Been trying to decide since 9:30 pm last night if I should call the Resident on call and ask if they think I have a blood clot in my calf.
I have had some localized pain in my calf for the last two days and last night had a horrifically bad cramp (not fun when you can't move your ankle or massage your calf muscle). I did manage to get my fingers an inch or so down the back of my splint and my calf felt hot.
All of these can be explained away by surgery and being in a splint, or according to the internet, be symptoms of a blood clot in my calf. With no way to do a physical inspection I can't tell if my calf is more swollen then the first few day post-surgery, or how the skin color looks.
I also discovered that I am on less Lovenox then I was last surgery (Blogs are good). My first achilles surgery I was on 30 mg injection twice a day, this time I am on a 40 mg injection once a day. Does this make a huge difference?
And it's not like I can just go to my local ER as they may need to remove the splint to examine my foot, and I'm not certain I would trust them to get it replaced in a way that would make Dr. E happy.
Last night I held off calling because I simply didn't want an answer that might involve my having to go to the hospital that late at night. But with my history of clots, this is not something I should ignore.
I finally decided to leave a message with his service for the Resident on call. Will update later with the outcome.
90 minutes after my message with the service I got a call back from the doctor on call. He didn't feel I needed to worry about the cramping and pain, but said I know my body best and if I get too concerned, or start to have breathing issues, I should go to my local ER. He thought the ER doctor could do a doppler behind my knee without removing the splint. He also said the efficacy of 40 mg lovenox once a day vs. 30 mg twice a day is the same. (So why would any doctor prescribe two shots a day?)
So I sit and mentally note every periodic twinge, or pain in my body. And I definitely need to get my lovenox refilled today!
I have had some localized pain in my calf for the last two days and last night had a horrifically bad cramp (not fun when you can't move your ankle or massage your calf muscle). I did manage to get my fingers an inch or so down the back of my splint and my calf felt hot.
All of these can be explained away by surgery and being in a splint, or according to the internet, be symptoms of a blood clot in my calf. With no way to do a physical inspection I can't tell if my calf is more swollen then the first few day post-surgery, or how the skin color looks.
I also discovered that I am on less Lovenox then I was last surgery (Blogs are good). My first achilles surgery I was on 30 mg injection twice a day, this time I am on a 40 mg injection once a day. Does this make a huge difference?
And it's not like I can just go to my local ER as they may need to remove the splint to examine my foot, and I'm not certain I would trust them to get it replaced in a way that would make Dr. E happy.
Last night I held off calling because I simply didn't want an answer that might involve my having to go to the hospital that late at night. But with my history of clots, this is not something I should ignore.
I finally decided to leave a message with his service for the Resident on call. Will update later with the outcome.
90 minutes after my message with the service I got a call back from the doctor on call. He didn't feel I needed to worry about the cramping and pain, but said I know my body best and if I get too concerned, or start to have breathing issues, I should go to my local ER. He thought the ER doctor could do a doppler behind my knee without removing the splint. He also said the efficacy of 40 mg lovenox once a day vs. 30 mg twice a day is the same. (So why would any doctor prescribe two shots a day?)
So I sit and mentally note every periodic twinge, or pain in my body. And I definitely need to get my lovenox refilled today!
