One leg swelling

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Shirley Dickey

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 19, 2011
Messages
50
Location
Bayside Tx
Hi,
Dont post much but I am on here several times a day..
wanted to ask does any one have problem with legs swelling? Seems worse in one leg..have cardio appt but not till fri..
PCP says it could be venostastis or blood clot but he not sure is clot cause i am in range on acg/warifrin..
But I have been having several small blood clots come out of my nose when I lightly blow...
Just curious as to anyone else have these problems or thoughts or ideas..
Shirley
 
I have not experienced any of the symptoms you are showing, but hope that someone more knowledgeable comes along to answer. Hope you figure it out!
 
I also have no had this problem, But i will call my cardiologist and get in much sooner then the Fri apt that you have.
 
It could be alot of things. Its hard to say without testing, BUt I would wonder why IF your PCP suspects a clot (which you CAN still get when your INR is in range, it just lowers the chances of clots forming) he didnt send you for testing right away instead of making you wait a week to see your card and then them orderring tests.
Is your cardio appt a routine one you've had scedualled, or did you call because of your leg swelling? IF it is a routine one and your card doesn't know about your leg, maybe you should call them and see if they want to move your appt up or maybe they could order some tests, so they have the results already by the time of your appt.
IF it is a clot it could be dangerous waiting, depending where it is it could get bigger or break losre and travel causing more damage depending where it went.

Is this new or something that comes or goes, gets worse than better type thing? Is your swollen leg colder or different color than your other leg or rest of your body? I think that could be related to a clot or scarring if not enough blood is getting thru etc.
If you press your finger into it, is there and indent when you remove it? If so that COULD be extra water and could be caused by a few things, and something like lasix or other 'water pill' could help. Have you been weighing yourself? if not i would startt and keep track so you can see if it is going up and down etc.
IF it gets any worse, I would call your doctors and/or go to the ER
 
You have gotten good replies for swollen leg, here's one for your nose.

When you go to bed tonight try some Vaseline on the inside of your nose by using a Q-Tip. The air around you could be a little dry causing some blood to show up when you blow.
 
I certainly have no credentials but I would worry about a possible phelbitis.
I would have it checked ASAP.
I am probably very wrong but when you mention having other clots in addition to leg swelling, it makes me uneasy.
 
You have gotten good replies for swollen leg, here's one for your nose.

When you go to bed tonight try some Vaseline on the inside of your nose by using a Q-Tip. The air around you could be a little dry causing some blood to show up when you blow.


I would agree, I have blood from my right nostril quite a bit unless I use the vaseline fix. This is however seasonal for me here in the Pacific Northwest.
 
Thanks everyone,

This is not a routine appt. this was the soonest I could get in..this is the 1st time it swelled like this. I called my cardio @ weeks ago when it started & they sent me to pcp due to them thinking it was cellulitius...which it is not ..my leg is red and swollen no temp diffrence that I can tell but pressing on it leaves no mark but my socks leave a deep inditention sorry for incorrect spelling. The swelling has been constant for 2++ weeks now. not getting any worse but not getting any better compression hose only helps a small amount, legs elevated swelling goes down till I get back up again..weird thing is I had a dbl bypass with mitrial replacement in June & the leg swelling is not the leg they harvested the vein from...so I am very confused & worried..
Have not been weighing myself but will start so I have all info when I see cardio.
As for as my nose goes when I use the vaseline like my pcp suggested seems like my nose bleeds worse & more often..
Thanks again for everyones replies I sure do appreciate them....
Thanks & God bless & happy holidays
 
You May Need to See A Vascular Specialist/Surgeon

You May Need to See A Vascular Specialist/Surgeon

Hello Shirley,

I had problems with one leg following surgery to replace my mitral valve. While my story is long, the point I want to make is that your cardiologist may not be the right person to diagnose it, and you may need to see a vascular specialist.

I had endocarditis and had to have emergency surgery to replace my mitral valve, which was done in May 2011. Immediately following the surgery, while still recovering in the hospital, I had severe pain and swelling in my right foot. I had no pain in the chest related to the heart surgery, but my foot was very painful and I had to keep it elevated to reduce the pain. The doctors did ultrasound and x-ray on my leg and foot while I was still in cardiac recovery at the hospital, but did not find anything wrong. Once home, it was weeks before I could walk at all on that foot without hobbling/limping. Even once I could walk, I got severe pain in my calf in my right leg when I walked as little as a block. When I had my 3 month checkup with my cardiologist, I told him that I had "intermittent claudication" and I thought something was messed up in the circulation in my right leg.

My cardiologist confirmed that the pulse in my right foot was weaker than the pulse in my left foot, and had me make an appointment with a vascular specialist.
Although the cardiologist did refer me to the vascular doctor, the cardiologist was not the one who diagnosed the problem.
The vascular specialist did a test that checks the ratios of blood pressure in your arms and legs, measuring various points on thigh, knee, ankle and toe. In my case the blood pressure dropped substantially in the right leg below the knee. Because of this test, they knew there was some blockage in the artery below my knee on my right leg. The vascular doctor took ultrasound of the artery and saw a blockage. The ultrasound the doctors had previously performed in the hospital were of the veins, not the arteries, which is why they missed it.

The vascular doctor suspected it was blood clots formed on the arterial pump that they had stuck up my artery to keep my blood flowing before they could do the valve replacement surgery. She said these often cause micro-clots which can travel down to the leg where the arteries narrow.
She referred me to a vascular surgeon to perform an arteriogram (injecting radioactive dye to see the blood flow in real-time) and hopefully balloon angioplasty/stent the clots and restore flow. Turns out, the arteriogram showed that it wasn't clots, but some of the endocarditis bacteria had broken off the vegetation on my mitral valve and traveled down the artery to my leg where they formed two mycotic aneurysms which were thrombosed. So, they aborted the balloon angioplasty operation and I am now going to see yet another another vascular surgeon who is collecting history on the aneurysms over time, and I'll decide if I need to do a leg arterial bypass or live with the pain for a while longer.

So, the point I want to get across is that you may need to see a vascular specialist and possibly have a few more specific tests done in order to determine what the nature of the problem really is. The cardiologist may not be able to tell you, although he should be able to refer you to the right person.

Good luck and best wishes.
 
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