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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Suspected Dvt in left leg

39 replies

Roiesin57 · 04/11/2023 12:14

My left calf is very swollen & hard. There is no redness, pain & I'm not short of breath or feverish . I do suffer from swollen ankles but this feels different as it's quite large & hard. It's been like it for a few weeks now.
Would you deem it an emergency to go to A&E with at the weekend when it's likely to be very busy? Or wait to see the gp on the week. We can get face to face appointments at our doctors. What can the gp do though? I'd have to have a leg xray to see if there is a clot there, so I'm thinking I may as well cut out the middle man

OP posts:

Nagado · 04/11/2023 21:32

Roiesin57 · 04/11/2023 20:11

@Nagado thank you, I have none if those symptoms, just this hard swelling so I'm waiting til Monday, unless anything changes. I've been like it for weeks & thought it was fluid build up, as it goes down a bit after leg elevation or quite a bit of walking X

The trouble is, you don’t get those symptoms until you do. And I don’t want to frighten you but, by that time, you’re in serious trouble. The only reason I’m still alive is sheer dumb luck.

My very first one felt like I’d pulled a muscle in my leg. Absolutely no other symptoms and I wouldn’t have gone to A&E if it hadn’t been for a family history of them. I only went to stop my DM and DP of the time from nagging me. In ten minutes I went from feeling absolutely fine and just about to be sent home feeling thoroughly embarrassed for wasting their time, to being barely conscious, surrounded by medical staff and having needles inserted into my groin. I was told I’d have have died if I hadn’t been there when I collapsed.

It needs to be treated like chest pain and an aching left arm. Not worth taking a risk on.

Original poster

Roiesin57 · 04/11/2023 21:41

I've called 111 & waiting for a call back now. If anything changes I'll be straight to A&E

OP posts:

Str0ngH3art · 04/11/2023 21:46

Got to A&E. When my leg swelled my gp treated it very seriously and told me to get to the surgery straight away where they did blood tests( results the next day ) and booked me for an MRi scan which I had a few days later.

spanieleyes · 05/11/2023 07:29

I will be forever grateful for the person who told my son to go to the GP immediately. He has Autism and doesn't always react in the way others do. He was in a lecture hall at university and the lecturer noticed him struggling to walk down the steps in the auditorium. He told my son to go straight to the university medical centre, a GP saw him there and called the ambulance ( even though the hospital is pretty much next door!) By this time the clot had moved to his lungs and heart, any more time and it may well have caused a stroke. He spent a week on the cardiology ward.
The second time it happened, he recognised the early warning symptoms and went straight to the urgent care centre ( it was during covid and A and E wasn't the best place to be!) They put him straight back on anti coagulants.
Hopefully by now you have been checked out!

MumInBrussels · 05/11/2023 07:53

If you haven't gone to A&E yet, I would - here they do an ultrasound to check for clots in legs, I expect it's the same in the UK. Not having got checked out before now is a really bad reason for leaving it even longer!

The risk is not so much having a blood clot (though they can damage the veins a bit, I gather) but untreated, bits can break off and travel around your body. If they reach your lungs, this can kill you. The longer you leave a clot undiagnosed and untreated, the more of a risk you're taking that this will happen.

Please go and get checked out - no one will mind if it's not a clot, it's not a waste of their time or anything. And if it is, you need to start treatment immediately.

CormorantStrikesBack · 05/11/2023 07:56

The gp is unlikely to do a d dimer themselves, because the sample would need to be sent to the hospital and processed and then they’d need to remember to check the results. They will just send you to a&e. So yes, go now.

delaying treatment could mean permanent damage to the vessel and valves in the vein. I know someone with this issue following a DVT and they really struggle with their leg now. Or move to your lungs and potentially kill you before Monday or cause permanent lung or cardiac damage. Dd had a PE and is still affected by it a year later. Don’t hang about.

Girliefriendlikespuppies · 05/11/2023 08:15

Do not wait, go to a&e, if it is a DVT (and it sounds like one) and the blood clot moves you could die.

grapesandplums · 05/11/2023 14:25

I saw my GP on Friday as I suddenly had severe pain on the top of my foot, and couldn't walk.I saw my GP and he said we need to rule out a blood clot. I was out on a dose of blood thinners (only half the recommended dose for some reason - the pharmacist did question him with it) and now I'm awaiting scan. I believe I was meant to have it within 24 hours, but they couldn't get me in until tomorrow lunch time, so 72. Luckily my foot is a lot better so I'm not sure what's happened but hopefully I'll be negative for a clot. Glad to see you rang 111

hoxtonbabe · 05/11/2023 15:17

OP go in to A&E. I don’t know how you have managed this long with the pain.

My varicose vein on my left leg ( my biggest one) started hurting for the first time ever, I was going to leave until I could see GP but it got so bad I couldn’t even walk so I went to A&E. I knew I had a clot because over the years I have always been told to get medical advice if they ever hurt.

long and short it was a superficial clot thankfully and was put on my blood thinners course which ended about 3 weeks ago.

Low and behold I felt a slight soreness in the same spot on Friday, and it’s just got progressively worse, but not as bad as unable to walk like the first time but I’m limping, so I’m holding off going A&E today ( they will only give me blood thinners again and tell me to return tomorrow anyway to get my scan) because the thrombosis team, although discharged me 2 weeks ago they have kept my file open for 3 months incase something goes wrong which i bloody glad they did that!…. Looks like I will be taking a trip to them tomorrow 😩

And the vascular team that are taking their time regarding removing my vein will also be getting a prod from me tomorrow!

Original poster

Roiesin57 · 05/11/2023 17:23

@hoxtonbabe I've had no pain at all.

I took everyone's advice & have come to A&E. Thank you all for making me see sense. There's a bit of infection, but apart from the swelling I've had no symptoms of an infection, like pain or fever etc
The blood tests showed no sign of a blood clot so they didn't do a leg x ray, thank god.
I thought they should have done an x ray on my leg just to make sure but with no pain, & clear blood test as far as clots are concerned then I'll have to trust them on that

OP posts:

Caswallonthefox · 05/11/2023 17:55

They did a doplar scan on my leg to find out where the clot was. Same thing as when you have a baby scan, but it shows blood flow in blue and red.

CormorantStrikesBack · 05/11/2023 18:21

I’m glad you went. Yes, normally if the d dimer is negative they won’t scan.

Original poster

Roiesin57 · 05/11/2023 18:34

@CormorantStrikesBack thank you, I'm glad to hear that

OP posts:

Nagado · 05/11/2023 19:02

I’m so pleased your bloods came back fine, you can rest easy now.

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