Vascular consult update

I had another leg ultrasound today. The good news is that things didn’t get worse and nothing new showed up. The clot/thrombus is still there and it’s going to take time to dissolve. My leg feels a bit softer when you poke a finger into it, which is an improvement.

Best news is that I don’t have to continue Lovenox shots. Thank you, God. Really and truly, thank you. I’m back on Xarelto once a day in a teeny tiny little red pill taken with dinner. No Lovenox should mean no nausea and better sleep quality as well as not being a pin cushion.

Strange news is that my belly actually has two large hematomas as well as some smaller ones. Everyone was quite impressed by their size. The one on the left has been there for 3 weeks and does seem a bit smaller, but it’s still quite hard. The one on the right side, up closer to the bottom of the bra, has been there a week and is 6″ x 4″, and quite angry around the margins. I’m to use a heating pad 4 times a day for 20 minutes, and ice for the same, for a week before checking in again by phone. If it’s not getting any smaller, she’s going to send me for a CT scan.

There really isn’t any bad news, which is good news.

My poor tummy

I’ve been injecting my tummy with Lovenox twice a day for the last 30 days as prescribed by the vein specialist. I’ve never done injections before but didn’t think it would be all that hard. After all, I’d already been through two months of once-daily Lovenox shots when in rehab last year, and while I didn’t like it, it wasn’t hard.

No one told me to expect to get hard lumps at injection sites. Bruising, yes, because I’m injecting blood thinners and the bruises are blood bruises. But not the lumps. And now my tummy is full of small hard spots and two really swollen ones on each side that are at least 4-5 inches long and 3 inches wide, hard as a rock and very sore around the margins. I feel as though an alien is poking out through the stomache.

Tomorrow I go back to the vein guy for another leg ultrasound to see if the clot is actually dissolving, which is of course the goal. I know it’s not gone because my leg is still swollen, though it might be a bit better. But we are definitely going to have a chat about Lovenox and what other options I have. Because there has to be one and I do NOT want to keep stabbing myself with needles.

Swollen leg update

This isn’t particularly exciting but I’m trying to keep track of what progress (or not) I’m making as I go through this recovery time.

As you know, I’m on Lovenox because I have a blood clot in my right thigh. I inject it twice a day on the left side in the mornings and on the right side in the evening for no particular reason except they need to be spaced out. No one mentioned several things that would have been good to know. First, I needed to get a sharps container for the discarded syringes. Amazon came to the rescue yet again. Second, those injections can and often do leave hard lumps under the skin, and with all of the injections, those lumps start to run together. I have one big lump about 4 inches long and 1.5 inches wide plus a few assorted scattered other lumps. Third, because this is a blood thinner, I’m ending up with lots of purple blood bruises. Bottom line is my tummy looks like someone beat me up except it doesn’t really hurt, it just looks bad.

It’s hard to tell if the injections are doing any good. Various medical people told me that the clot would dissove in about a month, two months, three months, or up to six months. So it’s really too early to tell if anything is happening yet since it’s just been two weeks. I do think my right foot isn’t quite as puffy as it was and in the morning, it looks almost normal. The leg is still very tight and swollen and there’s lots of pitting if you press the skin with a finger. But maybe there is progress.

I finish my 30 day supply of Lovenox before my next appointment with the vein specialist, so I need to call the office to see whether they want me to refill the prescription (at $252) or take Xarelto that I already have left over from the FIRST doctor to see the DVT. I know I have to keep taking something, just not what.

I would really like this leg to be normal. Beyond the clot problem itself is the heaviness of the leg because of all the pooled blood in the calf. I first noticed the difference between right and left about 10 days after my surgery last August, and it’s never completely gone away. Walking is more complicated because the legs don’t fell the same when they move. The right one feels big and clunky, as though it’s pulling through water. I’m hoping getting the clot dissolved, whenever that happens, will make the walking feel more balanced.

Image credit: Photo 58182878 / Sharps Container © Sherry Young | Dreamstime.com

Counting Sheep Doesn’t Work

I’ve been waking up at ridiculous middle of the night hours after a few hours of sleep. Tonight, though, I’m still awake at 2am without ANY sleep. Yes, I take something prescription to help me sleep but tonight it’s not working. Neither did counting sheep. Okay, cats.

My right leg is spasming from knee to toes, clamping down in waves of pressure and tingling. This happened all the time right after my surgery but lately it hasn’t been around at all. I didn’t miss it and wonder what it means that it’s back. My lower back hurts, too, and my tummy hurts where I’ve been sticking myself with Lovenox.

On the other hand, I did figure out how I can roll over onto my left side, something I’ve been trying to do for almost a year.

… 5:25am. I got 3 hours of sleep and am now sitting with a big ice pack on my lower back. Never sure if it should be heat or ice, but at least I know it feels good. I have pain pills if needed. I’m also dealing with waves of nausea again, which I think are from the Lovenox. Planning to lay low today. Maybe take a nap if I can.

Birthday Cake for Breakfast

Today is my birthday and I had carrot cake for breakfast because, why not? My brother and sister-in-law brought it with them yesterday to celebrate my day a bit early, and there are carrots in it, so it’s healthy. It certainly is tasty. Cecelia gave me the best b’day present ever: a massaging foot bath followed by nail trim and foot massage. Honestly, my feet have been so unhappy (it’s been 3 months since the podiatrist was here and I really can’t cut my own nails because of the neuropathy) that it was the perfect gift. Plus I’m touch deprived and dearly miss regular pedicures and massages. At least I can touch and cuddle the cats, even though they’re not all excited about being cuddled.

For my birthday, I’m buying myself a loveseat for the living room. This was the original plan last year when I moved in but it never happened. Now it’s time. I’ve had a great time looking at furniture online and trying to find something that’s not too big, not too boring, and made of lighter colored fabric that the cats won’t want to immediately claw. They leave soft chenille fabrics alone so that’s what I looked for. I also bought a coffee table from Pottery Barn in wood and metal that will match my shelving unit. Both loveseat and table will give the girls more places to nap and change up the look of the space while still giving me ample room to wheel or walk around. I needed more space for that when I first moved here but I know what I’m doing now. It makes a difference.

My belly is sore from my twice-daily Lovenox shots, and I have lots of purple splotches. I do morning shots on the left and evening on the right to make sure I’m spacing them out properly. The first few days I had waves of nausea that I finally realized were from the shots, and on one walk in the hallway found myself in a cold sweat bad enough that I turned around because I was so shakey. That might have been low blood sugar which usually isn’t a problem. I’m hoping these shots are actually starting to work on the blood clot.

I see the cardiologist on Tuesday for my regular annual exam and will see what he has to say about the clot. But first I need to call the vascular people to have a report of my visit sent to the heart doc so he has all appropriate information. We shouldn’t have to do all of this checking and tracking but I don’t expect the offices to do it on their own anymore. My work experience in dealing with vendor customer service for a zillion different reasons helps enormously but I wish I didn’t need it.