the stent. does it really relieve pain?

[megwoman]

i am supposed to go get the stent put in at the end of june but they told me it only has a 30% chance of relieving any pain. i had the dvt in my left leg and i dont have the swelling issues anymore but i have bad chronic pain in my left calf n my ankle n foot cramps up all the time. Sometimes its burning pain but its more just cramping pain. I also get bad groin pain like below my left buttocks if i sit for too long well i take that back, if i sit for more than 30 minutes. i guess im just curious for anyone that has got it done if it relieves pain right away? does it take a long time to recover from it? ive asked my doctor these questions and he said for some people it varies if it helps or it doesn't but if anyone can tell me how they felt after it or if it relieved pain at all would be really helpful. My pain is so bad that they upgraded my meds to norco which is double vicodin and it makes me feel insane. Ive tried over the counter meds but none of that helps either so it would be great to know if this procedure actually helped other people out. thank you

[jeanne]

I had my stent put in during my hospital stay with my DVT. I was not given a choice since the vein was compressed to the point where there was hardly any blood flow. My stents (there are 3) are in the illiac vein right at my groin area. I have not experienced any swelling since the stents were put in. I do get occasional pain and the buring feeling you described but it comes and goes. I do take coumadin and will most likely take it for life. Depending on the extent of the DVT and if the clot was removed or left to harden it is possible that the valves in the leg could be damaged permanetly. If that is what is contributing to the pain that may not change with the stent. The stent is designed to keep the vein from collapsing under the pressure of the artery.

[megwoman]

thank you. my clot was in my left iliac vein. According to the cat scan, the clot was where my vein is constricted from may-thurner. The clot is most likely hardened according to the doctors and i know my valves/veins must be damaged. its extremely bad pain when its cold outside and i think thats because when its cold, everything constricts so lately its been out of control. Someone i went to go see said methadone would be a good drug to go on for pain and you can be on it normally but the only thing i know about that drug is that its used to take people off of heroin and I am not addicted to pain meds by any means however i am not sure i want to go on a drug like that. I guess i am just waiting til after i get the stent put in to see what the next step should be and i am not looking forward to going back on blood thinners. I know people say there are no side effects physically but even though i was on a low dose, i felt like i had no energy, my hair thinned out n my periods were out of control, so bad that the first couple days i couldn't even leave my house. can you feel the stent? or have they ever fallen out or anything?

[jeanne]

I wouldn't say you can feel the stent but I do notice werid sensations from time to time in my pelvic area. For me I have discomfort off and on in my left leg. Sometimes the discomfort is a heaviness sensation other times it is an achey sensation, and then sometimes it can be a tingling and burning feeling. I am lucky because extra strenght tylenol usually does the trick.

[gina1]

hello, i just had an angioplasty 10 days ago, i have 1 stent in my iliac vein, i'm walking without any pain in my legs, i didn't had any blood clot, but i feel pain in my groin like pressure,,,i wonder if this is normal and for you __how long did it take?___, and when you began to do exercise and walking without any pain?

[jeanne]

I took it easy for about 1 month. Now I am back to my old routine, I run 4 miles a day. My leg does not always hurt. I would descibe the feelings as an annoying discomfort rather than pain. Clots however can do damage to the valves in the veins and therefore cause Post Thrombitic Syndrome aka Post Phelebitic Syndrome