Deep Vein Thrombosis or Death Via Thigh...you decide

Okay let's not freak out, but yesterday I thought I was dying. Fine, maybe not dying but I definitely was considering how I would be able to live without my left leg, because I was coming very close to sawing it off.  My Tuesday ended with the worst leg pain I have ever had in my entire life.  I thought it was a cramp, but cramps go away eventually right?  Right.  So after no sleep Tues. night,  trying every cramp trick in the book, waking Matt up with my tears, Matt convinced me I needed to call the doctor.  I knew the Dr. couldn't magically make my leg quit hurting, but being pregnant I can't really take anything other than tylenol, and I was hoping and praying they would call in a RX for a stronger pregnant lady friendly pain med.  No dice.  Their solution was to take Tums.  Um, okay. 

So in a 12 hour period, in effort to make my "cramp" go away I had done the following:

-Drank pickle juice (that's what athletes do)

-Ate 2 banana's (potassium and more potassium)

-Drank gatorade (maybe it was my electrolytes)

-Drank so much water I thought I was going to throw up if I even smelt water (I was drowning)

-Took a hot bath

-Massaged it

-Became best friends with a heating pad (only thing that provided some relief)

and last  but not least

-Took Tums (because apparently that is the fastest way to get some calcium in my bod)

It got better throughout the day, kinda.  At least it had graduated from making me want to chew my leg off to just being painful.  Then 3 o'clock hit and it was worse than ever.  I should say this:  I am calling it a cramp in my thigh because I don't know what else to call it.  It was not a charlie horse, it was not the run of the mill leg cramp, this felt like someone had drilled a hole through my leg.  I called my mom, in tears, because I wanted sympathy.  That is when she told me I needed to call the Dr. again.  But this time I called my friend Dr. Mary Beth. 

As soon as I told her my symptoms she drove straight to the house and took me to the ER.  She said I might have DVT or Deep Vein Thrombosis (blood clot) for short.  Turns out pregnant women are more susceptible to blood clots in the legs.  Fun Times!  

That is how I ended up with this, all wrapped up in hospital bracelets

I will take this moment to say, I hate going to the Dr. esp the ER.  To me the ER is for people who are missing limbs, giving birth in the back of a car, or coughing up blood. 

Obviously I didn't die, and I still have my leg in case you are wondering.  The ER Dr. told me I did the right thing by coming in because the symptoms I was having were definitely in like in DVT and it needed to be ruled out.  On a positive note, while they did the ultrasound of my leg, the sweet tech said, "lets look at your baby too." So I got to see my leg (weird) and my baby (freaking sweet and adorable already).  Turns out all they would give me at the ER was...you guessed it...Tylenol.  Turns out the Dr. didn't go for my suggestion of an epidural.  FML.

Fortunately I woke up this morning and as long as I am not walking or putting any kind of pressure on my leg it isn't that bad, kind of like an annoying head ache.