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What does a blood clot actually feel like?

8 replies

TamanTun · 15/05/2021 10:02

Had my Astra Zeneca 9 days ago and still feeling generally unwell. Started getting a strange twinging in my thigh last night and it’s been coming and going all day. It doesn’t feel muscular as it comes when I’m just sitting still but I can’t see anything on the skin in the area and it doesn’t feel hot there. Saw the docs this morning who did a blood test and said I shouldn’t worry but I’m not sure I can trust the docs here (I live in Asia) as I’ve heard you can’t diagnose a blood clot from blood tests alone. Does anyone have any experience with what a clot actually feels like?

OP posts:
JesusInTheCabbageVan · 15/05/2021 10:08

Can't link, but this is the account of a woman in Wales (sounds like she was very unlucky, poor thing, but she's find now):

On March 25 Lauren celebrated getting her first jab at the same time as her mum. The next day her arm didn’t even feel numb. It was so easy, she thought. As mum to Maisie, four, and Charlie, two, Lauren returned to domestic life with partner Scott Ellis, 33.

On Easter Sunday, April 4, nine days after her jab, things started to change for the former beauty consultant.

“I woke up that morning with a horrendous headache,” she said.

“I ached all over and felt a bit dizzy. I couldn’t eat and I spent the entire day in bed – I could barely lift my head from the pillow. My first thought was that it must be Covid.”

A Covid testing centre was just round the corner and Lauren managed to book a slot that day. Within 24 hours a negative result came back. In the meantime Lauren developed terrible pain in her left leg. She put it down to cramp, having spent so much time in bed.

On Tuesday lunchtime she decided to leave her sick bed and take a bath. She noticed a varicose vein in her left leg was red, swollen and sensitive to touch.

“I knew it wasn’t normal but at the time it did not occur to me it had anything to do with the jab,” she said.

A nursing friend advised her to seek help. A call to 101 yielded an ambulance and a trip to the Countess of Chester Hospital.

Initial observations were fine but a test for blood clots produced a reading 40 times over what it should be. Immediately Lauren was given two stomach injections of a blood thinning drug. She was then sent home to await a CT scan of her lungs, which took place the next day. By now Lauren was in acute pain. As she took her seat in a waiting room, her leg felt like it was exploding.

“I was so breathless I could barely walk between the wards,” she said.

Lauren’s condition continued to worsen. When wheeled to haematology a blanket was placed over her head as her eyes were so sensitive to light.

She also had a stiff neck and a headache that a "bullet wouldn’t cure". But given her diagnosis she could only receive paracetamol, delivered intravenously.

“I’ve migraines before but they were nothing in comparison,” said Lauren.

“In bed that night, after the lights went out, my whole body was shaking and convulsing because I was in so much pain. That night was horrendous. I had all sorts of crazy pain-filled dreams. That was the scariest time – I didn’t think I was going to wake up the next day.”

Titsywoo · 15/05/2021 10:10

You would normally get a blood clot in your calf so thigh pain is unlikely but generally the pain is very bad. Was the blood test you had a d-dimmer? That's the standard test for blood clots.

JesusInTheCabbageVan · 15/05/2021 10:11

Bloody awful writing from Wales Online. 'A call to 101 yielded an ambulance '. Hmm 'yielded ' aside, 101 is the police!! Dingbats.

ShakeTheDisease · 15/05/2021 10:13

I've had a number of blood clots as I have a clotting disorder. You can have them asymptomatically, and I have, but there is usually hardness and heaviness in an area of the leg, and it feels hot. If it changes when you sit down, and it comes and goes, that's less like a clot in my experience. The blood test is a starting point and will not be definitive, but will show whether there is something going on that might be a clot, and then a scan can be done to find out more. When will you get the result of your blood test?

ShakeTheDisease · 15/05/2021 10:16

In the meantime, keep yourself well hydrated and keep your legs elevated to help the blood flow as easily as possible. These things won't eradicate a clot if there is one, but they're helpful and won't do any harm.

CovoidOfAllHumanity · 15/05/2021 10:29

Does not sound at all like a blood clot
Swelling, redness, inflammation would be the usual symptoms and as PP said calf not thigh is the usual place.
A D Dimer blood test is a pretty good rule out. If that's negative it's very unlikely you have a clot.

MrsSiriusBlack1 · 15/05/2021 10:35

Hi, I had a large dvt 3 years ago and it started in my thigh, the pain was terrible and my leg was swollen and red, if it’s anything like that see your dr pronto

Spacecadetagain · 15/05/2021 15:43

Hi I had a clot in my thigh in 2004 that went undetected until
I developed a PE .. in Dec 2019 .. I developed a twinge in my right leg and the side of my right calf felt a bit sore .. nothing to write home about but after a few days it was annoying me more than anything .. I went to urgent care where I was diagnosed with a potential DVT and sent home with blood thinning injections.. a scan three days later confirmed a clot in my calf . I’ve been on Rivaroxaban ever since as my clots were unprovoked..a few days ago I went back to a and e as my left thigh and calf were hurting ..it was worse when I flexed my toes upwards which is often indicative of a clot .. a scan has confirmed a clot in both my thigh and left calf . My rivaroxaban has been increased and I’m now awaiting a haematology referal. I was diagnosed a few weeks ago with a clotting disorder . I should add that quite often if a smallish clot .. the pain and swelling may be explained away by muscle strain etc .. but never take the risk ., if in doubt checked out in hospital .

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