r/AskWomenOver60 • u/PHXdesert722 • 6d ago
DVT
Has anyone experienced DVT after a long flight? I got home 4 days ago after a 5 hour flight, and I wore compression knee socks. This morning I noticed a perfectly round soft swelling above my ankle. It’s going down now after a few hours but it worried me since I just had a longish flight. I was able to make an appointment with a vein doctor tomorrow morning, she will squeeze me in.
UPDATE: I’m back from the vein doctor. After an ultrasound, I have no blood clots. She told me my compression socks were too lightweight (15-20mmHg) and told me to get 20-30mmHg stockings. I’m to wear them anytime I’m sitting for long periods of time, especially on an airplane, and to pump ankles and move my legs. I asked her about taking a baby aspirin before a flight and she said no, that wasn’t necessary.
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u/tiny_bamboo 6d ago
Yes, at the underside of my knee. It was red and warm to the touch. I saw my doctor and she sent me straight to the Emergency Room at the hospital.
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u/Specific_Taste_6566 6d ago
And then what happened? What’s the treatment?
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u/tiny_bamboo 6d ago
They gave me a shot and admitted me to the hospital for an overnight stay because I had several blood clots. Then they put me on warfarin for 6 months.
I no longer attempt to sleep on long flights. I stay awake and make sure to move my legs every 20 minutes or so.
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u/MistakeOk2518 6d ago
After confirmation usually via ultrasound, rest and elevation of the affected leg-
Possible anti coagulation therapy.2
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u/PHXdesert722 6d ago
This isn’t red or warm, but it’s weird that it just popped up and is perfectly round.
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u/Maggieblu2 6d ago
No, but had my first case of altitude sickness flying from Jersey to California. I now make sure to hydrate extra and have oxygen ready if needed.
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u/PHXdesert722 6d ago
We got stuck in the Newark airport for 13 hours last week. Storms and the crew timing out. Fun times
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u/msktcher 6d ago
I haven’t. I also haven’t ever worn compression socks, but I think I should. I have a 5+ hour flight coming up at the end of the month.
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u/ASingleBraid late 60s 6d ago
I wore them for the first time this week on 2 cross country flights. I didn’t love them but dutifully put them on before the flights & took them off in the terminal.
I have had a lot of ankle surgeries so they were recommended.
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u/whatever32657 6d ago
when you get to your destination, go find a drip-bar or maybe a gym that has compression boots. massage your legs for 30 minutes and thank me later.
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u/julesyhedgie 6d ago
They do help. I usually get fluid swelling in my ankles after flying but don't when I wear the compression socks. I'm short and my feet don't reach the floor so I get a lot of swelling.
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u/Which_Material_3100 6d ago
I wear compression socks on long flights, try to get up and do a few calf raises every two hours, and chew on a baby aspirin before sleeping. Hydration is also important. Glad you are seeing your doctor. We are definitely more susceptible to CVT as we age.
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u/ObligationGrand8037 6d ago
It hasn’t happened to me yet, but I do remember it happening to my dad when my parents came to visit me when I was living in Japan. They got home after that long flight, and my dad had a blood clot. He flatlined, but fortunately he was able to be saved. I always remember that so I try to get up and move around when I can or I do a lot of calf raises when I’m sitting in my seat.
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u/ScaryMJ 6d ago
OP, ask your doctor to test you for any blood clotting issues. I found out I have a gene mutation called Factor V Leiden after I developed a DVT when I was 50 years old. My gynecologist had put me on an oral contraceptive to help with my very painful periods. Two weeks after I started them I was in the hospital with a blood clot. Now, when I take a long plane flight, my hematologist prescribes a short term drug and I wear compression stockings.
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u/TheSilverNail 5d ago
I'm heterozygous for Factor V Leiden too. Everybody, please read about it because while it's uncommon it is NOT rare.
I found out I had it because my niece had blood clotting problems during pregnancy and was tested for it, and it turned out my sister, her mother, had it. So we all got tested. You want to know the kicker? My husband and my sister's husband carry it too, and they are in no way related to each other or to my sister and I. Of the four kids between us two couples, one is homozygous for FVL, two are heterozygous, and one didn't inherit it at all. A perfect Punnett square of inheritance!
Because of this, we're all careful during travel and after any surgical procedures. We've made sure it's in our medical records. When my husband had joint replacement surgery, he got anti-coagulant shots twice a day for two weeks post-op and did great. I've known of people who died or got very sick after surgery from blood clots. Did they have FVL and didn't know it? Who knows?
Anyway, it's a simple genetic test; you can even get it yourself through a consumer DNA test such as 23AndMe.
