What Causes Pain From Waist Down Inspite Of Having A Blocked Vein In Left Leg?

Posted on Sat, 22 Feb 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sat, 22 Feb 2014 Answered on

Fri, 14 Mar 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : My girlfriend is in terrible pain from the waist down. Her back and legs hurt to the point she is crying. She's sitting on a heating pad, took a hot bath and took two IBprofin. She says she is feeling a little bit better. Also her left arm is numb/tingling. She has just recently been diagnosed with a vein in her left leg may be blocked off because she has a problem of keeping her foot warm. She had a Doppler done last week where they discovered this constriction and are talking about a stint.

Answered by Dr. Shanthi E (8 hours later)

Brief Answer: Deep vein thrombosis Detailed Answer: Hello, I am sorry for your friend's health concern. I have read through your entire query. It seems like she has developed deep vein thrombosis or a blocked vein in the left leg as you say. And yes, Doppler study confirms this conditions. Now, for the pain. I understand that it must be terrible pain for her as this itself is a very painful condition. She must continue to use the heating pad, and take Ibuprofen as well. If the pain is severe and unbearable, there is no harm in taking opioid analgesics like oxycodone or hydrocodone. However, these are prescription drugs needing her doctor's prescription for the same. She could request her doctor to prescribe one of these as a temporary measure to resolve the pain. Keeping the legs at an elevated level helps increase blood circulation and prevents further pain. The ultimate treatment for this would be removal of the block and stenting as suggested by her doctors. I wish your friend recovers quickly. Let me know if you have more queries.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar