The Universe has stomped on me thread. Rant or clear the air

[Rose Dome]

What a scary and stressful situation!

I hope you’re now getting more rest

[Elladorine]

I just mentioned in the Heat thread that I was at the beach yesterday (or rather, the day before as my sense of time is completely skewed) and fell as we were walking over a bed of some large rocks.

I might have been fine if I hadn’t exhausted myself from going down and back up the ramp of the cliff immediately before going back down the cliff again on the trail. Made it all the way through that ok, but my leg decided to give out on me when I lost my balance on the actual beach..

I’m definitely ok, just annoyed AF that I sat relatively comfortably on the sand for a while, thinking I’d be fine enough to climb back up the trail after resting for a few hours.

Nope.

I wasn’t even able to get up again on my own, lol. Rey had to alert the lifeguards and they sent a park ranger in a pickup truck to come to my rescue, complete with emergency lights blazing and a lot of stares. She asked me a million questions! I seem to have pulled a muscle in one leg, and broke some toes on the other.

Walking is extremely painful right now, and the combination of my injuries has weakened me too much to properly balance. Oh, and on top of that I got severely sunburned, despite constantly applying SPF 50! And like an hour ago, one of my cats decided to jump up on my shoulder and dig his claws in as he lost his balance, scratching down over said sunburn..

So much for taking Little Dude on a fun trip to the beach, lol. I’m hiding out in my room right now..

[UmbrellaFish]

Elladorine, it is good to hear from you! I am sorry you’re hurt, though! I also pulled a muscle in my leg recently. I’ve been experiencing pain and swelling in my leg for three weeks now. Every day it gets a little bit better but I hope you recover much quicker!

[blackcauldron85]

I hope you both recover quickly. I think you're brave, Elladorine, for getting out in the heat!!

[UmbrellaFish]

That pulled muscle never healed and stayed swollen. Yesterday at work I was suddenly out of breath after descending a staircase. I asked a coworker to call an ambulance. Turns out I had a DVT all down my right leg and blood clots in my right lung. Now I’m on Day 2 in the hospital. I’m on blood thinners and they’ve ruled out surgery, so it could have been worse. I will probably be discharged tomorrow. Scariest experience, despite my up and down weight, I’ve always been very healthy. Never even caught Covid! I’ve never stayed the night at the hospital before. Also I’m very young to get blood clots so there’s going to be lots of follow ups and I might be on blood thinners forever. Hospital’s very crowded so I’ve actually been kept in a small room in the ER, but supposedly I’m supposed to get a real hospital room soon.

Honestly, really silly, but the saddest thing I’ve realized is if I’m on blood thinners for life, it might not be safe to ride roller coasters anymore haha. But all the implications haven’t hit me yet to be honest. I’m so ready to be given the okay to recuperate at home.

[blackcauldron85]

UF, that is super scary! Wow, I'm so glad you're getting treatment though. I just looked up DVT...wow. Having to give up roller coasters would be sad and obviously a life change...safety first of course. Big hug, I hope you get to feeling better. Did the pulled muscle lead to DVT/clot?

[UmbrellaFish]

Thanks, Amy. I’m back at home and trying to feel normal again. Honestly, my biggest complaints are 1) I get winded pretty easily, 2) just general anxiety from the possibility of another PE occurring. The silver lining in all this is that I think my episode, while scary, could have been much worse.

Yknow, tbh I’m beginning to wonder if it was never actually a pulled muscle at all, and if it was really a blood clot all along. Urgent care didn’t do any imaging so it’s possible. :/

[blackcauldron85]

It makes sense to feel anxiety over it-- you've been through a lot. I hope being winded easily is just temporary. Keep resting up and I hope you stay healthy. <3

[UmbrellaFish]

I went back to work today! It was good to see everyone and get back to normal. Usually I’m up on my feet at my job, but for the time being I’m taking a sit down role. Which is both good and bad, because my leg swelled today since I was sitting. I need to keep it elevated and make sure I walk at least 100 steps an hour. But too much physical activity is impossible— my breathing is much better than what it was when I was first discharged but I’m still not back at 100%.

I have an ultrasound on Monday to see if the clots in my leg are going down. I’m also going to take some tests to find out if I have a genetic condition that caused the blood clots, or something else. Never had health issues like this before so it’s all new and a little scary. But I’m glad to be back in my routine and glad I’m taking meds/doing what I need to do.

[blackcauldron85]

I'm happy you're taking care of yourself as much as you can. Fingers crossed that they find a cause, so hopefully you can be prepared for the future.

[UmbrellaFish]

Thanks, Amy! I hope so too.

[UmbrellaFish]

The ultrasound showed improvement in the DVT! Which means the blood clot in my leg is dissolving and the medication is helping. The DVT is extensive so I may have a long ways to go just yet… I’ve read from other clot survivors online that it can take many months for a DVT to dissolve or turn into scar tissue and no longer be a problem.

My biggest hope is that my leg isn’t permanently swollen. That’s a definite possibility at the end of this so I’m prepared for it if that’s the case. Right now I wake up every morning with my leg not swollen, but after sitting at work or walking a lot my leg will swell again. It’s not painful, but it is a nuisance and a constant reminder of the blood clot.

[blackcauldron85]

I hope someday the clot won't be an issue in the future...I'm so happy it's starting to go away. Will doing regular exercises for a while help keep the swelling down?

[Disney's Divinity]

I'm sorry, Elladorine and UmbrellaFish, I hope you both get better.

[UmbrellaFish]

Thank you, Amy and Divinity.

I’ve read some people online say they’ve found success minimizing the swelling by making sure they walk 100 steps every waking hour and walking 10,000 total every day. I want to work up to that.

[blackcauldron85]

Sounds like a good goal to get to for sure. I hope that reduces your swelling. It all sounds so scary but you seem to have a good attitude about it and I admire that.

[Disney Duster]

How are you doing, Brelly? Any improvements? Swelling going down, or not happening when you get enough steps? Not getting winded anymore? God, I hope something like that! I said a prayer for you to get better, as well as for Elladorine.

[UmbrellaFish]

Aww, thank you Duster. I appreciate that very much.

To be honest, I don’t feel like there’s been a lot of improvement. But healing from a DVT and pulmonary embolism can be very slow. The swelling may be permanent and I’ve accepted that. My breathing should eventually go back to normal, though, and that’s really a bigger deal than my leg looking swollen. Still even my breathing could take a year to fully recover!

Yesterday I was so out of breath and tired at the end of the day at work. But after my last scan, I trust the medication is still helping. Health anxiety is really my biggest issue right now. Just the fear of having another incident and things being worse.

But it’s been a little more than a month since everything happened now. This is the kinda thing where, hopefully, my anxiety will lessen as more time passes. I’m basically just waiting for the blood clot in my leg to dissolve naturally or turn into scar tissue, and then I don’t have to worry about another clot breaking off into my lung. Which can take a year. The good news is the blood thinner medication makes it very unlikely for any new blood clots to form.

[Disney Duster]

Oh, awww man Brelly, that permanent swelling thing is sad. But, what you said is true, some things that are bad, we get used to, and then we find we can actually still be happy almost like normal again. I have depression and am constantly having to get used to what my brain does to me. I am just saying I can relate, even though my pain is mental and yours is physical. Oh, but you have mental pain with the anxiety, too. Well, you keep doing like you said, telling your self you will heal eventually and it is unlikely to happen again! I really hope your breath gets back to normal soon, too. I will keep praying for you!

[UmbrellaFish]

Thank you, Duster! I’ll be keeping you and your struggles with depression in my thoughts as well.