I played soccer for 20 years until January 2023, when I had a muscle rupture in my thigh, which kept me away from training and matches.
At the end of April, I had a throat infection. Within a few days, I was experiencing shortness of breath and felt tired after taking a few steps, but I thought it was due to the throat infection.
During the same period, I had significant thigh pain and night sweats, but I thought it was all because of the muscle rupture.
I went to the public hospital in my hometown, but no one knew the cause. Next, I went to a private clinic where a doctor performed a Doppler ultrasound. That’s when I was told to go back to the hospital urgently because I had blood clots in the femoral vein.
The next day, I was transferred to a hospital in Bucharest. I underwent multiple tests, and they found that I had deep vein thrombosis with blood clots blocking the femoral vein, popliteal vein, and tibioperoneal trunks, as well as a bilateral pulmonary embolism.
I was hospitalized for 11 days. The doctors there saved my life. After being discharged, it took me a few days to walk again. Now, two months later, I can lightly jog for 5-6 minutes, but then my leg swells and starts to hurt.
My life has changed quite a bit because I can no longer play soccer and can’t run long distances. Also, I’m still scared of the idea of having thrombosis again. I’ll probably have to take anticoagulants for the rest of my life.
In terms of risk factors, I tested positive for factor V Leiden heterozygous clotting disorder, and was a smoker. Also, the muscle rupture could have also played a role.
My advice is to go to the hospital instantly if you have any symptoms of deep vein thrombosis or a pulmonary embolism.
