Guest Swim_dude Posted August 26, 2004 Report Share Posted August 26, 2004 Hello, I'm new to this forum and new to having a dvt and protein S defeffiecny. I am a competitive swimmer and a high school basketball player and any other sport that i can get into. I was curious how much activity and how hard can you before your dvt spot starts to hurt or how hard should you go? Plus has anyone every had any problems while on warfarin with contact sports? I was also wondering why my doctor never gave me those stockings even though i had a serious dvt? Thanks so much for your replys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted August 26, 2004 Report Share Posted August 26, 2004 Stockings are considered optional but recommended if you have swelling or are in a high risk situation. I don't wear stockings day to day but will use them if my legs are feeling tired, if I am travelling, or rested up in bed for flu.It is important for you to get correctly fitting ones. Some hospitals have specially trained fitters and they make custom made stockings just for you. You can also get your doctor to prescribe good quality ones from the pharmacy. In my opinion standard 'flight socks' really don't do the job very well and those that have tried them will probably appreciate the difference.If you don't have any stockings I'd recommend asking your doctor to organise some for you... it is much easier to organise them before your moment of need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zarin Posted August 27, 2004 Report Share Posted August 27, 2004 Hi, I shall answer your questions with regards sports.Contact sport could pose a problem if you are on wafarin sodium. While on Wafarin Sodium, with an INR of 2-3 you would be prone to bruising under the skin.I am an active person. I used to practice karate but have changed my sporting activities to suit a change in life style. I now run and do resistence training.Just to give you hope, I was in my mid thirties when I had my first DVT I am now 51years old and continue to run 3km or power walk 5km and 20 mins of weights six days a week. I find exercising has helped me stay phisically and mentally fit.I agree with James, you must have proper stockings on stand by for when you may need them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Swim_dude Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 Hey its me again with more ?'s...sry about that....umm im just starting to play sports a little bit and my leg is getting all messed up again with swellin and pain and vains popping up all over the place....im curious with those stockings help with that or is it just too soon to playing sports again...will uping the dosage of warfarin help move this process along faster... my IRN is at 3.2thx mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zarin Posted August 31, 2004 Report Share Posted August 31, 2004 When I went back to exercising again, I used support stockings for several years. I also started by walking before I graduated to running and mountain climbing. Once your muscles get stronger, and you will know it, you can slowly think of playing your sports without them.Wafarin Sodium will not dissolve your blood clots. It prevents clots from forming by blocking the Vit. K function of your liver. With an INR of around 2-3 you are anticoagulated, this prevents new clots from forming. When you get a clot, the first thing they do is to start you on Heparin or LMWHeparin, Heparin is what dissolves the blood clots. Once it is established that you are stable, you are weaned off the LMWHeparin and are placed on a permanent dose of Wafarin Sodium.The leg pain etc you are experiencing is usually caused by weakness. It will take a while to regain the strength. Sometimes some permanent damage is done to the veins. My simple logic said, if my muscles get stronger, then they will afford my veins more support, that is why I took up running. I think it has helped me tremendously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangefoot Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Hey Swim dudeGet some stockings! I can't recommend them enough. They will reduce the swelling and stop your veins popping out. I've been wearing mine for a year and can walk for miles (often carrying my daughter who weighs about 2 stones!). I cycle daily too and rush around a restaurant two nights a week where the kitchen is upstairs and the bar is downstairs. I don't run though; if I need to get somewhere fast I get my bike out!! I do feel achey sometimes but generally my leg is functioning well again. Without the stockings is a whole different matter at the moment. I am working on building up my strength as Zarin says and my DVT nurses recommended at least 2 years of compression to reduce varicose veins and ulcers in the long term. I wouldn't mind wearing it for ever if I can avoid an ulcer - I saw my dad's and I wouldn't want to suffer that.When did you have your DVT? It took me a few months to get enough strenght to walk longer distances and get on my bike. For a while I was only pushing with my stronger leg but i fugured that at least the other leg was getting exercised passively and that would help. It took about nine months for the swelling in my thigh to go down and even now my DVT leg is still a bit thicker than my other leg, although at least I can get both legs into my trousers now!You will only need to wear a stocking on your affected leg but they come in pairs, open toed or like an ordinary sock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted September 2, 2004 Report Share Posted September 2, 2004 