors for a blood clot include:
-Sedentary lifestyle
-Recent air travel
-Smoking
-Birth control pills
-Pregnancy and recent childbirth
-Genetic disorders that increase your chances of blood clots
-Recent surgery
-Cancer

Signs and symptoms include:
-Positive Homan's sign
-Red spot on your calf
-Cramping
-One leg significantly larger than the other (a difference of ~1-2 cm may be normal; more than that would be cause for concern)

If you suspect it is a blood clot you should DEFINITELY go and see your provider RIGHT AWAY. If you get short of breath or have chest pain, CALL AN AMBULANCE. It's possible a piece of the clot could break off and go to your lung.

Usual practice (at least IME) is to put you on a heparin (blood thinner) drip and then send you for a scan. A scan is usually the best way to find if there is a clot. You should be aware that blood thinners can cause bleeding. Bleeding gums are a common problem, but if you notice blood in your urine, poop, or vomit, make sure you let your provider know immediately.

I second the idea of rivaroxaban if your provider is willing. The advantages are that it takes less time to be effective than warfarin and the effect on clotting is more predictable. (Each dose of warfarin takes about 3 days to be effective, and the dose is HIGHLY variable. I have had patients who took one dose on certain days a week and a DIFFERENT dose on other days - even after their dose was stabilized!) The one disadvantage is that the action of rivaroxaban is not reversible, so if you did have a severe bleeding episode (rare) treatment would be supportive only. It could also be quite expensive.

This is the opinion of the author only and is NOT a substitute for professional medical advice. In a similar case, consult your primary provider.

I had a massive dvt in my groin/top of thigh and a pulmonary embolism... luckily had already started treatment so the pe wasn't as bad as could have been.

I had no swelling or pain in my leg until after I was admitted... I had horrific back/stomach ache so bad I was crying in pain. It was only after I'd been in hospital a few days thar my leg went purple and ballooned to twice the size of the other!

Def get checked out as dvts are no laughing matter!

mammy thats funny you mention back pain I had that a few days before but I always thought it was sciatica, which made me rest more, which in turn contributed to the clot? Mines was also in my groin. I did tell the midwife, and then the health visitor, and then the GP and all three fobbed me off. It was on my second trip to the GP I got the very helpful sheet of excercises for a pulled muscle. I was about a week post partum.

I had a young doctor tell.me "well it's defintely not a DVT" whilst in hospital...it was only after a shower the next day when I couldn't walk and I noticed my leg was twice the size of the other and purple that the nurse pressed the red buzzer and I had a swarm of doctors around me!

OP, are you ok? Did you get checked out?

The trouble with threads like this is that you will see an over-representation of extremely rare outlier cases like "omg i had no symptoms and there WAS something wrong!!!" and people won't write about every time they had a health worry and it, as is nearly always the case, turned out to be nothing serious.