Blood Clots

[gunner76]

I was hiking my favorite hiking trail 2 weeks ago. Great day for a hike, clear skies, cool weather and no one else on the trail. Hiked a total of 5 miles. That afternoon a I felt a pain in my lower leg and thought I had pulled a muscle. Three days later my lower leg swelled up and I showed it to the wife and told her this not a pulled muscle. Went to my Doctor who sent me to hospital where they did an ultra sound on my leg and found a blood clot. Doctor said I made a good call to come in right away. I did not injure my leg or anything and all my lab work came back normal so the Doctors do not know why I devloped the clot. I am out of work for several weeks and very glad I have health insurance. Since it was caught early I am being treated on a out paitent basis, did not have to be hospitalized.

Why am I posting this ? I talked to a person where my wife works who ignored the exact same symtons and ended up being hospitailized. This can be deadly so if you develop the same symtons, get to a hospital fast.

[Luddite]

Thats scary. What do they do for a blood clot?

[johnnybgood]

Are you on anti-coagulates to thin the blood ?

[gunner76]

I am on rat poison (warfrin) and a injection (enoxaparin) twice a day. The injections are like gold at aboiut $130 a shot, insurance covers all but a few $$ of the cost.

Out of work for about 3 weeks but that is better than the alternative.

[Toolshed]

Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). Check out http://www.preventdvt.org/ you can also take a risk survey there.
Glad you are doing better.

[HiKen2011]

My brother has had issues, I was tested for factor 2 mutation and luckily don't have it. I was told that folic acid acid reduces the risk. I take it everyday!!!!!!!!!!!!

[rip waverly]

wow.
glad you caught this early.
thanks for the info/.

[Spirit Walker]

Jim threw a clot when we were thruhiking the CDT. We assumed the pain in his shin was tendonitis. Walking was very painful and we were slowed down a lot. When I got injured and we were off the trail for a few days, I mentioned to somebody that Jim's leg was red and swollen and very painful. She said, "That's not tendonitis, sounds like a blood clot." She looked at it (she was a nurse) and asked her husband, a doctor, to check it out. Both agreed that it was a blood clot and recommended heat and tylenol. (We had been icing it.) By the time we got back on the trail, the clot was dissolved. We've always figured that my accident probably saved his life. It certainly saved our hike.

Jim blamed the icy snowmelt streams and his frostnipped feet for his problem. It also could have been from a result of the plane ride west. In any case, the problem never returned.

[mkmangold]

Lots of reasons for DVT's including being a male over age 40 or a female over age 50. Or a female of child-bearing age who smokes and takes birth control pills. Or people with certain types of tumors or clotting disorders. Or the sedentary.
So what's more common: a pulled muscle on a hike or a blood clot? My guess, a pulled muscle by 1:100. So take aspirin along to treat pain and maybe you can prevent further damage if it is a blood clot. And that damage? It breaks off and goes to your lungs. This guy is on coumadin and fractionated heparin to prevent THAT from happening since having a painful swollen leg is much less of an emergency than not being able to breathe. My advice: aspirin 81mg per day for men over 40 and women over 50 whether you have a heart disease history or not. And bring aspirin along on a hike if you can tolerate it.