Two weeks ago I had a colonoscopy & a nurse placed a cannula in my elbow crease for the sedative.
I don’t know why she didn’t put it in my hand like everyone else in the room I was in.
It was placed ‘very clumsily’ and very soon blood was pouring out of it down my arm.
The nurse then shrieked, ran back across the room & roughly grabbed my arm where the cannula was, causing a lot of pain. She then fiddled around with it & stuck it down.
I have APS & maintain an INR of 2.5-3.5 on Warfarin but was bridging with Fragmin, last injected 24hrs before so whilst all this was going on I basically had no anti coagulation cover.
Since then I have had a painful arm, vague dull ache that’s worse when I use my arm, lift something etc. It’s mainly centred around where the cannula was but pain spreading up & down my arm.
I’m afraid that I may have a small clot. I had a large clot in the same place in the other arm 4 years ago, but that was in the main artery & cut off all blood supply below my elbow so was very obvious!
Apart from a slightly swollen vein where the cannula was there is no redness, heat or swelling.
I asked a GP after a week of pain but as there was nothing to see he said definitely not a clot but ‘trauma’ to the vein but the pain hasn’t improved at all in over two weeks & I don’t trust the GP, he knows nothing about APS & didn’t really listen to why I was concerned.
Has anyone any experience of something like this?
Could it be a clot?
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Janeh1960
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I am surprised they used the left arm to start an IV for your colonoscopy.
I realize your clot in that arm was arterial, but having just gone back and read your first post on this forum four years ago ( so I could get a better understanding of your background before I answered in any way), you did have a lot of trauma / surgeries there in that area.
I will tell you that I also am an , “ arm clotter”, however my arm clots are in the veins, not arteries. ( both arms.) I clot in deep veins, as well as superficials. Basilic, Brachials, ulnar, the triangle Fosca in crook of arms... and in hands.
I can have complete occlusion, and depend on superficials picking up the load. This is problematic for me when superficials are also clotted, and superficials are described in reports as “ lumen is obliterated.” - they simply are beyond self repair.
They can go numb and tingly. Ive not had them not had them loose color though. Surgery has been discussed loosely.
The factor always checked is the strength of my pulses at wrist. So that would be very important for your doctors to keep an eye on.
If it feels worse, I would have it checked.
Have you been checked for TOS? Thoracic outlet syndrome? This is more common in a APS patients and can lead to arm clots. There is mechanical as well as neurogenic TOS, just in case you are unaware of it.
HollyHeski , another admin on forum, is our expert with this and I suspect when she has a moment will come to this thread with the pertinent information for you.
Hi Kelly, no they didn’t put it in my left arm, I don’t let any medical person anywhere near that arm now as hard as they try 😊
Nice to meet a fellow arm clotter, we’re a rare bunch I think.
The arm that clotted 4 years ago still has no pulse & under par blood flow, so doesn’t work quite as well as it should so I’m probably over anxious about this new pain. I’m scared I’ll end up with two dodgy arms!
I haven’t heard of TOS, thank you I will check that out.
I’m keeping my INR above 3 & got it up as quickly as I could.
I hate bridging, scares me so much, I’m terrified the whole time once the Fragmin has ‘worn off’ & I’m effectively at INR 1.
I self test & have to inject Fragmin if INR goes below 2.
They kept me waiting an hour and half before starting the procedure, even though I did try & explain that the shorter time I’m without anti coagulation the better but they didn’t seem to understand or care.
Them damaged my arm/given me a clot with the worse cannula insertion I’ve ever had & I’ve had a few.
I said that I needed to have a Fragmin injection as soon as the procedure was over as long as there was no risk of bleeding same as I did last time I had a colonoscopy.
The staff that time had done their research, used haemostatic
clips on any polyps removed & injected Fragmin immediately after.
The nurses this time said they couldn’t give it to me as it wasn’t on their notes, even though they had prescribed it themselves! Wouldn’t even look back at my notes to see the protocol agreed last time.
They said I could do it myself, despite my protests that I might not be in a fit state to safely do that.
