Following on from:Baby steps
It would seem that I have no good luck – It’s like my body is like ‘Happy New Year!’ Here’s some painful symptoms to stress over…!!
These last few days I’ve been living dangerously, I have been so stupid and ignoring some life threatening symptoms, if not dealt with quickly. But Wednesday 4th January became a pretty scary day! I could have badly affected the rest of my life due to having no interest/motivation to get dressed and to leave the house. So instead I have spent approximately 90% of these last few months in bed.
I was diagnosed with my first DVT (Deep vein thrombosis) a few days after my hip replacement back in April 2014. Due to this I was prescribed blood thinning medication which I had to take daily for six months and I also had to wear compression stockings on both lower legs for 2 years. I also need to take extra care to not to have a sedentary lifestyle but it is trial and error, as I also have to rest when I am sore.
I also have to take extra care when travelling, if I fly I need to do exercises on the aeroplane and if travelling in another way I have to ensure that I get up and move my legs. I also cannot drink alcohol prior to flying and need to ensure that I stay mobile/hydrated. I have also been advised that I am high risk for another DVT and would be forced to take medication and wear stockings for life, if this occurs.
I noticed the cramp type pain on the 1st January 2017 but just thought I’d hurt it somehow. By the 2nd it was getting worse but the doctor surgery reopened on Wed 4th, so I tried to hold out until then. However, the pain had other ideas! I was awoken at 3.30am on the 4th in agony. I had been wearing a compression stocking for the last few days but that morning it didn’t stop the swelling in my calf and ankle.
By the time I called NHS 24 and someone had called me back it was approx 6am. They recommend I head to an out of hours department which was over 30 minutes away so instead they were happy to fax my details to A&E, as didn’t want to me to not go and get checked out. *They already told me off for not calling sooner!!*
By the time I arrived at A&E it was 7.45am and surprisingly there was only one other couple there. Within an hour, I was taken into my own bay, changed into a gown and had an ECG and they did a d-dimer test (which checks for a clot in your blood). They advised it would take about an hour for the results and that’s when it hit me, I have likely just messed up my entire life!
Let the one hour wait begin; I was stressing out as the likelihood of it being bad cramp and not a clot were slim. Plus I gathered if I had a clot then I would be forced to postpone my MRI Arthrogram that I have on Wednesday 11th January which is meant to find out if I require another hip replacement..I was really trying to not panic.
Finally after what felt like the longest wait ever – the results were back! And somehow I must have a guardian angel or something because for once I had good news. A second chance, there was no DVT!!! Now I have a second chance, I need to look after myself a little better.
Until next time…
Amytobefree 