My left leg was swollen for about two years and several doctors - two orthopedic and three MDs - told me it was "fluid" and only one suggested any remedy and that was Dyazide. I had knee surgery last winter in FL and a total knee replacement on the left leg in August 2009 in MI. Six weeks of therapy and I could barely lift my left leg off the floor and I struggled to get up and out of a chair. I thought it just took more time for a total recovery. In November my regular MD was out of the office at the time of my routine lab work so I saw an associate. She immediately noticed my swollen leg and sent me to imaging for a Doppler. I went from there to the hospital with four DVT'S in the groin area. Very extensive as my doctor said. Why did no other doctor suggest a Doppler? I never surmised blood clots when I had terrible "charley horses" in the back of my leg, the swelling, or the warmth. I think we have to be our own doctor!! Thank God that my regular doctor was gone and I had one who ordered the Doppler. I am now on Coumadin for six months and can lift my leg "knee high", and get out of a chair with no problem!

i have a knot in the inside of my thigh and a burning sensation going across my leg to the other side.

Before I was diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis, I had what looked like purple scratches on my skin.

I would like to warn people out there of the danger of DVT. I lost my husband 11 years ago, because a doctor told my husband, he had a spot of pneumonia in his left lung and to take it easy for a couple of days. On his way to the doctor, he stopped at Walmart to get cough syrup, and passed out in the store. He was rushed to the emergency room and DIED within one hour. He was only 43 years old at the time. After the autopsy, a blood clot was found to have broken loose from his left leg and that was the SPOT the doctor had seen two days before.

When I was having problems with DVT, I felt as if I had a very deep cramp in the back of my left leg that was only helped by having wet heat applied. The pain returned as soon as I started to walk again.

I had surgery on my right foot. I had to visit my doctor once per week after that, and I had to wear an orthopedic boot and crutches. Two weeks later, my doctor suggested to let go of the crutches, and I did, I started walking only with my boot, and the day before my third visit to the doctor, as I went to get out of bed in the morning, I put on my boot and as I step on my foot to start walking, I felt this sharp pain shooting from my heel up to the back of my knee. It really hurt, but I thought it was just sore because I just started walking without my crutches, so I went ahead and managed to get out of bed and start walking - with my crutches again, to ease the pain. When I saw my doctor the next day, I mentioned this to him and he checked my leg. It wasn't even swollen; it was just sore, from my heel to the back of my knee. The doctor saw the possibility of a clot and sent me right away to the emergency room to have an ultrasound, which ended up revealing a blood clot on my leg.

For me, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) manifested itself as pain on the inside of the leg, just below the knee. The pain also travels upward, something like halfway up the thigh. There is also very uncomfortable throbbing at times.

I awoke in the middle of the night with blinding pain in my left hip which radiated down my leg. When I got out of bed to go to the restroom, the muscles in my calf contracted so hard that I could not extend my leg out in front of me to walk and almost fell down. The pain was excruciating! Being a healthy person, I assumed it was some sort of temporary fluke thing and would subside by morning. But, upon awakening, my entire leg from hip to toe had blown up more than 5 times its normal size. Still thinking it was a fluke, I elevated it and waited for the swelling to go down. Luckily, my mother visited and insisted I go to the doctor. The first doctor did not touch me at all - diagnosed it as DVT - and sent me on to the emergency room.

I had severe leg pain, and my foot went numb. I did not have pain in the area where the clot was found. I went to the ER because I knew something was wrong, but never thought blood clot!