Yes, I had one last year. (1 year ago today). The doctor thinks it was caused by a bad fall off my patio. I knew to roll when I hit the ground, but ended up with a badly sprained ankle. So that day and the next I barely moved off my chair because it hurt so bad. Didn't know I should have elevated it during this time. For the next week I didn't move any more than I had to. My legs started hurting, but I still did not go to the doctor, even knowing something had to be wrong. I woke up one morning 11/03/03 with chest pains. I had to go in to work 2 hours early for overtime that day. I worked my entire shift and got off work at 2:00 a.m. By then I had taken Tums and Advil several times, and they did not help. So I went to the emergency room. They kept me there for hours, running tests. They did not wait for all the tests to come back and released me about 6:30 a.m. They thought maybe I had a respitory (sp?) (lung infection) something going on. Went home to feed the horses and let the dogs run in the pasture. When I came in the house to get the dogs, I got a call from the hospital. They wanted me to come back ASAP. They said one of the tests had shown "something", but they didn't say what. I went back without having to go through triage. They didn't want to tell me what was wrong until they were sure. After hooking me up to a heart moniter and running more tests they finally told me. I had a blood clot in my left leg. Part of it broke off and ended up in my right lung. I could have died. I was in the hospital for 5 days, and off work for 3 weeks. Now I am on a blood thinner and have to go to my doctor once a month. They take blood and run tests on it. Wow, didn't mean to write a book on it. This is the first time I wrote the whole thing down. Still have un-answered questions that bother me. Like- How does one die of a blood clot in the lung? Do you just gasp for air and can't get enough in your lungs, then die? Is what I heard true- that 49 percent of people who have blood clots have another one within two years? That's a really scary thought. :(
Your doctor should take it seriously. I'd find another doctor if they did not.
