I’m a three-time deep vein thrombosis survivor. My story starts during my first pregnancy. I experienced bleeding during the first and second trimesters and the baby was same for gestational age. I tried to get the obstetrician to look into it, to no avail.
For my second pregnancy, I had emergency C-section. The baby’s heartbeat was failing. Fortunately, they survived! However, the day after the surgery, I had pain in my left leg.
Because I had pain from my abdomen down, I just assumed it was related to the C-section. I did inform the nurse about the pain, and she was supposed to get an ultrasound scheduled but they, as well as I, forgot about it.
I went home and about a week passed. My leg hurt badly and elevating it didn’t help. I was dragging my leg. I knew something was wrong and I had to get help. My obstetrician scheduled an ultrasound and told me to get to the hospital. I was diagnosed with a DVT and was put on IV for heparin.
Then ran tests and I was diagnosed with factor V Leiden and factor II. I was given heparin injections to take home and put on warfarin for six months. That was in 2004.
My second DVT happened in 2019 and was unprovoked. I had a third DVT in 2021 after long road trip. I’ve been on blood thinners since 2019. I did not have any swelling or redness or severe pain with my second and third clots, it just felt like I pulled a muscle. But I always listen to my inner voice or intuition.
Go directly to the emergency room if you have any symptoms! Do not wait, please!