scorchy
Footballguy
Not typically one to talk about my health on the internet but figured this could actually help a fellow FBG one day.
TL; DR: If you have calf pain and have been on a longish flight or car ride, don't screw around: get to the doctor. And even if you haven't flown, be aware of the signs. DVTs kill up to 100,000 Americans per year.
https://www.stoptheclot.org/learn_more/signs-and-symptoms-of-blood-clots/
About 4 years ago, maybe a week after getting back from vacation in the Caribbean, I started having pretty significant tightness in my left calf and just assumed it was over-exertion from running. I was limping around pretty badly for a couple of days at the office, taking a bunch of crap from the guys about it, before a much smarter female co-worker told me not to be an idiot and call the doctor. Hearing that I had been on a flight recently, they told me to come in right away, immediately Dopplered my leg, and determined I had a DVT. Luckily, none of the clot had dislodged and become a pulmonary embolism. The doctors chalked it up to me running 5 miles in the Cayman heat and becoming dehydrated in the morning before getting on a plane. The flight seemed a little short for a DVT to develop, but I didn't really question things. I was put on blood thinners for 6 months and then told to stop.
Two years later, this time without a plane trip, I felt similar symptoms in the right leg, but with much worse pain. Same drill as before, but this time it was a superficial clot - so no danger of an embolism but still disconcerting. I was referred to a hematologist who ordered all sorts of genetic and screening tests, all of which came back negative. The hematologist, an old German guy, just shrugged at the results and told me in a very matter-of-fact way: "Stop running - there's a reason you don't see guys your size putting in 40-mile weeks. It's my belief the pounding has injured the veins in your legs." For the record, at the time, I was 6' and 200 lbs., but I quit running.
In January of 2021, I bought a Peloton. I had put on 20 lbs. during COVID and (not running) so wanted something to help push myself. Four weeks in, after a particularly hard ride, I felt the tightness again. Dumb me thought that I probably just overdid things, so gave it a day or two to rest. On night two, the real pain kicked in so back to the doctor. This time, it was even bigger DVT. Immediately sent to a second hematologist, who told me I was especially lucky this go-around given the size and specific location. He didn't really see the need for additional screening, and just told me that some people's body's do weird stuff and recommended me to be on blood thinners for life. So I have that going for me.
Anybody else experience these things?
TL; DR: If you have calf pain and have been on a longish flight or car ride, don't screw around: get to the doctor. And even if you haven't flown, be aware of the signs. DVTs kill up to 100,000 Americans per year.
https://www.stoptheclot.org/learn_more/signs-and-symptoms-of-blood-clots/
About 4 years ago, maybe a week after getting back from vacation in the Caribbean, I started having pretty significant tightness in my left calf and just assumed it was over-exertion from running. I was limping around pretty badly for a couple of days at the office, taking a bunch of crap from the guys about it, before a much smarter female co-worker told me not to be an idiot and call the doctor. Hearing that I had been on a flight recently, they told me to come in right away, immediately Dopplered my leg, and determined I had a DVT. Luckily, none of the clot had dislodged and become a pulmonary embolism. The doctors chalked it up to me running 5 miles in the Cayman heat and becoming dehydrated in the morning before getting on a plane. The flight seemed a little short for a DVT to develop, but I didn't really question things. I was put on blood thinners for 6 months and then told to stop.
Two years later, this time without a plane trip, I felt similar symptoms in the right leg, but with much worse pain. Same drill as before, but this time it was a superficial clot - so no danger of an embolism but still disconcerting. I was referred to a hematologist who ordered all sorts of genetic and screening tests, all of which came back negative. The hematologist, an old German guy, just shrugged at the results and told me in a very matter-of-fact way: "Stop running - there's a reason you don't see guys your size putting in 40-mile weeks. It's my belief the pounding has injured the veins in your legs." For the record, at the time, I was 6' and 200 lbs., but I quit running.
In January of 2021, I bought a Peloton. I had put on 20 lbs. during COVID and (not running) so wanted something to help push myself. Four weeks in, after a particularly hard ride, I felt the tightness again. Dumb me thought that I probably just overdid things, so gave it a day or two to rest. On night two, the real pain kicked in so back to the doctor. This time, it was even bigger DVT. Immediately sent to a second hematologist, who told me I was especially lucky this go-around given the size and specific location. He didn't really see the need for additional screening, and just told me that some people's body's do weird stuff and recommended me to be on blood thinners for life. So I have that going for me.
Anybody else experience these things?
Last edited by a moderator:
.
.