Ended up having to struggle to inject myself while heavily sedated, the whole thing from start to finish was appalling treatment really and now I’m left with a painful arm.
Sadly I’ve had many colonoscopies but never been treated so badly before.
So often when I’m talking to a GP or hospital staff I feel like they think I’m being a drama queen & exaggerating the risks of APS not just trying to protect myself from their lack of knowledge 😊
Raw57 is another, “ one of our tribe members “ on here. She may come on and talk to you also.
She’s a fellow Texan and has an excellent specialist surgeon in Dallas. She has a lot of knowledge as well, and she may help me see her surgeon in Dallas soon, as TOS has not been entirely ruled out in my case. ( although it probably has, it keeps coming it here and there in conversation in some hematology consultations/ appointments as I keep clotting.)
Keep checking this thread- later on I’ll see if I can get attention if she doesn’t see this first.
Monday ( tomorrow) is MLK holiday for Americans. ( Martin Luther King)- so some are taking advantage of the three day weekend for short holidays as it’s one of our banking holidays and schools will be closed tomorrow.
I’ll check and see. She has a lot of knowledge/ surgical history as well.
Hi, sorry for my late reply, I have been up to my eyes in very over excited grandchildren all week-end plus working, so was not able to answer until now. I agree with the very detailed answers you have been given by KellyInTexas and of course Lure2 . If were you I would be swiftly going to have that arm checked out, due to your previous history, yes it may just be bruised but we can't be too careful with this condition, and as patients, when we gain more knowledge we do sometimes know more if they have not had that direct experience of a patient like ourselves etc. MaryF
You've had some good answers on here from all the admins, I think looking at TOS at this stage is much too early but I'm happy to talk with you later.
Re your arm pain from the cannula, if they damaged your vein, this can take a few weeks to heal.
If its inflamed, this can also take a couple of weeks - but saying all this, you know your body and your past experience gives you the right to ask questions.
I think you need to ask yourself, is this getting worse, do you have a temperature, what us your instinct saying? There is nothing wrong in going down to A & E and asking for a doplar scan, which hopefully will reassure you it's bad bruising and not a blood clot.
If you decide to leave it a bit longer, thats fine but please don't ignore if the symptoms get worse, you get a temperature or your hand gets pins & needles etc.
Hi, Sadly not, the vein looks a bit more swollen & my arm is still painful.
Think I’m going to have to brave the hell that is our local A&E if it’s not better in a couple of days & ask them to Doppler/ ultrasound it to make sure no clot ☹️
Hi, I finally decided I had to do the sensible thing and brave A&E to get my painful arm checked as it was no better & the vein was more swollen.
5 hrs there yesterday and another 3hrs today as the ultrasound dept was shut yesterday by the time they’d decided they needed to scan, one dr saying I needed a scan another saying I can’t possibly have a clot because I’m on warfarin.
I had to push but was finally given an ultrasound scan of my arm, no DVT or clots in arteries thank goodness just a superficial thrombophlebitis in the vein damaged by the poorly inserted cannula which should eventually heal.
I’m left feeling in despair at having to deal with A&E again, having to explain again & again why it needed checking.
I find it exhausting dealing with these medical people who know nothing about APS.
Our A&E dept is chaotic & like everywhere under staffed & under funded but there’s no excuse for lack of knowledge.
Drs saying you can’t have a clot you’re on warfarin, you can’t have a clot your arm is warm, you can’t have a clot you’re arm isn’t warm, you can’t have a clot your arm’s not swollen & red, sending me to wrong depts, saying there’s no dr here who can scan arms, two of the nurses had never even heard of APS.
I had none of the classic clot symptoms when I had a clot in the other arm in exactly the same place.
Sorry for the rant but it makes me feel so unsafe & scared being ‘in their hands’ & the whole experience has really upset me☹️
Understand the upset and frustrations, put them to one side (easier said than done) and thankfully you pushed for the scan, that's the good result, reassurance no clot.
Relax now and give yourself a pat on the back for getting thru an A & E experience, think of it as you educating them, a few more medics now know a bit about APS.
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