Bigrockk, sorry to hear of your loss. It is indeed unfortunate and even the doctors sometimes miss the call.
My leg pain started out exactly like a strain or pulled muscle, not surprising as I'd done my first ride on the mx bike three days prior. But the odd part, and now I know how serious it was, was that the pain would come and go and change in intensity at times. That is a sure sign it's NOT a muscle strain. So now I know better.
To add to my advice from the first post: If the pain comes and goes, there is swelling with no sign of bruising, if any area of you leg, arm or whatever feels hotter than the other, or there is an obvious enlargement of a vein, get to a doctor or ER right away and insist on an ultrasound!! In my case, had I done that on the 14th, I possibly would have avoided the whole hospital incident.
The signs of a clot traveling to your lungs/heart include: Shortness of breath, heart palpitations (irregular beat), a sensation of momentary, abrupt loss of breath (like when you get hit in the chest and have the wind knocked out of you) which may be on one side or both....anything out of the ordinary needs to be looked at.
Your family history plays into it as well, my mother has some serious factors that I may also have. I'll see the blood specialist on the 28th, hopefully he can figure out what started this and how long I'll have to stay on the meds.
Thanks again for all the kind words everbody!! I still get tired easily and even though my leg no longer bothers me I fear that the lung clots are not gone yet.