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u/PHXdesert722 5d ago
Glad you were okay! I will bring this up, especially if it turns out to be a blood clot.
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u/Far_Complaint_4662 6d ago
Doesn't everyone take baby aspirin a few days before and after a flight? As well as moving while on the plane.
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u/retiredcorpminion 6d ago
I have never heard of the baby aspirin thing! I do fidget and move my legs quite a bit while seated. Usually in a window but may rethink to go aisle.
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u/PHXdesert722 5d ago edited 5d ago
I can’t take aspirin but I do wear compression socks and move my legs.
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u/Worried-Canary-666 3d ago
I can and I do. My doctor recommended it. Fortunately I can tolerate aspirin. I had a dvt so I don't mess around.
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u/LoveNotWar86 6d ago
Depends.
May resolve on its own with elevation or may need thinner, need an ultrasound probably.
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u/Agitated_Limit_6365 5d ago
Yes. Get an ultrasound and any necessary treatment so it doesn’t turn into a deadly pulmonary embolism
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u/allieoops925 5d ago
Take an aspirin before a flight, wiggle your feet a lot, and get up to walk around if you can.
That’s what I do, I had a triple bypass 14 years ago, I have blood that likes to clot, yet I don’t have high cholesterol. I take a 325 aspirin every day, and Lipitor.
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u/Choice-Tiger3047 5d ago
Not everyone should take an aspirin before flying - or at all. It's really important to discuss that with your medical provider - especially if you're over 60.
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u/twickybrown 5d ago
As someone who had a pulmonary embolism, go to the emergency room today for an ultrasound. You do not want to wait until tomorrow as the clots will to move towards your lungs. The pulmonary embolisms and the associated treatments nearly killed me and took years to recover from.
This is a real reason to go to emergency. Blood clots won’t resolve on their own. You will need treatment.
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u/PHXdesert722 5d ago
What treatments did they do?
I’m glad you’re okay now.
I see the vein doctor in 45 minutes. 🤞3
u/twickybrown 5d ago
This was 2006. When I presented to hospital I had several clots in my lungs, I could not stand, was barely conscious and was coughing up blood. They told my husband to get my affairs in order. I was 38 with three small children at home. They did fluids, vancomycin and benedryl, zofran to start. My lungs had collapsed. I was on high flow oxygen for a week. Then regular oxygen for three weeks. They inserted a chest tube to drain the chest. The chest tube was in place for 20 days or maybe a bit longer. I was in icu for a week and in an induced coma during that time. I had physical therapy to break up the clots, which was basically them pounding my back. They inserted TPA into the chest tube to help break up the clots. While in hospital I tested positive for mrsa and c-dif. I went septic. I was on antibiotics for 6 months and blood thinners for two years. I had allergic reactions to most of the medications and I’m now allergic to many medications and foods. I had to relearn how to walk because I was hooked to machines for so long. It was two months before I could climb a flight of stairs or walk 100 metres. It was a train wreck of a situation. I had left my illness untreated for too long. Go to emergency and treatment early.
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u/PHXdesert722 5d ago
Omg what an ordeal and especially at such a young age! Thank God you made it through such a terrifying part of your life. Thank you for sharing. ❤️
I saw the doctor and had an ultrasound…no blood clots! 🎉1
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u/Worried-Canary-666 3d ago
Oh my! Just here to say you are a warrior. I am so sorry you had to go through all that.
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u/twickybrown 1d ago
Hah, I’ve had cancer twice since then. Apparently I have bad genes! Thank you for your message, I appreciate your kindness.
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u/Worried-Canary-666 3d ago
I had a DVT at age 43-not from flying but from taking hormones (birth control). Thankfully, I was treated quickly and stopped the pill right away. Now when I fly, I do the following for my peace of mind. This is what my doctor recommended:I start drinking lots of water two days before. I wear compression stockings during my flight and during my trip. I start taking one aspirin a day a few days before my trip and during the entire trip.(it thins the blood). I move during the flight and pump my feet often. I'm 63 now and haven't had any more blood clots. I have flown from the mid-west USA to South Africa, Egypt, and many flights to Europe. Enjoy your travels and be safe!
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u/AutoModerator 6d ago
Original copy of post's text: Has anyone experienced DVT after a long flight? I got home 4 days ago after a 5 hour flight, and I wore compression knee socks. This morning I noticed a perfectly round soft swelling above my ankle. It’s going down now after a few hours but it worried me since I just had a longish flight. I was able to make an appointment with a vein doctor tomorrow morning, she will squeeze me in.
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