Another intermediate option is to wear ski socks. I have a pair that are designed to give active compression to the calf. Although they can get a bit hot they are very snug and a bit more conventional than stockings. But ideally you should have stockings too.My right leg calf dimension is usually 3cm more than the left, as a consequence of the damage to veins by the DVT. I monitored this during an exercise programme over several months and found my healthy left leg varied by up to 1cm (42/43cm) whereas my unfit leg varied by up to 3cm (45/48cm). I experienced the largest swelling effects during the first two months of my programme. Keeping an exercise diary with measurements and comments helped me a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Swim_dude Posted September 4, 2004 Report Share Posted September 4, 2004 hey,i have haf my dvt since a couple of weeks before easter...i swam right away and then work my way in running and golfin and playing bball...as of right now i cannot swim hard or play bball so i decided to pick up the game of volleyball which i can play because of the breaks inbetween set and games...my clot is still there and is about 2 feet long my doctor is hoping that i might get full movement back because of the shape i was in wheni got the clot...but he doesnt really knowmike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bamas01woman Posted September 20, 2004 Report Share Posted September 20, 2004 Hello there, Swim dude, I am glad you started this topic. I am/was a veryyyyy active person until I was diagnosed and put on coumadin.I even sold most of my riding horses from "the gitters" of being scared. My two children are in karate, they have a dedication for it. About a week ago my daughter asked me to watch her do some of her kicks on a punching bag. Watching their practices ..seeing it and doing it are totally different, but nevertheless here I go showing her and kicked the bag. A few times. I didn't feel anything at first but the next day my knee was sore, then my ankle. Over the next few days I was hurting. I thought it could be a clot, but my other knee and ankle started hurting, then my elbow and wrist. Hurt is not describing the pain....but then after a few hours of laying down it isn't so bad. Then I am up again and after about 30 min. or an hour I am hurting again. When I put my feet up they throb. I am 29, am a little built from 22 years of gymnastics (that I gave up when diagnosed with psd). I am going to the doctor to check this out but was wondering any info on anyone having this.....my doctor is great but I am the only psd patient these parts have heard of. Is there any tests that I should asked to be performed in our "not so modern" hospital. I have never had this problem before. Thanks to any advice.bamas01woman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zarin Posted September 20, 2004 Report Share Posted September 20, 2004 I used to practice karate. Instead, I now either power walk, run or go mountain trecking. I would like to suggest that any contact sport could have negative effects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bamas01woman Posted September 21, 2004 Report Share Posted September 21, 2004 Hey, I was wondering although I have never had a blood clot in my legs, but am on coumadin for life, do I need the stockings. Would they help me? Is it a good idea for prevention? I don't do sports anymore , now I get to tired and my legs feel like jello afterwards and cramp alot, all I do is nessacary things around the house. I would like to get back into something. The doctor said it was brutitis- brusing from the kicking. That my legs just weren't use to being used to much.bamas01woman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted September 22, 2004 Report Share Posted September 22, 2004 I would consider stockings are advisable for anyone with PSD in a high risk situation such as when travelling by plane or rested up in bed for a while. If they recommend flight socks for the general population then it must be advisable for people with PSD.But day to day I think that compression stockings are only likely to benefit those with a history of DVT because they are more likely to have damaged valves in their veins and swollen legs. If your legs are healthy then the blood doesn't have to struggle back up the leg quite so much.Risk is a personal assessment and if you want to wear stockings it would probably be up to you but ask your doctor first. I would say that if you are normally active and don't have a history of DVT then you probably don't need them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bamas01woman Posted September 22, 2004 Report Share Posted September 22, 2004 Thanks James for the advice. When I spoke to my MD about this she suggested just to wear them on an airplane or in traveling. bamas01woman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evingtonuk Posted March 28, 2010 Report Share Posted March 28, 2010 I am looking for stockings that I can where when I swim, Normal stockings react with the clorine and loose their elasticity. Have varicose veins for 40 years. Now having them blow up when I start swimming lengths. Took up swimming because of the veins but now having problem doing that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangefoot Posted March 28, 2010 Report Share Posted March 28, 2010 I use 'old' stockings that aren't good enough for all day but are still good enough for in the water and walking around the pool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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