Colin I read with interest your account. I had my first DVT in 2007 after a ski accident - broken leg and some other medication combo that was a recipe for disaster... medical negligence which I may now pursue as have just been diagnosed with a second..... I cycled last weekend with the symptoms and leg actually felt better after but monday morning it was really tight calf and lower hamstring area into knee and I didn't think it was superficial so got myself to A&E and was quickly diagnosed with a fresh clot. I have been training really well and consistently during lockdown and FTP is up by 35 so do not want to lose that .... they put me straight onto apixiban and although 1st 48 hours it really was sore every time I got out of bed or went to walk after being sat down for a while .... but it the pain and swelling seems minimal now though lower leg is pretty lumpy in places.... so how quickly were you out doing lower intensity rides.... I have to confess I have done 2 x 30 min indoor rides in endurance/tempo keeping an eye on heart rate so I am just interested in how you resumed - your post seems to indicate that you resumed once the pain subsided - slower and within a week??? But maybe I am not reading that correctly !!Don't get me started on that subject again!
@MilkRace - I was seriously done in by a DVT in my left leg in 2012. In my case it wasn't caught in time, the clot broke up and got swept 'upstream' through my heart and it then lodged in my pulmonary artery causing a near fatal blockage - a pulmonary embolism (PE). I survived that but had a relapse in 2013. I not only ended up with a damaged leg, I also have residual lung damage.
If you were fortunate enough to 'just' have the DVT then presumably it is only a leg that you have to worry about? (I'm assuming that the DVT WAS in a leg? They can occur elsewhere, but most of the time it is in legs.)
DVTs are often in a calf, but mine was caused by overtight trousers so it was higher up, in my left inner thigh.
The blockage caused a pressure build-up in the leg which damaged the little non-return valves in the veins. They don't heal and they are too delicate to repair so once wrecked they tend to stay wrecked. As a result, my left leg has developed some varicose veins and swells up if I stand around for long. Fortunately, if I move around then the pumping action of the muscles keeps the blood flowing and my leg feels ok. I took a year to build my fitness back up but after that I could cycle or walk long distances again.
I have to elevate my leg when sitting still or it starts to swell. That makes sitting at a desk or table very uncomfortable after a while. I find that wearing a compression sock or sleeve on the left calf keeps the swelling under control. I sometimes wear them when cycling, not because I need them on the bike, but they help at cafe stops or when travelling to or from distant rides.
I used to wear leg warmers which have elastication exactly where the clot was in my thigh. There is scar tissue in the vein there which probably is what caused my second clot. I therefore don't like wearing anything tight round my thighs any more because I don't want to risk a third clot. (When you have had one DVT you are at increased risk of getting another one because the scar tissue can start localised clotting.) Apart from which, it is bloody uncomfortable.
So, to sum up - no long term effect on my legs for cycling. Long term damage is annoying off the bike. Be vigilant for future clots.
If you also had a PE, I could tell you a lot about that experience! (Summarise as - AVOID AT ALL COSTS!)
PS Oh, the other factor related to cycling is that I am on anticoagulants (warfarin) for life. That doesn't stop me riding, but it does mean that I would be at greater risk from heavy bleeding after a serious accident. I always wear a medical dog tag round my neck to alert paramedics to that fact in case I am ever injured and unable to tell them myself.
Cycling with DVT
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ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
The leg clot wasn't the biggest problem for me - it was the resulting clots in the lungs. To be honest, I can't remember how long the leg hurt for because it seemed unimportant compared to almost being suffocated!
When ill the first time I was getting so little oxygen into my blood that I would have to stop 2 or 3 times walking up a single flight of stairs. It took me many weeks to be able to walk 300 metres to the local shops and then I had to stop 3 or 4 times in each direction. When I got home that would be me done for the day. I could no longer open jars and even struggled to get the screw top off a bottle! It was like going from being a healthy 56 year old to being a frail 96 year old in just a couple of weeks...
I probably could have got back on a bike after 3 or 4 months but I was very scared so I waited 8 months the first time. I had been building up my legs and cardiovascular system with power walking up a steep local hill for months before that though so the cycling improved pretty quickly.
