DVT age 31 - advice please!

[SaveYourMoneyAndStopMakingMeCry]

Hi all,

im 31, slim and don't smoke. I guess my risk factors would be cancer in 2017 but no treatment since then and I'm active. Do have 2 heart conditions but they're electrical not structural.
Last few days I've had cramp in my leg that got progressively worse. It's by no means agonising but enough to bother me. No redness and no swelling.

today it got worse and it's been bothering me. For some reason I just thought it was a blood clot. Went to UTC near me had tests done and life been put on apixaban. Now waiting for a referral to find out the reason why.

im a little bit terrified if im honest! I've started 10mg x2 daily. I'm so worried it'll go to my chest or heart. The doctor was very confident and said as soon as I start taking the medication it will lessen the risk dramatically. Can anyone offer any advice? I'm quite medically traumatised by everything I've been through and the thought of a PE terrifies me. AIBU to think this is just shit? 😭

I'd give anything to me a normal healthy person but due to cancer and cardiac problems here I am. Feeling a bit sorry for myself. Just looking for anyone else who has been through this who can offer advice.

thanks!

Sorry you’re going through this, it sounds horrendous.
I got DVT in my right leg but it was after I’d had a baby so that was my risk factor. It was agony but took a few days to diagnose. They couldn’t scan be immediately but started me on blood thinners in A&E when they had said it may be a clot.
Once they’d established that it was a clot from the scan, the treatment simply continued. The pain lessened to virtually nothing after 48 hours of the treatment. So, as you say, your treatment should be doing its job.
Hope you get some answers soon 💐

Are you on the pill?

sorry you’re going through this. Happened to Dd when she was 21yo but she had a massive bilateral PE. No risk factors. She’s slim, not on the pill, hadn’t been on a plane, doesn’t smoke. She’s on blood thinners for life which I guess is a worry on its own. They tested her for clotting disorders but she was negative for them all. They should test you too.

Did they scan you today and confirm the clot?

Thank you she I'm sorry you've been through this too. It's worrying isn't it!

The pain is definitely there and it's definitely bothering me, to the point I have taken paracetamol but it's not what I would imagine DVT pain to be at all for some reason! I imagined I could barely walk. I had no swelling, no redness or hot to touch which is crazy to me that so many of these clots may be missed in people if they don't have the key symptoms!

glad it all worked out for you 🥰

Have you officially been diagnosed? Or are you being treated prophylactically?

I had to go to A&E earlier this year with suspected DVT and was advised that the D-Dimer blood test would rule it out completely but if the test did come back high then it would mean futher investigation but didn't automatically mean it was DVT.

Test didn't rule out DVT so I was started on blood thinners and had to return the next day for a full limb (leg) ultrasound which did then rule out DVT. I had no risk factors per se but I do have an autoimmune condition which could be the reason my D-Dimer test came back high.

Turned out to be a burst Bakers cyst for me which was very painful but thankfully not life threatening.

The most important thing is you are being medicated / treated. I hope you get answers soon.

I've had a D-dimer (I think?) or some sort of
blood test which checks for clots which was positive and then an USS on my legs.

I am also having another USS on Wednesday to check it's not going upwards.

Christ almighty that must have been terrifying for her. (And you!)

did she have any leg pain at all leading up to it? Glad she's okay now ❤️

The odd thing is they say Dd must have had a clot in her leg which travelled to her lungs but she had no symptoms in her leg.

i do worry about her as she does a lot of travelling, goes skiing, etc. I worry about head injuries and being on blood thinners.

Yes, had a blood test and ultrasound scan. Having another scan on Wednesday to check it's not gone upwards. Or something. Brain is a bit frazzled.

@SaveYourMoneyAndStopMakingMeCry can’t some heart conditions lead to clots? Although normally in older people.

@PodMom I thought no skiing when you are on thinners? How does she get travel insurance for that?

Well they said it's a risk factor but mostly clogged arteries. My least conditions are inappropriate sinus tachycardia & Long QT syndrome. Both electro physiological (probably butchered that spelling) and I don't have any circulation problems that I know of! I guess ill know more when I've been to my referral but I'll definitely be asking the question.

