Blood Clots??????

I was just reading a post about blood clots and that is kind of freaking me out...... What can you do to prevent them? How do you know when you have one either in your legs or lungs? How do they take care of them? How dangerous are they? Just another thing for me to worry about....... LOL
Thanks,
Tara

its is a possible threat,but not comon...they put these things on your legs after surgery to help the muscles pass the blood thru.after sugery you really dont move around enough so there is a possibility of clotting,but as long as you get up wand walk,you will be fine... and yes they hurt so you will know if something is wrong...just try to walk as soon as they tell you,and walk as much as you can...it helps circulation....it will be fine,dont give it a second thought..

I think that every single one of us worries about the possibility of blood clots after surgery. While rare, they do occur. I had pain in one of my legs afterward, and when I asked my dr., he basically blew me off saying 'it's not a blood clot' - not very reassuring....I was flying shortly afterward, and to give myself peace of mind, I went to see my GP, who also felt confident that it wasn't a clot. Every ache and pain after surgery seems to bring on new paranoia and worryl
The signs you would look for are pain, swelling and redness in your calves - or trouble breathing.
Again, blood clots are rare.....try not to make yourself crazy about something that will likely not happen - but at the same time, know what to look for - and if you have any concerns at all, address them with your dr.

You will be fine...good luck with your surgery.

speaking from experience, i had a blood clot in my leg in jan 2001. i think it moved to my lung-didn't know it at the time. i was walking up and down stairs and was so dizzy and out of breath... a few days later i got diarrhea so bad. so i made dr. appt. well the night before/morning of dr appt. my right leg started hurting so bad that by the morn of the appt i could barely walk... went to dr. appt. my leg was swollen, red and could not walk... doc admitted me to hospital. (he was a jerk-i found out... did not even know what was wrong, would not give me anything for pain til the next am, made me do a leg ultrasound-could not even drink enough for it too work-was dehydrated from all the diarrhea...

to make a long story shorter, one of the nurses on duty said it looked like a blood clot-a family member of hers had one and my symptoms were similar. needless to say, i told doc (there was a different one in the morning, thank goodness) and he checked it out and agreed. was put on meds in hospital known as heparin. after hospital was on coumadin for almost a year and a half. my blood clot ran the length of my leg.

now, here's what pertains to you. any time you have a surgery or extended periods of imobility, you are at risk. other risks include family history of blood clotting, being on the birth control pill, and being sedentary.

symptoms: red, hot spots on your leg, cramping in leg-hard to walk, -if you get the out of breath, dizzy type feeling (im talking really out of breath-feel like you're going to pass out kind), go to er, call dr. whatever. that is a pulmonary embolism and could kill you if the "clot" blocks the wrong arteries, etc. i'm lucky mine didn't... i didn't even have an idea what a blood clot was until i ended up in the hospital with one. and i was only 27 at the time!! to young for something like that...

here's the good news. most hospitals, and for me for sure, they have these "foot pumps" which keep your blood pumping during surgery and for a time after. as long as you keep trying to move after surgery, your risks will be a lot lower..

i will be dealing with this the rest of my life-but as long as i take care of myself it's not a problem.

if you have any other questions, please feel free to ask. i wouldn't worry too much about it. i'm having a hysterectomy and all precautions will be taken to reduce my risk of blood clots.

Heather

Blood clots are a very real possibility post op and that's one of the reasons the nurses get you up and on your feet as soon as possible after your surgery.

I had a blood clot at 3 weeks post op and my only symptom was pain in my inner thigh. There was no redness, no swelling, no heat....none of the classic symptoms. It's important to report any leg pain to your doctor, and the only way to tell for sure if you have a blood clot (they usually start in the leg) is to have an ultrasound of the leg. I did wear the compression boots in the hospital and I did walk as much as possible.

Here's a Hystersisters article that may help you:

https://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/article_207656.htm

Don't worry you will be fine. My hospital put those white support stockings on my legs along with a pair of vibrating boots before I went into surgery. They took the boots off when I went in for surgery, but left the stockings on. Just try to move your legs around as much as possible. I changed my position in the bed as much as I could. I had an LSH on 7/18 in the morning and was home by late afternoon. You will be fine! Good luck to you too!

