Off and on for about the past year, I have been bothered by unexplained swelling in my right lower leg, ankle, and foot. Every time I bring it up to my doc, he bushes it off as "positional", since it eventually goes away, but to me, something was not right. These past couple of months the swelling has been pretty bad - to the point that I could only get flip-flops on my feet, you really couldn't even tell I had a slim ankle, and the skin on my shin looked like I had a bad rash, but it was red and blotchy under the skin, and not warm to the touch. Tried for 3 weeks to see doc, but first he was on vacation, and then booked solid for the next 2 weeks. Finally got in on Tuesday and he ordered blood work and an ultrasound of my leg, even tho the swelling is way down. He was looking to rule out a blood clot as the problem - this is what caused my brother's stroke - a blood clot from his leg, and of course the same for Captain Phil on Deadliest Catch.
So I went to the diagnostic center today for the testing - first almost a dozen vials of blood drawn, and then the ultrasound which took a good 45 minutes. I was really pretty apprehensive that the technician was taking so long, but she finally was done and said - "You can go - you don't show any clots." I gave her a questioning look and she told me that if she had detected a clot, that she couldn't release me, and I would have been transported directly to the hospital. Good thing I didn't know that beforehand!
So I was wondering - do any of you know if labs or diagnostic centers in your area, do the same? Thinking about it now - it's a darn good thing, since a clot can break loose at any time and without warning. I just never knew those facilities did anything like that - but I guess it's to protect themselves as well as the patient.
Well - she did say that I was negative for a clot, but also said she couldn't tell me her interpretation of the results - which leaves me hanging till my doc calls me when he gets them. So I'm still in the dark..... I'm just glad I'm not typing this from a hospital bed!
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