765 to the dive, still alive!

I didn't make my running and biking goal of 1000 miles for 2019, but as the title states, I came close! I hit a road block. At 41 years old and on September 25th, 2019 I was headed in for a right knee meniscus repair after having one done in June of 2016 on my left knee. As a machinist and mechanic I have always had to rely on my knees to push through the days. That and being an avid runner and cyclist is why I was having another surgery done. I had an issue with superficial clots in the past in my right leg from ankle injuries and was concerned a little about getting them again. I had the surgery to repair my right medial meniscus and all went great. I wore the stockings, kept my feet elevated, used my cryocuff, ice and did my physical therapy exercises. I was hoping that like my left knee surgery that this right meniscus repair would go as well as the last one. I had only been off work for 3 weeks in the previous surgery and was back to running and biking within 6 weeks. After two weeks of having surgery this time I started to have serum drainage from the wound site, knee swelling and a lot of pain in my calf. I pushed through and my body seemed to adapt well enough to return to work after three weeks. I made it three days at work before I scheduled an emergency visit with my Dr about potential blood clots. He didn’t seem to think that was it and put me on Prednisone and Diclofenac to reduce the swelling and pain. I was also put off work for an additional three weeks. The swelling moved from my knee back to my calf and ankle by week five and I was wearing compression stockings all hours of the day. I tried everything. Things got better and I returned to work after a total of almost 7 weeks off. The pain let up, but the swelling, discoloration, and circulation issues remained. In December I noticed many enlarged veins and many smaller ones breaking out around my ankle along with major swelling, so I had my primary Dr schedule an ultrasound and refused to take another round of Prednisone. My body was telling me that I needed at least the "all clear". That decision probably saved my life. Two days before Christmas on December 23rd I had my ultrasound and was immediately told to go to the ER. Many large DVT clots were found from my thigh to my ankle in my right leg. I was put on a high dosage of Xarelto for 7 days and then on a regular dose thereafter. I’m much more aware that I can still bleed easily and still risk having reoccurring clots and I will be on Xarelto for at least a year along with having periodic imaging done. I now pay a lot more attention to the changes happening in my leg when it comes to swelling, pain and discoloration. If you think you may have a DVT clot you need to keep pushing your medical providers to investigate it. If you have a surgery done you need to realize that clotting is a big risk factor afterwards and the signs and symptoms should not be put off. I hope that people can learn from my experience.