	Quote:
Originally Posted by camoflauge speaking from experience, i had a blood clot in my leg in jan 2001. i think it moved to my lung-didn't know it at the time. i was walking up and down stairs and was so dizzy and out of breath... a few days later i got diarrhea so bad. so i made dr. appt. well the night before/morning of dr appt. my right leg started hurting so bad that by the morn of the appt i could barely walk... went to dr. appt. my leg was swollen, red and could not walk... doc admitted me to hospital. (he was a jerk-i found out... did not even know what was wrong, would not give me anything for pain til the next am, made me do a leg ultrasound-could not even drink enough for it too work-was dehydrated from all the diarrhea... to make a long story shorter, one of the nurses on duty said it looked like a blood clot-a family member of hers had one and my symptoms were similar. needless to say, i told doc (there was a different one in the morning, thank goodness) and he checked it out and agreed. was put on meds in hospital known as heparin. after hospital was on coumadin for almost a year and a half. my blood clot ran the length of my leg. now, here's what pertains to you. any time you have a surgery or extended periods of imobility, you are at risk. other risks include family history of blood clotting, being on the birth control pill, and being sedentary. symptoms: red, hot spots on your leg, cramping in leg-hard to walk, -if you get the out of breath, dizzy type feeling (im talking really out of breath-feel like you're going to pass out kind), go to er, call dr. whatever. that is a pulmonary embolism and could kill you if the "clot" blocks the wrong arteries, etc. i'm lucky mine didn't... i didn't even have an idea what a blood clot was until i ended up in the hospital with one. and i was only 27 at the time!! to young for something like that... here's the good news. most hospitals, and for me for sure, they have these "foot pumps" which keep your blood pumping during surgery and for a time after. as long as you keep trying to move after surgery, your risks will be a lot lower.. i will be dealing with this the rest of my life-but as long as i take care of myself it's not a problem. if you have any other questions, please feel free to ask. i wouldn't worry too much about it. i'm having a hysterectomy and all precautions will be taken to reduce my risk of blood clots. Heather

Hey Heather,
Thanks for all of the info. I was put on an aspirin a day over a year and a half ago because of some type of clotting factor that came up in a blood test. Then I went to my PCP and he re-checked my blood and said that I did not have that factor anymore. He did not tell me to stop taking the aspirin so I have been taking it ever since.I am going to be sure to bring that up to the surgeon during my pre-op. Infact, I am going to bring my old records to the appt so they can have a look at it.
The first few weeks I worried about the surgery and the anestheisa, now I am worrying about blood clots...... Worry, Worry Worry.............
I wonder if it is possible for blood clotting factors to change like that?
Thanks again,
Tara

	Quote:
Originally Posted by Catherine Blood clots are a very real possibility post op and that's one of the reasons the nurses get you up and on your feet as soon as possible after your surgery. I had a blood clot at 3 weeks post op and my only symptom was pain in my inner thigh. There was no redness, no swelling, no heat....none of the classic symptoms. It's important to report any leg pain to your doctor, and the only way to tell for sure if you have a blood clot (they usually start in the leg) is to have an ultrasound of the leg. I did wear the compression boots in the hospital and I did walk as much as possible. Here's a Hystersisters article that may help you: https://www.hystersisters.com/vb2/article_207656.htm

Thank you............. That makes me feel much better

I don't want to freak you out, but just one more thing to consider. The sisters are right, most blood clots start in the legs. Mine however, was in my abdomen. The way I knew was this unrelenting pain in just one spot - not an ache all over, or normal healing pain, and one part of my incision would not close, and the rest of it has already scabbed over. I brought this to the attn of my doc and they figured it out. i think my situation is even rarer than leg blood clots, so please don't worry about it, just this is another possibility, so don't be afraid to call your doc if you have these two symptoms i mentioned. It could be nothing, but just somehting to be aware of.
You'll do fine! Don't worry, but just listen to your body and don't let docs blow off your concerns.
Luv,
CL

My Doc had me take 1 81 mg Bayer chewable daily after surgery
I still take 1 everyday she says it helps keep the platelets from sticking together which can form clots. Hope this helps some