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[pastie supper]

Hi, has anyone else had this? Or know anything about the subject?
I've got a lump on the side of my leg like a little golf ball. It was there on Monday morning when I got up and it hasn't gone away.

I tried my GPs all week, but they had nothing for me except a pack of baclofen as my other guess is a muscle spasm. The NHS website was spectacularly unhelpful when I looked it up online. Absolutely zero useful suggestions or info, so I left a comment about that!

I didn't even get speaking to a doctor until this morning when I was able to access the weekend doctors at the local hospital and they have booked me in for later, so that's ok, at last, someone will look at it in a few hours time.

I started oestrogel in the summer, it says there is an increased risk of clots in the first year of up to 3x, then it drops to around double in subsequent years. So it's not a huge risk, as we all know from the menopause podcasts, double a very small risk is still a very small risk.

I'm thin so it's really obvious sticking out the inside of my calf muscle, I'm wearing leggings so it's easy to show at the hospital later, it looks very odd.

[CLKD]

U perhaps U should have taken yourself to A&E rather than worrying?   Let us know how you get on.

Is there redness or pain, has it kept you awake ........ take a list of symptoms and your medications with you.

[Penguin]

Glad you are getting it looked at, heat, redness and pain are usual signs of a clot.  I guess it couldn't be  swelling from an insect bite, could it?

[Ayesha]

I believe blood clots are extremely painful, or have I got that wrong?
Do let us know what the diagnoses was, another strange thing that the body can throw at us! 
 

[Taz2]

My mum had two episodes of a blood clot in her leg. Both times the leg (calf) was incredibly painful, red, swollen and hot to touch. She also had a high temperature and vomiting. It's good you're getting it checked out but hopefully it's not anything serious.

Taz x

[pastie supper]

Thanks for the comments 
The doctor was lovely and said it's vascular but not a DVT.
She said there would be far more swelling and the leg might have an angry inflamed look if it's a DVT.
She took a long time examining it very gently. It's got a palpable hardened blood vessel coming from the lump up towards my knee and isn't going away soon, but won't kill me because it's a superficial vein not a deep vein.
I had a varicose vein nearby until recently, that was taking the strain but now has vanished (after 26 years!), so we can assume that burst/collapsed because I had some bruising when that happened in perhaps July?
In response the body probably selected the next best vein which has since swollen into an egg shaped lump, elongated slightly from a sphere along the direction of the vein.
It is inflammation, so it will go down, but might be a weak spot from now on.

I've to wear compression socks, aaaagggghhhh.
Yes I'm pleased it's been checked and is ok and really that is all should matter, but, I've a huge aversion to socks, stockings, tights, footwear of any type, I don't know how I'll do that! I turn normal socks inside out for the seams, otherwise it drives me to distraction with the irritated tickle that follows me until I take the things off my feet!

I'll have to have a word with myself about that, 
Anyone know a brand without seams?

I already take enough painkillers to stun an elephant, so at least it's not hurting much!
Don't you love it when it's just another thing to live with in older age?

[CLKD]

PHEW!  The compression socks that I wore in hospital didn't have seams  .  Have a lookC at those designed for long haul flights?

[Ayesha]

So pleased you got it sorted and nothing to worry about.

As I write I am wearing my thick Scottish fair isle socks keeping me nice and warm, they don't call me orphan Annie for nothing 
Hope you get used to wearing the socks, all in a good cause