Panicandpeace
07-12-18, 19:44
Hi everybody,
So I've mentioned this fear before. For years, I've basically had leg symptoms that cry wolf, or better to say cry blood clot when I get anxious. I think I just read about them one time, and that was enough to make it a concern for me, despite being young, fairly active (although there are days when I sit a lot), healthy weight, non-smoker, not on hormonal birth control, etc. So, I've had several ultrasounds done throughout the past few years that have always come back normal.
Anyway, I just had surgery. Jaw surgery. Actually the week before my surgery, I went to see the doctor about my tense left leg (presents in the left leg most of the time), and he didn't even order a blood test this time around because I'd been there just a couple of months before with the same complaint in the same leg. I told him about my upcoming surgery, and he reassured me that the hospital would take all the usual precautions for blood clots and not to worry. Fast forward to my surgery, and I wore compression stockings and those electronic leg massager things throughout the procedure, which I believe was about 5-6 hours, and I wore the stockings/massagers the next 2 days while I was in the hospital as well. I got up to use the bathroom every so often, but was pretty immobile otherwise. I wore the stockings when I got home fore the next couple of days, again with getting up to use the bathroom being my main movement of the day. I get pretty anxious even when I have been sitting down for about an hour or two. It makes it hard for me to enjoy going to the movies or binge watching a TV series. Those things are impossible for me to enjoy because I'm convinced that's all it takes. My left leg, again the one that usually bother me, has been bothering me for the past couple of days, and of course I've worked myself up about it. I know it's most likely anxiety, but I can't help but feel more worried than usual since I just had surgery, even though, I wasn't completely immobile afterwards and had the leg massagers and the surgery wasn't orthopedic in nature or on any lower extremities, and am low risk otherwise. I've been more immobile than usual, but I'm certainly not bedridden, and I'd say I'm up on my feet for a few minutes ever hour or couple of hours. It's like, logically, I can think, "people get sick with the flu and stay in bed for 2 or 3 days, and they are fine." But for me, anytime I have to be still is anxiety inducing. My brain will zone in on any little twinge and it's all I can think about. And that's the best way to describe what I feel too. A twinge. On a scale of 1-10 of pain, it would be maybe a 2. Hard to even describe it as painful.. more of a tenseness, which I know, again points more so to anxiety. It's so weird. Does anybody else get tense leg muscles? Especially in one specific leg? It's so strange how our brains can make us feel even the tiniest little muscle ache and turn it into impending doom. Today, that tenseness started to jump over to the right leg after massaging my calves maybe a bit too hard, again, another strong argument that it's anxiety. But my brain is having a field day, going...hmmm this is new. Let's worry about this now!!
So I've mentioned this fear before. For years, I've basically had leg symptoms that cry wolf, or better to say cry blood clot when I get anxious. I think I just read about them one time, and that was enough to make it a concern for me, despite being young, fairly active (although there are days when I sit a lot), healthy weight, non-smoker, not on hormonal birth control, etc. So, I've had several ultrasounds done throughout the past few years that have always come back normal.
Anyway, I just had surgery. Jaw surgery. Actually the week before my surgery, I went to see the doctor about my tense left leg (presents in the left leg most of the time), and he didn't even order a blood test this time around because I'd been there just a couple of months before with the same complaint in the same leg. I told him about my upcoming surgery, and he reassured me that the hospital would take all the usual precautions for blood clots and not to worry. Fast forward to my surgery, and I wore compression stockings and those electronic leg massager things throughout the procedure, which I believe was about 5-6 hours, and I wore the stockings/massagers the next 2 days while I was in the hospital as well. I got up to use the bathroom every so often, but was pretty immobile otherwise. I wore the stockings when I got home fore the next couple of days, again with getting up to use the bathroom being my main movement of the day. I get pretty anxious even when I have been sitting down for about an hour or two. It makes it hard for me to enjoy going to the movies or binge watching a TV series. Those things are impossible for me to enjoy because I'm convinced that's all it takes. My left leg, again the one that usually bother me, has been bothering me for the past couple of days, and of course I've worked myself up about it. I know it's most likely anxiety, but I can't help but feel more worried than usual since I just had surgery, even though, I wasn't completely immobile afterwards and had the leg massagers and the surgery wasn't orthopedic in nature or on any lower extremities, and am low risk otherwise. I've been more immobile than usual, but I'm certainly not bedridden, and I'd say I'm up on my feet for a few minutes ever hour or couple of hours. It's like, logically, I can think, "people get sick with the flu and stay in bed for 2 or 3 days, and they are fine." But for me, anytime I have to be still is anxiety inducing. My brain will zone in on any little twinge and it's all I can think about. And that's the best way to describe what I feel too. A twinge. On a scale of 1-10 of pain, it would be maybe a 2. Hard to even describe it as painful.. more of a tenseness, which I know, again points more so to anxiety. It's so weird. Does anybody else get tense leg muscles? Especially in one specific leg? It's so strange how our brains can make us feel even the tiniest little muscle ache and turn it into impending doom. Today, that tenseness started to jump over to the right leg after massaging my calves maybe a bit too hard, again, another strong argument that it's anxiety. But my brain is having a field day, going...hmmm this is new. Let's worry about this now!!