Second time round I got treatment earlier so I was back on the bike almost immediately. It took a long time for my breathing to get back to almost normal. (It still isn't quite right - it feels like I have only 1.5 lungs instead of 2.) My legs didn't swell up that time and I wasn't checked for a DVT so I don't actually know for sure that there WAS another one, but I definitely got clots in the lungs and the chances are that they DID come from another DVT in the bad leg.
The first time round, the consultant preferred me to come off anticoagulants, saying that the risk of developing bleeding problems was probably higher than the risk of developing another clot. Once I clotted again, it seemed that the risk of me clotting was higher than the small bleeding risk
so I went back on the medication. After a year, I was given the choice whether to stop and risk a 3rd clot or just carry on. I don't want any more clots so I am taking the drugs for life and will just have to try to be careful not to get any serious cuts etc.
Does your doctor have any suggestions as to why you got the 2nd DVT? They often opt to prescribe lifelong medication unless they can explain why the 2nd clot happened and make sure that a 3rd one will not come along. Have they suggested that to you?
Hello guys,
Clotting when doing sport seams to be related somehow since there are a lot of changes in your body and medical science related to clotting has evolved over 33% cases related to this are still unclear.
I had my first DVT 9 years ago, the cause was unclear, maybe because of the cycling, spinning, dehydration and the fact that I have Leiden V heterozygous disorder. After 6 months of Pradaxa I was back in business, doing more and more sport (triathlon amateur level) which gave me a lot of confidence and satisfaction. Two years ago, during a cycling competition I have started to have shoring of breath and, the days following that I was feeling tired and I couldn't go up one floor without suffocating. I went to many doctors : generalist, cardiologist , pneumatologist but they didn't discovered nothing wrong.
My state was deteriorating and I was feeling old , despite the fact that I was doing sport every day. But I didn't gave up and, and, after 5 months with these symptoms, I have decided to do a full scan of my body. my luck was that the internal physician was also an hematologist, and when she saw that I have Leiden V disorder, she realized that I a have a PE and the CT confirmed that : my both lungs was full of clots. Since then I have been taking anticoagulants : Eliquis 5mg twice a day.
Last year, I was feeling a small pain in my thigh, and, after two weeks, my leg was swollen. I realized that something is wrong. The Dopler scan has confirmed that I had I big clot there, many veins were blocked : femoral, iliac etc. I didn't believed that this could happen, because I was on Eliquis anticoagulant.
I was on Heparin, in hospital, for 11 days and now I'm am Wafarin and everything is ok. My leg isn't swelling so much anymore and I have started to do some sport. I have started to enjoy life and to appreciate things more than before.
Clotting when doing sport seams to be related somehow since there are a lot of changes in your body and medical science related to clotting has evolved over 33% cases related to this are still unclear.
I had my first DVT 9 years ago, the cause was unclear, maybe because of the cycling, spinning, dehydration and the fact that I have Leiden V heterozygous disorder. After 6 months of Pradaxa I was back in business, doing more and more sport (triathlon amateur level) which gave me a lot of confidence and satisfaction. Two years ago, during a cycling competition I have started to have shoring of breath and, the days following that I was feeling tired and I couldn't go up one floor without suffocating. I went to many doctors : generalist, cardiologist , pneumatologist but they didn't discovered nothing wrong.
My state was deteriorating and I was feeling old , despite the fact that I was doing sport every day. But I didn't gave up and, and, after 5 months with these symptoms, I have decided to do a full scan of my body. my luck was that the internal physician was also an hematologist, and when she saw that I have Leiden V disorder, she realized that I a have a PE and the CT confirmed that : my both lungs was full of clots. Since then I have been taking anticoagulants : Eliquis 5mg twice a day.
Last year, I was feeling a small pain in my thigh, and, after two weeks, my leg was swollen. I realized that something is wrong. The Dopler scan has confirmed that I had I big clot there, many veins were blocked : femoral, iliac etc. I didn't believed that this could happen, because I was on Eliquis anticoagulant.
I was on Heparin, in hospital, for 11 days and now I'm am Wafarin and everything is ok. My leg isn't swelling so much anymore and I have started to do some sport. I have started to enjoy life and to appreciate things more than before.