Okay.

Well yes this does sounds like it's definitely DVT.

DVT is most dangerous when undiscovered and untreated so already you are in a fortunate position.

Keep taking the pain relief and the blood thinners and fingers crossed the ultrasound on Wednesday gives good news.

I assume they told you what to look out for in terms of symptoms over the next few days? If in any doubt then get yourself to A&E.

Lucky that you knew something wasn’t right.

I know! I was so close to not bothering as the only symptom I had was calf pain, and even that it wasn't too bad. Bad enough to take painkillers but not bad enough to get checked. Just had a funny feeling!

She’s never been told she can’t ski. Just got told if she bangs her head she must get a ct scan. Insurance is crazy expensive.

insurance is so expensive isn't it. I'm an underwriter and medical disclosures make prices shoot through the roof!

Omg yeah. So she’s got quite a few conditions including ehler danlos syndrome and fibromyalgia. I recently did her new annual policy and forgot to include fibromyalgia. So I rang them up and even though all the problems which can be caused by fibromyalgia are more likely to be caused by EDS which I’d already declared it cost another £35.

and I must admit I do her annual policy without winter sports and then just do a separate winter sports policy for the one or two days a year she skis. Not sure if that’s allowed or not! I should check

@PodMom Im surprised, all the older people I know on thinners have been told no more contact sports or things with a high risk of injury eg skiing.

I assumed a special policy would be needed for insurance whilst skiing which would be ££££

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this and would like to offer some reassurance although it is entirely normal to feel worried.

From what you have said it is not clear if you have actually been diagnosed with a DVT at this point or if the anticoagulation is precautionary pending further investigation.

If you do have a DVT, you have acted extremely quickly (people sometimes ignore it for weeks) and your doctor is spot on that starting treatment massively decreases your risk of complications.

Even if you did get a pulmonary embolism, which it doesn't sound like you have any symptoms of, then you are already on the correct treatment for it as it is the same.

It is exceptionally rare in countries with a reasonably developed healthcare system for people to die from DVT/PE as it is highly treatable. Those who do are generally those with delayed presentation or diagnosis and those occurring in the setting of another serious condition such as metastatic cancer, organ failure or catastrophic injuries from a road accident etc that they may well have passed away from anyway.

Sometimes healthy young people do get a DVT and it is just bad luck, nothing you have done or should be looking to blame yourself about. Sometimes there is a family history, is there anyone else who has had one, particularly at younger ages?

@Charliede1182thank you so so much, your post has really helped. I have had an ultrasound and a d-dimer blood test and a small clot was found in my right calf under my knee. I'm having to be rescanned on Wednesday to make sure it hasn't gone towards towards my hip.

it's so worrying but at least the treatment is the same for PE/DVT so I'm on the right track!

Is anyone out there to just talk to me a bit please? DD is in bed and I'm just feeling a bit jittery and anxty. Doesn't bloody help anyone does it feeling like this!

Hello OP, try not to worry. The apixaban will be doing its work now so you're in a much better position. Keep well hydrated too. Are they going to screen you for blood clotting conditions? It may well be behind a clot at your age. But knowledge is power and then you can be treated accordingly. FWIW I have had multiple clots alongside other conditions and I'm still here.

Thank you, that's reassuring. I'm glad you're okay now too ❤️ just all a bit daunting isn't it. Like I'm going about my day knowing I have a clot in my leg! Did you have symptoms too with yours?

im having a referral to haematology so hopefully will get some answers then as from speaking to my mum it does run in the family more than I was aware of!

I did have symptoms but not textbook ones. So you were right to get checked as sometimes clinicians say 'oh, if it's not hot/ swollen then it's not a clot' which isn't the case. The upside of having had a clot is that in future if any symptoms recur you'll be taken seriously. It's also good news that you've been diagnosed while the clot is still below the knee - that should stop it moving much further if at all now you are on anti coagulants, and it is very very unlikely now it would become a PE. You've dealt with cancer, you can handle this too. 💐