Prior DVT and Lovenox/Rivaroxaban

[Elle0383]

This doesn't seem to be a very active thread, but I thought I'd post in case it helps someone else.

About 9 years ago, I had DVT down the entire right side of my leg due to a surgery where they went in with a catheter through my groin.  No family history of blood clots, but it was determined that a combination of injury (surgical site), immobility (bed rest after surgery), and birth control containing estrogen caused a perfect storm.  I was only 20 years old.   

A lot of people have asked on this forum about the signs/symptoms of blood clots. The first indicator was pain.  Obviously after a surgery, pain is to be expected, however, this pain was worse than anything I could imagine.  Anytime I moved my leg, the pain was so intense, I felt like crying (I have a pretty high pain tolerance).  I only noticed the severe pain when I moved my leg.  It felt like I had pulled every single muscle in my leg.  After a couple days of this, my mother noticed that the affected leg seemed slightly bigger than the other and had a slight blue tinge to it.  We called the doctor and they told me to come to the hospital immediately.  It was then determined that I had a blood clot from my lower abdomen down to my ankle.  I was put on heparin while in the hospital, and after 5 days was released with an order to take Coumadin.  I was on Coumadin for a year.

I am having knee surgery in a couple of weeks (on the non-DVT leg), and as a precaution, a hematologist has recommended that I go on either Lovenox (injections) or Rivaroxaban (tablet) while I'm immobile.  I've decided to use Lovenox, even though I'm not thrilled about giving myself injections every day.  I'm hesitant to use Rivaroxaban because it is relatively new, and I'd rather go with something "tried and true."

I'll send out an update after my surgery to let everyone know how it went.

Thanks!

[jpalen]

Also had a clot from immobility (14 weeks in an external fixator).
I was on coumadin as well after they found it.
For a while I had to give myself lovenox injections and even though I fear needles, it wasn't bad. I got proficient at it.
There was no leg pain with mine (probably because the leg was immobilized). The indication was that I felt like I had broken a rib. I had trouble breathing without pain.
My physician told me to go directly to urgent care over the phone. When I arrived at urgent care I was connected to monitors for chest pain, they were thinking it was a heart issue. I flatlined and was revived and diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism. Some of the clot had dislodged and traveled to the lungs through the heart. I was hospitalized and put on lovenox for 10 days, then coumadin.
 There was no family history of clots. Be aware of your body and what hurts. Call your doctor if it seems unusual.