lower leg amputation 18months ago , no pulse in other foot please help?

Allergies, blood and immune system
1

My mum had to have a below the knee amputation on her right

Leg 18months ago age 73 and coped brilliantly considering. 2yrs

prior to this op my mum had DVT and put on warfarin . My brother at the time had a near fatal pulmonary embollism admitted to hospital 12wks. I myself age 43 had a small blood clot in left leg.

8months prior to mymums amputation her doctor stopped her

warfarin. Long story short within those 8months my mum

unknowingly developed DVT again which went undetected

until pain/swelling became unbearable i took her to A+E. A scan

revealed around 95% blockage from below knee to foot , an

Angioplasty was done to help blood flow but resulted in massive

blood clot behind the knee an op to remove clot followed by

amputation.

Here i am 18months on hoping the good people on this site can

help me make sense of whats happening now? Mum discharged June 2014 with warfarin . May 2015 warfarin stopped i questioned this so many times due to previous but was told the G.P thinks she no longer needs it (that decision wasnt measured against

anything e.g : series of blood tests to make it valid) yet the

decision stood. Rang DN's was told sorry G.Ps decision.

2 venous leg ulcers appeared on front of my mums other leg

4 wks ago , G.P came out performed a ABPI which revealed no

pulse in mums foot lower leg cold ! Within hours my mum got

antibiotic cream and tablets a course of aspirin and a nurse to take her blood GP said she would also get mum an appointment

at hospital for leg scan my mum asked why the scan and was

told nothing to worry about . Please someone correct me if i am wrong but a woman with so much history of blood/circulation

problems to not have a pulse in her foot when checked not once but again 10 days later as well as leg ulcers that have been given 2 lots of antibiotics to treat is that a red flag warning or not? I believe it is, the GP however said the quickest appointment for leg

scan was end of november . My mum thinks it cant be anything

serious because the G.P would have got her in asap ! I do think

No pulse etc is serious and the G.P has bought herself enough

Time so get the leg ulcers healed in time for Nov scan so no backlash. I am beside myself with worry no pulse/circulation having

to wait the damage is done i know im no doctor but this is not

looking good for my mums leg i just know it. Does anyone know how long with no blood flow to foot would it take before onset of critical limb ischaemia? Any help /advice anything would be

appreciated, thankyou in advance x

2

Hi Tilly, sorry for your woes. Have you looked up peripheral arterial disease info on this website? My dad lost one leg above the knee due to heart disease, blocked artery in the calf. He didn't understand the symptoms and only went to the doc when it was too late. He was a lifetime smoker which they gave as reason for blocked arteries. He was never on Warfarin but was told to take a daily aspirin. He had no further circulation problems and lived a further 8 years until pneumonia took him. He did stop smoking and was exercising daily.

I would be tempted to go to A&E as you are worried about pain etc and ask for an urgent Vascular Consultation. Good Luck.

3

Hi sheila

First of all so sorry for your loss of your dad. Thankyou

for taking the time to reply i have looked up peripheral disease

and everything relates to my mum i have however decided not to wait for scan appt in november i am just going to take her to A+E to get a scan which will prove a bit difficult given the fact my mum thinks it cant be that serious but my perserverence im sure will pay off. Thankyou once again x

4

Given that your mum had already lost half a leg to a clotting or other serious disorder it strikes me as quite irrational for a GP to come to the conclusion that anticoagulation therapy​ is no longer required.

I'm dumbfounded. I just can't believe it. The results are speaking for themselves. Shocking 

5

I am shocked with the attitude they have toward us with circulation problems.  Prevention is the answer and power to you.  Keep fighting, she needs that leg.  Best wishes for success.

 

6

I suffer from critical leg ischeamia from a blocked aneursym in the knee and following advice from the hospital vascular team, I am not to go to my GP if I get worried, that should go to casualty if my foot goes icy white or very cold.

Everyone here advises similar for your mum.

What is the latest?

I have been to casualty 3 times since I last posted to get my foot pulses checked and now have 3 weeks to decide if I have an op to tie off the blocked knee aneursym and have a bypass from the thigh to the ankle, or I carry on with the walking therapy. The walking has helped restore 1 of the 3 foot pulses.

My advice is to work on your mum to not bother with the GP, but to instead take her to A&E and ask to be seen by the vascular team. Please keep posting and let us know how things are going.