Feeling the Pulse, Missing the Diagnosis (How Paris Tried to Kill Me V. 2.0)

As I mentioned, previously, my vacation to Paris was quite virulent. I came back incredibly ill on multiple fronts. The one I've blogged about before was the bad asthma flare.

Well there was another problem (because apparently I can't just have one). This one sent me shopping for support hose in Eastern Europe (where we visited the hubby's family and then returned to Paris).

Something in my leg started whipping around like Indiana Jones' bull whip. It was very bothersome. Whenever we bought internet access at the various hotels, I would Google madly trying to figure out what it was.

Between Google and my basic medical background, the only thing that made sense was a circulation problem of some kind. I knew enough anatomy and had enough experience as a massage therapist to rule out a muscle issue. It had to be a vein. Or the aliens. Either way.

So off we went in search of support hose. Funnily enough, my hubby, a native speaker, didn't know the word for women's support hose in his language but we managed somehow. Not the kind of vacation shopping I had planned on, but amusing nonetheless, in its own way.

The support hose didn't do much and increasingly worried about a blood clot, I started taking aspirin. The flight home, I spent with my leg up on the hubby's lap and taking lots of walks around the cabin. Why I didn't seek medical care in Europe, I don't remember. Oddly enough we even consulted with various doctors while in Europe as we considered doing IVF there, so it's not like I couldn't have said something.

When I went to see my PCP stateside, she felt the pulses in my leg and pronounced me 'fine'.

Bullshit. I mean, I respected and liked this PCP, but no, things were not 'fine.' And you know how much I like living in 'I'll be fiiiine land.'

I tried to ignore it, to be reassured by my PCP, but it would thrash in my leg like a headbanger in a mosh pit. I couldn't let it go.

From there I found a vein doctor and discovered my greater saphenous vein had bit the big one. So I had a vein ablation.

The vein doctor was a) OMG hawt b)beyond kind c) told me this happens sometimes and didn't necessarily mean a blood clot.

Another doctor told me it could've been a blood clot but refused to do any testing for clotting factors. Another doctor also refused to do the testing for clotting factors, which I always thought was weird. I have PCOS, it's not outside the realm of possibility--about 1/2 the infertiles end up shooting up Lovenox.

Anyway, the vein ablation successfully resolved the issue, but here again, another missed diagnosis. Let's see, how many does that make?

1. Asthma--took 3 years to get initial diagnosis, doctors still argue with me about it to this day.

2.Cushings followed by adrenal suppression--missed the first time, I had to strongly advocate for testing the second time, doctors don't believe me to this day (although now I have a copy of the blood work which should shut them up).

3.PCOS missed for 10 years (although to be fair, I think it took a while for science to catch up to where I was as a patient).

4.Collapse of greater saphenous vein

Will the wonders of modern medicine never cease?