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This.Quote:
Originally Posted by detrusor
I had two small PEs following bilateral knee trauma. Slid into a snowmaking tower at full speed
After the initial treatment of a subcutaneous injection I was transferred to warfarin. After 3 months or so i stopped taking them.
Oh yeah, PEs suuuuuck.
Medical question…how do u know if you are having these clots?
After my documented waterskiing wreck this past August and my Grade 2 hamstring tears…..I am still not back to normal….and still having issues/can’t run, etc. (even with PT the past 3 months)
Is there anything I should be looking for?
At the end of the day, I have some serious swelling/tightness I deal with. Would clotting be an issue?
I know…I should go to a doctor….but never considered clotting/until reading this thread.
For me I’ve been dealing with PT on my knee for months, but never had any signs of a blood clot.Quote:
Originally Posted by BC.
A few days after I smashed my foot I had a severe Charlie horse develop in my calf. It never got better, even with stretching. Became tender to the touch.
Even today on day 3 of blood thinners, my calf and arch of my foot feel like I just skied the sketchiest terrain of my life on boots that were a size too small.
I know there are other signs of clots to look for, this was mine
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Thx….yes, I have had big time cramping in my calf/hamstring….I bought a massage gun and rollers….am constantly working on both of them….like huge knots in my calf/hamstrings)….always tender to touch/but eases up after “working on them”.
(Never had any of these issues (even as a marathon runner) before accident)….
It’s been since August 6th (day of infamy..lol) so I would think if I was having clotting issues, something would of happened to me already?
Nobody ever mentioned clotting issues…so this thread got me overthinking? But the injuries/after effects sound so similar to mine…
I’ll mention it at PT on Tuesday…..
*I had planned on some trips and making some appearances this winter….but thinking my winter is going to have to be pretty tame/if I can do it at all. (When I did it, I knew I screwed my leg up/future)
Note to self: avoid provoking bad-ass clots.
Were the hamstring tears your only injuries?Quote:
Originally Posted by BC.
You can have clots and have no symptoms.
This long after your accident it's unlikely that you have acute clotting going on. It is possible that you had clots months ago and the vein is still obstructed or the clot dissolved and in the process the valves in the vein were damaged. If you're still having swelling this long after the accident it would be worth a visit to the doc and maybe an ultrasound including looking for reflux through the valves, depending on what the doc thinks after they see your leg.
Thanks…yes, tore hamstring where it attaches to my glute and behind my knee……had initial knee issues, so we did an MRI on knee….no ligament damage/just bad bone bruising on knee from hyper extension.
Yeah, it’s worth a visit to see why I’m not seeing the results I’m expecting….still can’t run at all…..it’s like my leg has forgotten how to react….”fire”. My PT just says we have to build your hamstring back from zero…..
So….I figure just keep doing the PT and it will come back….and then I read this thread about similar injuries and blood clots…..and it has me “thinking”.
Thank you for ur advice….
It's not so much that you need to exercise. You just need to not be sedentary. Movement is good. Plus it helps with the healing.Quote:
Originally Posted by 123ski
But to be more specific something like a medium size (maybe smaller depending on cast) exercise ball under your legs to roll around if walking/crutching/whatever makes it throb too much. look up early post op pt exercises and see what works for you and your cast, etc. They're usually gentle but will get things circulating
I don't know why people would be surprised. I thought clotting was kind of a primary concern after a crushing injury to a lower extremity similar to most leg surgeries.
When your gastrocs and soleus muscles (calf muscles) contract they squeeze blood out of the very large veins inside the soleus. Keeping the blood moving keeps it from clotting. One thing you could do is to isometrically contract your calf muscles without resistance, if you know what I mean. Kind of closing the barn door after the Shire horse is out but worth doing.
Hence the use of the anaconda pneumatic leggings post-surgery.
123ski: Sorry to hear about your ordeal. If you're on a blood thinner like Xarelto, you don't really need to worry about a PE or further clots. At least, that's my lay understanding as a non-doctor who previously spoke with numerous doctors on the issue.
BC.: For me, my clots felt like a general soreness in my calf. It felt like someone had recently kicked me in the calf or I had done a big calf workout for the first time in ages the day before. But whereas those things generally go away within a few days, my soreness persisted for more than a week (maybe a couple weeks).
Personally, I think it'd be a good idea to see a doctor about it. I was 34 years old when I got my first DVT. I mentioned my calf pain to my orthopedist, who was tending to my broken wrist at the time, and he more or less dismissed it out of hand. But a week or so later, I saw a GP, and he had me get an ultrasound immediately with the advice that it was very unlikely to be a clot. (It was a clot.)
After a few days with shortness of breath when I’m mobile, they sent me in for a CT. Found a small PE. I can’t really tell I have it. Told me to stay on blood thinners and sent me home
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BC. Search “saddle PE” and then tell me if it’s worth a visit to your doctor. My wife and I go round around about her “just asking her PT”. They’re not MD’s for fucks sake.
