Blood clots

I read about Monica and her passing.  I have not had my surgery yet.  Can you tell me the symptoms for a blood clot?  When you get home, should you be getting up every 2 hours to walk, even when you go to bed for the night?  I am suppose to be in for 2-3 days when I have surgery, will I be getting up 2-3 hours to walk?

I had kidney surgery 2 years ago and walked the halls and when I got home walked each day but slept during the night.

Thanks,
Pat

The best thing to do is walk as soon as  you are able out of surgery.  My doc recommended walking 4 times a day which I did like clock work.  You might also ask your surgeon if he gives any blood thinners after surgery, mine did which helped give me a peace of mind.  Walking and drinking lots of water is the best thing you can do.  I imagine your doc would also have pressure socks on you which constantly massage your calfs.  When I sat in bed I'd always move my feet around and point my toes towards me stretching my calves.

You might want to look up blood clots on the net to see all the signs.  I had one after surgery once and it was a pain in my calf that woke me up from a sleep.  Was put on blood thinners right away and it dissolved, thank God.

Best of luck, am sure everything will go fine.

Debbie M.

Hi, If you feel any pain in the calf or see redness, call your doctor.  I made the mistake of letting my go and ended up in the hospital and my left leg (the one that has the clot} was 10 inches bigger around in the calf.  Now I am on blood thinners the rest of my life. So any pain, call the Doc! 

When I had blood clots in my legs, I had horrible pain. I went to the ER and they gave me muscle relaxants. I got to the point where I couldn't walk 10 feet without stopping to rest. It turned out I had blood clots in my legs and my lungs and I almost died.

I was in the hospital for a week on blood thinner injections twice a day. The only reason they could find for the clot was that I had a type of anemia caused by low B vitamins. I wasn't on birth control pills, I hadn't been on a long trip, I hadn't had surgery, my arteries were NOT clogged with plaque. It was totally random. Now I have to be on blood thinners for the rest of my life! Yuck!

Well, I'm just thankful to be alive. It's amazing that I lived to tell the tale.

If you think you might have a blood clot, go to the ER right away. If the pain is severe, ask for a venous doppler. Don't just go home with muscle relaxants like I did.

Best wishes on your surgery.

Hugs,