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
Yikes! I'm glad that the doctors finally worked out what is going on, but I'm surprised that it took so long, considering your health history... I hope that your health continues to improve.
I'm feeling a lot better now. Not 100% better, but certainly 80+%.
I had a similar feeling a few months ago. It felt like the early days with my previous clots. I'm not sure if I picked up another one, or if it might have been an infection (Covid-19 or something else). I was getting out of breath just walking up one flight of stairs.
I'm feeling a lot better now. Not 100% better, but certainly 80+%.
For how long, how many days have you had that feeling ?
I think they were somehow confused, because I was young and I was doing a lot of sport ... or maybe was because of lack of experience ... you know. It seams that there are rare cases, or, at least these cases doesn't go to them.
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
I noticed that I wasn't feeling well. Then a few days later I was getting breathless walking upstairs. I stayed like that for a week or so then gradually started feeling better but still didn't feel up to doing much cycling. After another 2 weeks I felt much better and am back to cycling in hilly countryside again.
But, what I want to point out is that the newer anticoagulants like Eliquis, Pradaxa, Xarelto are doing the job, but are not so sure like Wafarin since the last one is somehow personalized based on the INR level. Maybe these DOAC are safer for the ones with atrial fibrilation, valve replacement etc and less safer for those one with coagulation problems.
I saw a lot of marketing related to these news DOAC, I was also using them, but, for the long time ... I don't know ... since the last clot that I had appeared on Eliquis.
I saw a lot of marketing related to these news DOAC, I was also using them, but, for the long time ... I don't know ... since the last clot that I had appeared on Eliquis.
Maybe was better to do a CT scan, or to test your D-Dimeri level ?
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
Not much point really since I got better. The 2 times that I DID have the tests and HAD got clots they just put me on warfarin, and I have been on it for 9 years now. They told me that without anticoagulants there was a good chance that it would keep happening because now I have scar tissue inside my blood vessels from the old clots.
I was offered the chance to switch to one of the other drugs when they started to be used but I figured at the time that they had a lot more experience with warfarin so I would stick with that. My INR is usually pretty stable as long as I eat a consistent diet and exercise regularly.
I think I have been sitting around the house too much during our Covid-19 lockdowns. Maybe it was just lack of fitness PLUS a bad cold, something like that? I did have some cold-like symptoms at the time.
I very good decision !
recumbenteer
Regular
Cyclechat newby here. Just joined the DVT club last week. Leg still swollen 9 days in (been measuring with a tape measure each morning) and hasn't changed much in the last few days. However, my mobility is getting back to normal. After spinning on my exercise bike at 40W last week I'm now able to comfortably do 100W at 90 to 100rpm.
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recumbenteer
Regular
Got cut off mid post ...
Able to walk more normally (and faster). Definitely getting better blood flow through the leg but suspect this is due to recruitment of secondary veins as swelling hardly changed. Very pleased that I can get around better but don't know what to expect in terms of how long will the swelling persist. Irony of it is that I thought I was reasonably fit and strong for a geezer who turned 66 two weeks ago. I felled a dead standing elm on the Sunday and had another longish session logging it up on the Monday, right arm slightly sore from heavy logs and chainsaw use. Thought I'd have a day to recover on the Tuesday and sat around reading a lot. 3pm leg started to swell up! So I think it was the stasis from relaxing all morning that triggered it. Arm fully recovered!
At what point did folks see swelling significantly reduced or other evidence of clot dissolution?
Able to walk more normally (and faster). Definitely getting better blood flow through the leg but suspect this is due to recruitment of secondary veins as swelling hardly changed. Very pleased that I can get around better but don't know what to expect in terms of how long will the swelling persist. Irony of it is that I thought I was reasonably fit and strong for a geezer who turned 66 two weeks ago. I felled a dead standing elm on the Sunday and had another longish session logging it up on the Monday, right arm slightly sore from heavy logs and chainsaw use. Thought I'd have a day to recover on the Tuesday and sat around reading a lot. 3pm leg started to swell up! So I think it was the stasis from relaxing all morning that triggered it. Arm fully recovered!
At what point did folks see swelling significantly reduced or other evidence of clot dissolution?
My consultant said they do not check for clot dissolution. Treatment is tge same either way.
