hey girl. I'm in the same boat as you. I've been bed ridden for a year and a half. Went to the ER last night with a swollen leg and intense pain behind the knee (that I've been having for a week and a half now). The d-dimer was normal so they just sent me on my way. I called my regular doctor and asked for a ultrasound. He refused because he said if I had a DVT then the hospital would of found it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFiLb6BJtG4&feature=related
I applied for Medicaid and they denied my family, they said we make to much. Its me, my husband and 3 children. Our income gross is $1956.00. My husband gets disability and I get unemployment and thats how much we get a month total. When we applied for benefits they said we did not qualify for anything because you can not make more then $1878 a month. I have been looking for a job but have not found anything. I do applications everyday, online and going to places. I have been searching for a cheap health insurance plan for myself. My husband gets Medicare and I just got my children in with Florida Kid Care. I have not been able to find one that I can afford. Our rent is $950.00 and then we have all our other bills and food. I have turned off my cable and house phone just to try and make ends meet and even thats not enough. I am so frustrated. I am going to do what you recommend and see if it helps. Not to put all my business in the open but I had leg pain a little similar to this when I had an Abscess on my ovary from a PID infection. It saint pain shooting down my leg and no one figured it was that because the pain was confined to my leg. It feels a little similar but the locations is different. What I notice is there is a lot of pain that comes from behind my knee to the right and on the side of it and a lot of pain behind my thigh, thats where it is constant. the other pains in my leg come and go with the other pain. I noticed last night that when I strain it hurts those areas, going number 2 I noticed it and when I sneezed I noticed it. What is Sciatica and where does it hurt? My pain is only sharp sometimes. Mostly is achy cramp. Here and there I will get a sharp pain that hits the places where the pain is constant.
If you have no $$ then apply for Medicaid with Medicaid they will treat you.
Some of your symptoms could also sound like Sciatica! See if this helps, lay on the floor
and pull your knee in towards your chest as far as possible with both hands and hold for a minute or two and see if it helps.
My leg is killing me now:( honestly it hurts soooo bad. I am prescribed Oxycodone for something different and thats not even touching the pain! I am supposed to take 30mg every 6 hours but thats a lot of I take about 7.5 MG a quarter of the does every 8 hours. I took a whole 30 4 hours ago, I am dizzy from the meds but my leg still hurts. I cant believe this and they wont scan me or do any other testing. They said NO and NO because your D Dimer was negative we know you dont have a clot. From what I read that test can be normal and you can still have a clot. She told me its 99 percent accurate so what if I am the 1 percent that dies because it wasn't. I have been crying for the past couple hours because it hurts so bad and I am frustrated that they will not rule the clot out. If its not that then I want to know what else it could me. Now the pain is starting to be sharp in really high on my leg by my private (sorry) but thats where. I did like you said and slept with my leg elevated last night. I just dont know what else to do and I dont have the money to see the regular doc. I begged them to let me pay half and then the other half in 2 weeks but they said no because I could need more testing and need to be able to pay for them. What would you do if you were me, I am fed up and feel like I am not being treated fairly.
I have been up moving around:) I know it was stupid of me to do what I did but I got in a funk, I have so many medical things going on and lost my job and insurance and I was just so depressed; I am feeling better now though and I am trying to do things. thanks for your advice though, you are definitely right.
Ok I went back to the ER and well they refused to do the scan. I asked them how do they know that I do not have a clot just with a blood test and they said its there job to know and that I do not have a clot and they wont do the test to humor me. I am at a loss. I called my doctor today even though I dont have insurance but they said I would need to pay 160 for the visit and another 300 and something for the ultrasound. I dont have that kind of money and I asked about pay arrangements but they said it needed to be upfront. I dont know what to do. I am scared and pretty much have no options. the lady said that the back of my leg was not tender but it is and I told her this. I could not even sleep last night because it hurt so bad. I dont know what it is but whatever it is its painful for sure. They said its probably a nerve. What do I do now??
Until you get a definitive diagnosis when you're in bed sleep with your legs elevated above your heart place 1 or 2 pillows under your legs and don't sit around all day!
I asked them about the ultrasound of the leg but she said they would not do it unless the D dimer test was positive. She said a D dimer test looks for clots and they would only perform an ultrasound if that test was positive. I cant believe they would just let someone walk out the ER without testing you properly, I still have not been feeling well today either and I could not sleep last night, at about 430 I had a dizzy spell while laying in bed. I thought I may have feel asleep but my eyes were still open. It was strange. So the D dimer test is no good?
go back to the ER and tell them you want to see a Vascular MD
A "blood test" is useless in determining if you have a clot or a thrombosis. If they did not perform a color dopplar the examination was not sufficient.
Such clots often dissolve by themselves. The problem is they may throw off debri which can travel and cause a stroke.
At the very least, keep well hydrated, drink two liters of fluid a day (preferably electrolytes), exercise to the limit of pain and take an aspirin a day, broken in two, twelve hours apart, or two baby aspirin.
The probably cause is what is called intermittant claudication, due to inadequate circulation.
You require a vascular consult.
I just got back from the ER and well the did a blood test and said that it was negative so I do not have a blood clot. My leg is hurting worse though so I hope they are right. Thank you all for your help:)
Yes. It could possibly be a clot. You require a color dopplar.
Such clots can develop simply from dehydration and inactivity. They can be life threatening.
You have to go to an emergency room. They will treat you without charge, but you will be billed.
Go to the ER they have to treat you!! Don't be siting or laying around all day that can cause blood clots.
Your symptoms do not sound typical for a blood clot or infection, but it does sound like something you should have checked out. Have tylenol or advil given you any relief? If not, you may not want to wait until Monday to have it looked at.
Well the ER when I called gave me a number to a hot line called ask a nurse but when I called them they told me they only could advise me to go to the ER. They cant really say much over the phone. No about the smokes, I have not do so yet:( shame on me I know. I got it in my head that I am going to stop and so I plan on cutting back. I did cut back 2 weeks ago and then I just went right back to normal. Its hard but I am determined. I set a date and I plan on just stopping on that date. I try to go as long as I can without smoking and then I do.
Is there a help line you could call in your area? Call.....someone at the ER or a nurse.
Have you actually cut back on the amount of cigarettes that you normally smoke each day? If you have, you could be experiencing withdrawal symptoms and it can affect your heart and even your kidneys if your electrolytes are out of whack.
It is possible to have deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and not have this reflect on the D-dimmer.
The hospitals are torn because extra tests mean extra costs, however a color dopplar would reflect the choice of the reasonable and prudent physician. They have not committed malpractice, but I am not a happy camper in view of lack of a definitive diagnosis.
A lot depends upon the protocols of the individual emergency rooms.
As gymdandee suggested, you require a vascular consult ASAP.