Thought I had plantar fasciitis, turned out to be a DVT blood clot!
Since there are many ladies about my age here (late forties), I thought I'd share what happened to me this week...
I went out of town on spring break a few weeks ago, and spent a week sitting in the car. I started having sharp pains in my heel while I was on vacay, and I initially attributed it to just wearing flip flops after being in supportive shoes/boots all winter. Days went on and I continued to have severe pain in my foot (could barely stand on it), and we continued to make our way home (drove for six days straight).
I really thought it was plantar fasciitis, even though I'd never had sort of flare up or even mild foot pain. When we got home, we found out we had a flooded basement from snow melting. So I had to carry boxes up stairs for a day, and by the next day, my calf was killing me. Again, I contributed it to whatever I had done to my foot and walking up stairs.
A few days passed and I started having swelling and parts of my calf turned red. My dad had a blood clot a few years ago, and they told him he had the Leiden Factor gene, which makes him prone to clots. I had never been tested for this, nor did I even think I could be at the age where this could occur. I called him and told him my symptoms, and we agreed that I should go to the ER.
They told me I had a "superficial" blood clot in my ankle but it didn't appear to be the deep vein thrombosis that is the scary type (that can dislodge and go to your lungs/heart). So I was sent home with an aspirin and told to get a follow up ultrasound this week.
At that follow up ultrasound, they told me the ER people read it incorrectly and that I do indeed have a DVT! I had been nervous since they sent me home that they didn't fully test me, and this had confirmed my suspicions. My doctor put me on Lovenox shots for a week and coumadin for six months (or the rest of my life if I have the Leiden Factor).
I just thought I'd share this in case anyone else ever has leg (or arm) pain that starts to travel up the leg. My doctor originally thought I'd pulled a muscle, but I had to keep being my own advocate, and I'm glad I didn't ignore the warning signs.
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