DVT scare

Maternity leave got off to a dramatic start. I ended up in A&E (the ER to my American friends) with suspected Deep Vein Thrombosis. The first day of leave was actually my birthday and that evening my left leg started to swell up and hurt around the knee and lower thigh area. By the time we were coming home from dinner I could barely walk on it. I think Hubby thought I was just maximising the birthday experience and wanting to be spoiled as much as possible when I asked if we could take a cab to and from the restaurant!

I thought I'd sleep on it and maybe it would right itself by the morning if I had it elevated for a while, but it was no better the next day so I called the midwife who told me to come in to the hospital. As it was a weekend they decided A&E was the best place to go. After the initial assessment, an ECG and a long wait to see a doctor, they suspected DVT and gave me a blood thinner by injection. I had to go back the next day for another, and then back on Monday to get an ultrasound on the leg and a follow up with the results. I was pretty freaked out by it all. I presumed having to have anti-coagulant injections daily is not only inconvenient, it would have serious implications for my delivery. So I spent two days worrying about it. Thankfully it was a happy ending. The ultrasound was done and they couldn't find a clot so it was just a false alarm. I can't tell you how relieved I was. I had a follow up with an A&E doctor after the results were posted and he said it looked like it was inflammation of the knee, exacerbated by all the extra fluid and weight gain from this stage of pregnancy. He ordered me to take it easier than I have been and stay off the leg as much as possible, and just generally relax more. Good advice indeed!