here's hoping I don't die from a blood clot

[juldea]

So you know how yesterday the pain in my leg (1) changed and (2) increased by OH HOLY HELL?

I dealt with it with painkillers (double doses) and griping, and dealing, and eventually at near-midnight when I removed my socks and shoes, I noted my foot was... the wrong color. Bluey. Grey-y. Hrm. It also felt, to me, internally, kinda cold. londo came over and put a hand on each foot and made a very memorable face - turns out my injured-leg foot pretty much felt room temperature to him. I could still wiggle toes, it wasn't numb, etc, but it definitely was wrong.

The unfortunate thing about the US medical system, however, is that the prospect of going to the ER for something that isn't currently killing me is so overwhelmingly a burden and hassle, most likely for nothing, that I am really loathe to do it. So I did some research online, which indicated that yes, I might have a blood clot in my leg after all, but it's not confimed. I called the doctor's office answering service and talked to some guy who forwarded my complaint to a nurse, who called back two hours later at 2am to tell me that it could be a blood clot or nerve damage but maybe not. Oh, and that since I was calling her at 2am, this was obviously something impacting my life, therefore I should go in. Yeah, no.

I got in bed, elevated it, put on a sock and some thermal pajamas, and slept. This morning, it's back to normal temperature and color, although there's a strong localized pain in the upper back of my calf - which could be a muscle unhappy with the various positions/manipulations I've had to put my leg in the past week, or could be, you know, a clot. I guess. I don't know.

I've called my doctor clinic, who sent a message to my doc, who might call me back in a reasonable timeframe. I'd really like to make sure I'm not about to die.

EDIT: got called back from the office, although from a nurse and not my doctor herself as she doesn't get in until 1:30. The nurse was sharp and asked a bunch of questions, but did not think it was a clot issue and basically said "keep it elevated as much as possible until your doctor can call you back."

Also, I forgot to give props to londo: last night when I was lying in bed, waiting for the nurse service to call back, he surprised me with a cat in the lap. My cats aren't normally allowed in the bedroom, but he rightly surmised that I was feeling crap but confined to the bed and that the addition of a purring bundle of fur would calm me down. It was a very sweet move.

Comments

[quish.livejournal.com]

Oh, I like Evan's camping out in your doctor's office idea. They need to come up with a diagnosis NOW. And if they can't, then you need to be referred to every damned specialist necessary until the problem is solved.


let me know if you need anything at all, even if it's just a cat in your lap.