Swollen hot left calf

[Anxiety Jim]

Hi,

I'm very overweight (24 stone) and for the last few hours I've had a swollen left calf, and it kind of feels like there's a snooker ball under my calf muscle. Also my calf down to my foot is very hot.

Could this be a blood clot? Should I go to my GP tomorrow? I'm a little nervous about going to sleep incase the slot moves... :weep:

[nomorepanic]

Jim

I would err on the side of caution and maybe call NHS direct as they can ask specific questions to determine how serious it is.

I wouldn't like to say leave it until tomorrow from what you say

[uk23]

I also agree with Nicola, have you been very inactive recently? Have a family history of clots? Done any damage to the leg?

How painful is it? Whatever the answers to those questions are it's best you call NHS Direct 0845 46 47.

---------- Post added at 02:05 ---------- Previous post was at 02:03 ----------

Also I know the anxiety you are feeling but even IF if it a clot then it's very early and, from what I have read, very easy to treat.

[Jsp]

Yes I agree and ring NHS direct if you're in the UK, or go to the emergency room if you're worried about it being a clot. The sooner the better. Try not to worry though, you'll be fine. Keep us updated :)

[Anxiety Jim]

Hi every1,

I saw my gp this afternoon and he said it might be a clot, and if the pain hasnt gone by Thursdaycome back. He measured my calfs and there was only 5mm difference with my left 1 the bigger one.

He said because i dont smoke and havent been on a plane its probably OK.

Has any1 had any experience with clots?

Thanks,

Jim

[nomorepanic]

This member has: amandaj

[Anxiety Jim]

Hi everyone and thanks for posting on my thread.

I'd like to update you all. I started feeling breathless earlier, about 8pm, and didn't want to believe it was a panic attack so I ended up going to A+E at about 9pm, they gave me an ECG... all clear, blood pressure... OK, heart rate... OK.

Then about 2 hours later a junior doctor asked me lots of questions, then went away and a registrar came back with him, and asked more questions and felt me legs and chest, and used his stethoscope. They said they'd probably give me an injection (blood thinner) to stop the clot from growing and get me in for an ultrasound scan for tomorrow (today). They went away again, popped in after and hour and said they're waiting for my blood test results, then at 1:45am a nurse came in and said my blood results came back, there was no sign or a clot (I think it was a d-dimer test, which is 95% right) and that I could go home.

I cried on the way home, because I was so relieved, I was so certain I was about to die in A+E, I was close to ringing my dad to tell him to drive 150 miles at 1 in the morning because I didn't have long left.

This next bit probably isn't a good bit to read if you've got health anxiety about blood clots!

###########################
One of the reasons I thought I was going to die was the health anxiety I've struggled with over the years, I've mostly been able to control it for the last 2 years, but this time there was a catalyst. The junior Dr said I was too young to have a blood clot normally (I'm 24 years old) but because of my weight (24 stone) and my swollen and painful calf he thought I should get treated for it. He also went into great detail about how clots form and what happens if one breaks away, and the bit that really got me going was when he told me that a clot is 100 times worse than a heart attack, with a heart attack blood supply to part of the heart is cut off, but if a clot gets stuck in one of the arteries or veins of the heart, the heart can't pump any blood anywhere, and "that's it game over, you don't have time to get to an ambulance, you're dead" and you can expect to live for a few minutes until you've used up the remaining oxygen in your blood. That is what made my health anxiety go wild, every few seconds I felt a twitch in my chest and was sure it was a clot flying towards my heart.
###########################

Obviously the doctor didn't know I had health anxiety, and it may have even done me some good, by scaring me so much he might have given me the motivation to lose weight and get healthy! Only time will tell.

Well that's a very long update, and I'm still a bit worried about having a clot, but hopefully that will pass in a few days.

Jim

[Trbfan]

Yep..Shouldn't have read the bottom, because I was worrying about one at the exact moment. I was reading the post. Did he say how infrequent they are..I mean..Im only 21 and only 13 stone, but im still so paranoid.

---------- Post added 15-08-12 at 00:03 ---------- Previous post was 14-08-12 at 23:47 ----------

Infact I'm having what I think is the worst panic attack of my entire life right now.

[abby38]

Nope I shouldn't have read that last bit either lol. Blood clots terrify me. Glad it was a false alarm. Trbfan I know a few people who have had clots and they haven't died from them. Hope you're feeling a little better this morning x

[Anxiety Jim]

The doctor did say that he wouldn't even consider it being a clot in someone my age if it wasn't for me being so over weight, sitting down for most of the day, and having a swollen leg, so unless you're all of those, I wouldn't worry, and even if you do have all of those, like I did, it still doesn't necessarily mean a clot, because I didn't with all of those.

[Anxiety Jim]

Well I'm starting to have panic attacks again about a possible blood clot in my leg. I know the test's came back negative but I can't get it out of my head that I'm in the 5% where the tests are wrong, because I'm so overweight I think the results must be wrong. I've not had a full-on panic attack for about 2 years, and I've had about 6 since Monday... :-(