Recovering from Deep Vein Thrombosis

Well, I have been back in Australia for a month now but it hasn’t been the off-season I was hoping for. Sadly, there hasn’t been any red wine and late nights.

I felt really sick after I arrived home and my “self diagnosed” calf strain was getting sorer each day. I did a lot of self massage but this didn’t help at all. After 6 days, I fainted and knew something wasn’t right. I headed to the Alphington Sports Medical Centre and within 20 minutes of talking to the physio and doctor, I was heading straight for Epworth Emergency.

I spent a week in Epworth hopsital with DVT discovered in my left leg. The nurses used a wheelchair to take me to the bathroom. I could not put any weight on my leg. I had lung and chest scans but luckily the clot had only extended to mid thigh.

I usually pass out at the sight of needles so when the nurses told me they had to inject me in the stomach, I wanted to run a mile! This nasty injection (twice a day) made the clot stick to the wall of my vein and decreased the risk of any part of the clot going to my brain. It is usually fatal if a blood clot goes to the brain, so naturally I accepted these injections as they would help keep me alive. Each injection stung like a wasp sting for about 5 minutes afterwards. They told me it hurt so much because I was skinny. So this is the first time that as an athlete I wished for more fat around my stomach.

I lay in hospital trying to pinpoint when I got the clot. In September I crashed heavily in the Rotterdam world cup and did a long car trip across Holland and Germany the following day. The doctor predicted that sitting in a small car with internal bleeding, probably caused the clot to develop. Thinking back now, I should have been more suspicious about the strange ache I had in my calf and up through my adductor. I was elevating my leg every day in the lead up to world champs but thought I had referred pain from tight gluteal muscles, and an aggrevated calf.

After 4 days in hospital I started getting to the bathroom myself, using a walking frame borrowed from the 90 year old woman I shared a ward with. Each day when the doctor visited, I asked him when I could start training again. He told me just to take it easy for a few weeks.

It took me 4 weeks to walk without limping and now I am on the trainer, but only riding 30 minutes a day. I am unable to ride outside because if I crash I will bleed uncontrollably. I am on medication which stops my blood coagulating as it needs to be thin to get past the blood clot and to prevent further clotting. I have another 8 weeks of “good old ergo sessions” and then I am off all medication and I can train outdoors again.

I can’t wait to ride outside again and I feel envious of every cyclist I see at the moment. It is 8 weeks until I can feel the wind on my face and enjoy the countryside and believe me, I am counting down the days.

Until then – happy riding!
Helen.