What now?

[Cyclegirl54]

Anyone else experience this ? Sat on a bus going home, felt an excruciating pain in my right calf. Rubbed my calf and felt a mini golf ball size lump , had a look and saw an enlarged vein, bulging and looking like it might pop! Had a mild panic but once at home, it had deflated leaving a monstrous bruise.

I went to nearest walk in clinic later on to learn a superficial vein had gone rogue and the prednisolone contributed to the bruising! Well I think that’s what the DVT nurse said- me and my Pred head! Now wearing sexy compression socks with instructions to elevate legs as much as possible and seek help if the situation worsens! Hey ho!

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Never happened to me - though I have had a muscle fibre tear in my calf and that was excruciating! Nothing to see, just hurt whenever I took a step.

[bunnymom]

Oh no! I can imagine your shock. Hope all goes back where it's supposed to be.

[Hidden]

Yikes. No. Usually muscular when I get that. Feet up!

[Marijo1951]

Thanks for the description. Nothing like that has happened to me but, if it does, I'll be less scared than I might otherwise have been.

[Soraya_PMR]

I’ve had similar smaller ‘bursts’ in fingers and hands, quite exquisitely painful short term with minor swelling and fades to an itchy-pain then the bruise comes out and things resolve in a few days. I’ve had this infrequently as long as I can remember, but more often with pred. My mum had it too, no pred there.

[Blearyeyed]

Sorry what a rough day .

Those socks are so fetching aren't they.

I managed to get some compression tights , look like normal opaque ones , they sell them via chemists or online , so they look nice as well as being medically functional.

Get some arnica cream or lotion , it will bring out the bruising quickly and soothe the area.

Keep those legs up and try to recover from the shock.

This flipping illness!!

Hugs , Bee xx

[Hidden]

My no wonder you had panic attack,i have never had this, but can imagine how you would panic.Keep your feet up,and love the socks very flattering.He He.xx

[S4ndy]

Hi yes this happened to me in Feb. I got an horrendous cramp in my calf muscle and then my leg went lumpy and bruised. Took myself to the gp who said is was likely to be superficial thrombophlebitis. He measured the circumference of my legs. There was a smaller lumpy section in my other leg. He gave me antibiotics in case it was caused by a staph infection. Told me to keep my legs elevated and to wear support socks. He also said I should take photos and tell the rheumy when I see him as this type of superficial thrombophlebitis can indicate other rheumatic conditions. He also told me to come back if it got worse.

I haven't seen rheumy yet as my NHS appointment for March was cancelled until May! However I have noticed that the veins in my arms are also lumpy but don't have the same discoloration as my legs.

I have had a few procedures needing iv canulas recently so wondered if that triggered it. Just been through a load of tests to rule out Crohns and IBD. Thankfully of the bits they managed to access no indication of anything sinister just some gastritis in my tum.

Last time I saw my Rheumy he was debating a further MRI on my back as he suspects something else is at play. So guess I will just have to wait and see what he says when I show him my lumpy limbs!

My gp described the symptoms for a DVT so as I would be aware if I needed to get further help.

I am going to write all my symptoms down on a list for the rheumy this time

One good thing though is I tried the FODMAP diet for IBS started in Nov and this has really helped calm my treacherous tum. Also lost a bit of weight too! Not much, 6kg but its a start.

[tangocharlie in reply to S4ndy]

I found out it was histamines that were causing all sorts of problems including gastric, since I've followed a low histamine diet things are loads better, and my inflammation levels have plummeted.

[tangocharlie]

That must have been scary. I've been wearing compression stockings to try and get rid of swollen ankles but they have just made my varicose veins bulge more. My chiropodist (who is an ex-nurse) said go to the docs if one bursts, which I find a scary prospect. No chance of getting my veins sorted on the NHS apparently.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to tangocharlie]

Not for cosmetic reasons but if they are damaged or dangerous they may do something.

[tangocharlie in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you for that, I'll ask next time I go get my varicose eczema checked out. Which BTW has largely gone away since cutting out foods with high histamines, I'm sure there's a link there.

[Cyclegirl54 in reply to tangocharlie]

I had varicose veins removed from my right leg 30 years ago on the nhs but done privately on my left leg 10 years ago. It was my right calf playing up last week . The bruise is slowly disappearing.