Can I ask if your legs are the same size?

[MrsZoidberg]

I know it's a silly question, but I'm driving myself nuts.

Last week I noticed my ankle was swollen - I didn't remember hurting it, but it was giving twinges which I put down to age, weight and the fact I had spent the previous day playing a rather dangerous game of Table tennis (DS challenged me to a game of Wrong-Handed TT - it became addictive ) and then 3 hours walking on it.

This was fine, assumed a mild sprain and got on with life, but that night I noticed that my socks had left quite a major groove on that leg, so started checking to see how high up the leg the swelling went. I discovered that my whole leg was on average 1.5cm bigger than the other one (except near the ankle which was considerably bigger). So I made the massive mistake of googling it - yeah I know! So scared myself silly with congestive heart failure, kidney disease and DVT.

The ankle has gone down a lot but the leg is still, on average, 1.5cm bigger - so is this normal, or should I get it checked out?

And does anyone know how to ban medical websites from their internet

I went through the same stress as you when I bought some new wellies. One side fit and the other was too tight around calf. I measured. 1.5cm difference between calves. I was talking to someone who fits riding boots who said it is very common to have one calf bigger than the other.

Thanks Tink, glad it's not just me!

I don't mean to scare you, but I think you should phone your GP in the morning and ask for an emergency appointment for tomorrow. From your description it could be a DVT and you should get it checked out.

I agreee with may- whilst many people do have calves and even legs of different sizes what yu are describing is different. The groove from the pressure of your sock and the swelling suggests something more than just a larger leg.

I'm not a doc (but have some medical experience), but it definitely needs a GP visit rather than ignoring and hoping it will go away.

I've just reread your op and as your whole leg is swollen I would recomend a trip to the OOH doc.

Is the leg red and swollen looking? If it is I wouldn't wait until morning.

Sorry, I should have said that the swelling above the ankle has now gone, I've just pulled down my sock and there isn't a mark today. My ankle is almost back to normal - a combination of anti-inflammatories and elevation did the trick - and it did feel like a mild sprain. It was just the ankle swelling that made me investigate further.

With the swelling on my lower leg/upper ankle reducing I noticed that my calf and thigh were still slightly bigger than the other, but its an even increase and it doesn't actually look any different - just when you get paranoid and use a tape measure

I'll measure it again tonight when I go to bed, if the difference is still only about 1.5cm, then should I stll worry?

No redness, hot spots or soreness

Mine aren't but mine are caused by spina bifida - yours sounds different and I agree that you should seek a medical opinion.