Torn hamstring

[Marge]

I have a torn hamstring as a result of a fall & it is just horribly painful. Can't recall anything as excruciating in my whole life except ONCE.

Came here mainly cause I need somewhere to feel sorry for myself, also to know whether any of you have experienced this & how long does it stay this painful?

I had x-rays, MRI and full blood workup at ER to make sure it was "just" a tear.

btw, the ER doc suspected that coumadin (I take it for a-flutter) may have made the bruising, blood flow, and consequent pain worse. My PT at ER was 5 something (normally cruises along very nicely at between 2 and 3). Tomorrow have another blood draw, consultation with anti coag clini, appointment with my regular dr., AND referral to physical therapy scheduled. I'm on vicodin, walking bent over and side wise with a cane; will be fun getting to all that.

Worst part is, I CANNOT raise my right leg (where injury is). I "slide" rather than "walk". I flop forward into bed at night & lie there unable to move, like a turtle on its back; getting out of bed is incredibly painful. My right leg & ankle have swollen to amazing size.

 

[Ross]

OUCH. I've done alot of damage to myself, but I cannot say that a hamstring was one of them. I'm sure it's going to take a week or two given the location.

 

[Marge]

Turns out it was not hamstring that was torn, it was another important muscle, the iliopsoas. Never heard of it? I hadn't either! (A couple docs have now told me they never encounter a torn iliopsoas except among soccer players and God knows I never play soccer.)

Situation seems to have been definitely aggravated by the coumadin & the internal pooling of blood as a result. The fall happened either the 29th or 30th of March & we were in Paris (France) at the time. It didn't seem that big a deal at the time -- I got up, walked perfectly normally, did not hit my head, so it did not occur to me to change the coumadin dose or anything. By the time we left (April 12) the pain had really set in (don't know how I stood the 11-hour flight from Paris to US west coast).

Anyway, I am doing much better now. My regular physician put me on morphine for a few days -- rather than vicodin. Morphine was easier for me to manage, & I am mostly off painkillers except when my leg really hurts (mostly at night). I have a whole bunch of "strengthening" exercises to do from physical therapy, which I'm not doing very consistently because it still hurts too much damn it.

I suppose the main lesson from this, for people on coumadin, is: for ANY serious fall (not just head injury) get in touch with anti-coagulation folks! I didn't do this because (1) we were traveling and out of the country; and (2) I didn't hit my head. But a phone call from Paris would not have been that big a deal, and if the coumadin dosage had been adjusted earlier it might have spared me some pain.

 

[Ross]

Its a good message to heed, but I really don't think it would have made much of a difference. Say you injured yourself today and made that call today, it's still going to take 3 days for whatever reduction to show up in a test. I think the damage was done and their just wasn't anything you could really do about it.

 

[Marge]

So now my leg is OK but ....

So now my leg is OK but ....

Well, after about a week of pretty intense pain, and a lot of painkillers, I am mostly OK, except my leg hurts a lot at night.

Docs think I have recovered remarkably well from the muscle tear.

But, even a couple of weeks post the ER visit, the anti-coag folks still hadn't gotten my INR back to where they wanted. It's supposed to be between 2.0 and 3.0. Over 5 at the ER -- first test after the ER it was way down -- to 1.9.

Most recent test (May 8) it was down even further -- to 1.8. Anti-coag clinic was surprised. They had me on 5 mg. five days a week, 2.5 two days. Since the May 8 test they have me taking 5mg a day. Next test is May 22.

I am not as used to these fluctuations as some of you guys seem to be -- my INR had been very consistent since I got on warfarin last year -- so I hope it is straightened out by then.