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Yeah..I’m not asking my current PT….I think I’m ok…since my HS soccer season ended, I’ve been able to be consistent with “my” workouts and things feel pretty good/getting stronger….I am finally starting to “run” this week…albeit super slow/only short distances, but it’s a start.Quote:
Originally Posted by detrusor
Reading that thread got me spooked, but it’s been 3 months…..I don’t think I could do what I’m doing during training sessions if I was having clot issues…
I have a yearly physical coming up in December…and will mention it in a few weeks.
Thanks though…..good luck to all the guys having issues…wishing you all the best so u can get back out there and rip it up again..
Shortness of breath is how you know you have it. I assume they checked your oxygen saturation and vital signs before they sent you home. Any chest pain, increased shortness of breath, or rapid heart rate go straight to ER/Quote:
Originally Posted by 123ski
To clarify BC--he's trying to scare you into seeing a doctor. We wouldn't expect you to have a lot of swelling from that injury alone. He's not saying you have a saddle embolus (yet). People with saddle emboli can't google, or do anything else, including breathing.Quote:
Originally Posted by detrusor
Just an update
My DVT did turn into a PE
My foot is now 12 weeks broken and still painful (was expecting 6-8 weeks). Have a follow up x-ray next week
Originally wanted to keep me on blood thinner until mid February, but with lingering cramps and pulsating in my calf they are considering leaving me on it until March/April
I asked about getting a follow up ultrasound and was told it’s not super helpful for managing my treatment
I’m essentially being given the option of coming off blood thinner in February, but am being told it might be too early and that things like tight ski boots and long plane rides (work) might bring it back.
I’ve really had my mind set on skiing by February so I’m a bit bummed right now and need some rationale voices in my head.
If I have to cancel the season I’m inclined to sell everything now and buy new again for next year, then get on a plane and spend a few weeks on a beach somewhere. Come back, get off blood thinner, and start biking.
Really didn’t want it to come to this.
I suppose though if I came off it in March I could buy a spring only pass and get a few days in before the end of the season - but again, tight ski boots aren’t sounding like they are highly recommended for this season
Talk to me
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I don't know that I would worry about tight ski boots causing another blood clot. Plane rides are definitely a concern.
The reason for anticoagulation is to prevent a new clot and to keep the old clot from growing. The biggest risk factor for a DVT is a previous DVT.
If the US showed there's still a blood clot it wouldn't make much difference because it's not going anywhere this late after forming. The blood clot you're worried about is the one you haven't had yet.
The usual recommendation is 3 months of anticoagulation IF there are no ongoing risk factors like impaired mobility or the need for long plane trips. I don't know if your continued pain is significantly impairing your mobility--if it is that would argue for continuing. If you can't avoid flying that would argue for continuing. I don't see skiing as increasing your risk of blood clots.
If you do get another clot there's a good chance they will want to keep you on anticoagulation for a long time, possibly for life, so if you have impaired mobility or have to fly it would be worth being cautious now to avoid long term anticoagulation.
Hope that helps you understand what your doctor is recommending.
Suck it up do what they say thinners till April? Jesus christ that's nothing
Do you want to jerk off today and get that rush or wait and fuck the perfect hooker in Vegas this summer?
Don't fuck around let your body heal it sucks cock but the alternative is worse been there done that and sucking cock is not something I'm into at all
*** checking into this thread ***
Currently Week 12 after meniscus surgery.
I had returned to skiing at Week 8, so I was gradually ramping things up. Sharp pain in my calf halfway down a run ended my day. Next couple days my calf pain got way worse. Ended up in the ER. Diagnosis: extensive blood clotting.
They said one of the clots is over a foot long? How is that possible?
I was already on Plavix and this happened anyway. So they upgraded me to some new form of rat poison.
Just starting this journey, I don’t know shit.
Wow, that sucks. I hope the new ratatouille mix is tolerable and lets you get back out there quickly. Dont like the word extensive at all unless it’s about the availability of hookers and blow
Checking in…. Harry, how’s it going?
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Well, I seem to be doing ok. Day 5 now on the new blood thinner. Pain in my calf is gone, but it is still somewhat uncomfortable to walk. And they want me moving around, not sitting. There is still some swelling, but not like a few days ago.Quote:
Originally Posted by bodywhomper
I don’t know how these things work, but I assume these are all good trends. I also don’t know if I am out of the woods yet. My primary care doctor at Mayo Clinic wants to see me next week, I hope to find out more from him.
I have no idea how long it take for these blood clots to go away. I have been on a maintenance dose of Plavix for several years now, ever since the Bozeman cardiologist installed my heart stent. But obviously that wasn’t a strong enough dose to keep these clots from forming.
This whole episode really threw me for a loop. I was not expecting this.
I wish you luck. Just got taken off blood thinners yesterday after a year on them. Still on some other poison that i think is making me slightly chubby, but I'm alive!
