Spent most of Thurs. in ER

[twinmaker]

I had quite the scare this past Thursday. I had just finished decorating the Christmas tree and took a bath. As soon as I got out of the tub, my left arm started to swell from the shoulder down to the tips of my fingers. No trauma, or anything like that. Of course, the first thing that shot through my mind was a blood clot. I had tested my INR on Wed. and it was fine...2.9. I called the cardiologist and they said to get to the ER which we did. They did an ultrasound to rule out a blood clot and it was fine. Then did x-rays to make sure that I hadn't dislodged the wires from my defibrillator and they were also fine. I spent seven hours in the ER and left not knowing what is going on. My arm is still swollen and I have to see my internist on Monday. They mentioned something in the ER about it possibly having something to do with my lymphatic system. Has anyone else experienced anything like this? I don't usually panic, but I'm at a loss about what this could be. Any help would be appreciated. Linda

 

[geebee]

Thursday was sure a day for the ER. Both Cort (knightfan2691) and I spent time in ERs on Thursday as well. What a "club" to belong to.

I agree that the swelling sounds like a clot or blockage of some kind. It is even possible the culprit could be something so small that tests did not detect it. The other thing that comes to mind is some kind of allergic reaction. Could it have been some kind of bug bite that was aggravated by the hot water of the shower? You might try some Benedryl to see if the swelling subsides although it may be past the time for that to help.

I hope you are able to determine what happened. This kind of thing is very traumatic especially when no cause is identified.

Take care.

 

[Karlynn]

While I don't know anything specific about the lymphatic system, I do know someone who had to have a lot of lymph nodes removed during cancer treatment and because of that she experienced swelling in her leg (nodes were in the groin area) from time to time. She was a very thin person and at times her leg would look like it belonged on someone twice her size.

Just a very wild guess, but I'm wondering if your decorating didn't irritate something in the shoulder area, causing the lymph system in that area to not operate properly.

I hope that it subsides quickly and ends up being just one of those crazy, one-time things.

 

[twinmaker]

One of the first things that I thought about was an allergic reaction, but I hadn't been bitten by anything and the tree is artificial. I didn't have any itching and the doc in the ER pretty much ruled out an allergic reaction. He did ask if I had had breast surgery with any lymph nodes removed and I told him no. After ruling out the blood clot and trouble with displaced defibrillator wires, he then mentioned the lymph system not draining properly. They did some blood work (not sure what, except to check my INR and other things related to clotting). I assume the blood work looked for any infection. I had just finished an antibiotic for a UTI a few days earlier. I feel fine, except for my arm and hand being so swollen that I can't bend my elbow and feeling like I want to stick a pin in my arm to let the air out. HA!HA! It's a mystery. We'll see what my internist has to say. Thanks for your imput. Linda