If this can save a life... DVT

If this can save a life then it is worth it...

So do you know what deep vein thrombosis is? It is a blood clot that congeals and blocks the deeper veins of the body. It can occur in any part of the body; however, it usually turns up in the legs. You may wonder why I write this; well, I always thought that DVT was for people who drank too much on planes, were obese or old... Yep I know... a narrow way of looking at it. However, I have just returned from holiday and realised that I had a deep vein thrombosis. I was very lucky because I am a little bit focused on my health and fitness. I compete at rowing, can be found on a paddleboard at six in the morning. I go to the gym six days a week. I don't drink alcohol and I make sure I drink around 3 litres of water a day. My main belief is that the body is a phenomenal piece of transport to carry the soul through life. So I make sure that it has all the nutrition it needs, is massages and maintained to its absolute ability. After-all who wants their transport to break down?

Now imagine my shock when I felt a sudden pain in the back of my leg during the flight back from Thailand. It felt like someone had pressed into my leg and something was clogged. You know how in the night you have a cramp, well this was a feeling of a long thing cramp down the middle of my calf. It happened while I was asleep in an exit row isle seat. What made it all the more surprising is that I had drunk 3 litres of water, had walked around and had leg room. I was not your typical candidate. What made it stranger is that when I woke up, the voice of intuition shouted DVT into my mind. I wasn't going to ignore it.


When I arrived home I went to hospital and stated that I thought I had Deep Vein Thrombosis. They looked at me curiously and took blood tests. I was correct and then proceeded to have scans to understand the extent to which I was affected. Now before we go any further, I am not writing this for sympathy or anything like that, however, so many people ignore the signs and that is what leads to potential death. If the condition is not treated there can be a situation where the clot becomes loose, travels around the body and can block the heart or lungs. The reason I know this is because it has happened to three of my friends, two of whom are athletes. They all survived; however, the pain they experienced resulted in morphine intake. They both survived and I only found out they had experienced this when I let them know why I could not train for racing for the next couple of months. So Deep Vein Thrombosis is not limited to sludgy sorts who don't care for themselves (that line is not going to make me popular - oh well!) It can affect anyone. I found this out when talking to a nurse who advised me of late numerous fitness people had ended up in the DVT specialist ward, all of whom were completely bemused it had happened to them. Most only went to hospital when they collapsed. This is why I write this... It is worth catching it early and better to get to the hospital and be given the all clear.

So after chatting to the whole of the DVT waiting room, each identified their issue with the following systems on or after leaving a plane (please note - DVT can happen from sitting for extended periods of time in any situation).

A feeling like cramp in the middle of a muscle as though someone had pressed hard into the muscle.
A muscle spasm.
The leg completely swelling up.
A sharp pain along a line within your body.
Collapsing unexpectedly.
Becoming short of breath - this was one chap's pulmonary embolism.

Obviously there are far more symptoms; however, I am referencing the people in the waiting room. I am not a medical expert. Instead, since I have close to twenty thousand people read my blog, I wanted to share the insights because many of us live in the mentality of  'it could not happen to me'. In this case it did happen to me - and I would love for something positive to come from it. If this can save a life... then the blog was worth it.

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