Harry, if you haven’t already, I suggest you reach out to your PT to let them know what’s going on. You want to mitigate the setback from your recovery from knee surgery as much as possible and get back on some sort of PT routine, even if it’s augmented for now.
Having a new plan in place to get back to being a strong and functional athlete will be helpful. Having that convo with your team should be helpful for them, too… and of course, all should have the expectation, that the plan may need to change and be flexible.
I assume your PT and primary care are aware that you’re an athlete, plan to continue your athletic pursuits once recovered, and your expectation for them is that they’ll help and advise you on how to achieve that your realistic goals.
That’s the exact word the ER Doc used: “Mister Harry, you did not pull your calf muscle skiing, you have extensive blood clotting in your leg.”Quote:
Originally Posted by mcski
That is excellent advice, thank you.Quote:
Originally Posted by bodywhomper
I was really making solid gains since my knee surgery and I don’t want to lose what I gained.
They do know that I am an athlete. When I first started PT they had me slated for old person PT based on my age (mid-60s). At the first session they had me fill out a questionnaire, for my goal after PT I put down that I wanted to return to being the best skier on the mountain. That questionnaire got me bumped from the old-person PT to the Sports Medicine track. Different therapist with a program more aligned with an athlete.
I sent her a message via Mayo’s portal.
It’s been a long time but I seem to recall Plavix is more about making the blood slippery and works a bit different than thinners like Coumadin, etc. Don’t know what your on, but I recall my dad being kept on his maintenance Plavix while they temporarily added a thinner to his medicine cabinet
Exercise is your friend.
If we're going to discuss the difference between Plavix and anticoagulants--let's use the correct terms. Plavix is an antiplatelet agent. Platelets are the cells which cause blood clotting in intact arteries and stents. They are most commonly used in people who have hardening of the arteries--atherosclerosis. As mcski says, they don't do much to stop clotting in veins. "Blood thinners" could refer to Plavix or to anticoagulants. The latter are drugs which reduce the activity of blood clotting factors, which are (mostly) proteins in the blood plasma that can cause clotting in intact veins. There are a couple of types--heparin, which is injected and is used in the perioperative period (and also during heart and artery surgery), oral warfarin (Coumadin, "rat poison", and newer oral drugs like Eliquis. Both platelets and the plasma factors produce clotting in injured blood vessels--obviously that's why we have them, but when it comes to clotting in intact vessels--it's primarily platelets that start the clotting in arteries, the plasma factors in veins.None of the drugs make the blood actually thinner or more slippery. I think doctors do a disservice when they treat patients like idiots instead of just telling them what the drugs actually do. Even the idiot patients can understand it.Harry, a blood clot in the leg could theoretically extend from ankle to heart (I've never actually heard of one that long) but certainly not rare to see on from the calf to the groin. Did they say if the clot goes above the knee? Those are the ones we worry more about, both because of the risk of it breaking off and going into the lungs--little risk of that this long after and while on anticoagulation--and because as the clot resolves is can damage the valves in the veins which can lead to swelling and chronic pain.
I try to leave paragraphs. It does no good.
Double return, old goat
Blood clot a foot long?
Nvrmind. Nothing to see here
PS. Good luck on the recovery. To all.
Thx OG, I was hoping you would chime in with the real differences. It’s been too long since I had to deal w Plavix and sometimes heparin with my dad to describe accurately. And I always enjoy your paragraphs
My post as written had 3 separate paragraphs, neatly separated by double spaces. If I saw a post the way mine came out after I posted it I wouldn't waste my time trying to read it. TGR has a blood clot 2 feet long.
Just got back from Mayo primary care appointment. Calf is still swollen, red, and hot to the touch. He says actual measurement has the clot at 18 inches, ER Doc just said “over a foot”.
I am on oral Eliquis, (Five) mg twice a day. Currently on Day (Twelve), saw fast progress Days One through Three, but plateaued since. Doc says that is fairly normal.
He said expect a long recovery. Stressed that he could not make any predictions. Most likely another month or two. Or maybe longer. Also told me about possible damage to my veins, no way to know for sure until the clot resolves.
Old Goat: I really appreciate your input. Sounds like you and my Doc are on the same page.
Yeah, I agree your course in normal. As far as the length of the clot--that's not an important number as far as how to treat and expected course. It's like Doc, how many stitches did I get?
Good luck with the healing, Harry.
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Originally Posted by bodywhomper
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Checking in.</p>
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Approaching 3 months since the blood clot was diagnosed, and I am still dealing with it. It is reduced, but still there. This seems like a long time, but what do I know.</p>
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I am not dead, so I am counting that as winning. I have another appointment in a few weeks, curious what they say.</p>
glad to hear it
stay not-dead, harry
The clots don't always resolve. They can turn into scar in the vein.
One of my buddies had developed clots in his leg at least three times in the last decade, but he never stays on the blood thinners once the clots go away. What could got wrong? lol
Doc mentioned that at my last visit. Not what I wanted to hear.Quote:
Originally Posted by old goat