Hey, I started hormones a few months ago and I was warned to watch for a lot of things among them deep vein thrombosis. This morning I woke up and I have a purple spot about an inch around on the underside of my finger. There is no pain, itching or swelling. I have not injured the area recently so I don't think its a bruise I'm an otherwise very healthy person. I run 4 miles three to four times a week, I'm a vegetarian, and my weight is right in the healthy part of the spectrum on the doctors chart. My question is if this turns out to be DVP are they going to take me off of hormones? Its Sunday so I cant call my doctor until tomorrow and I am terrified they are going to make me stop taking HRT. Before I was on HRT I was not a stable person and I cant go back to that. Has anyone on here experienced anything similar to this? Please help I'm flipping out a little.

They may temporarily stop it and give you some blood thinners. See a doctor ASAP. Better to stop HRT for a short while and get yourself stabilized before the clot ends up in your lungs (and kills you).

Hi Courtney. Big disclaimer: I am not a doctor.

Your finger is an unusual place for a clot. We move our fingers a lot, so it'd be pretty rare for a clot to get stuck there. If there's no way you could have injured it and there's no pain or swelling, is it at all possible that it's ink or dye or some other thing that may have stained your hand? When you press on the purple spot, does it fade to white/your usual skin colour under the pressure, or does it stay purple? Also, is the area around the spot reddish or hot to the touch?

Also, is the purple area the only symptom you're experiencing, or did you wake up with any other issues?

I don't want to dissuade you from seeking medical advice, because DVT can be very serious due to the risk of pulmonary embolism. As Kate said, obviously, we do not want that happening! That said, DVT isn't the first thing my brain jumps to, so try to not panic. 

it is definitely under the skin and not an ink. When I press it it does not change color and there is no redness or heat on the outer edges.  I was completely nuts before the hormones so being forced not to take them is like a huge fear of mine. Is it the sort of thing that they con make you stop taking the hormones forever? Thanks so much for your help.

I am not a doctor but there are a couple of options such as blood thinners and low dose hormones. Most of the effect you feel are from the blockers and the hormones are for body changes. A reduction in the hormones shouldn't change the way you feel but development may happen at a slower rate. The important thing is to find out what is going on with hand. Sometime a blood vessel will harmlessly burst below the skin causing a mark like that but it is important you get it checked out and it shouldn't prevent future HRT.

Thanks that actually makes me feel a lot better. After I read your response I looked up pictures of burst blood vessels in hands and they look exactly like what I have. I'm still going to call my doctor tomorrow just to be safe but you put my mind at ease. ^_^ Thanks!

The following does not constitute medical advice. However for general understanding only, deep veins, in this context, are those running though deep muscle in the arms and legs... (not fingers and toes) DVT's usually form in a limb, and result in that limb becoming slightly swollen, warmer than normal to touch, and rather red in colour. This is because blood is then diverted to the surface venous system which make the skin extra warm.

Generally speaking we are more worried about proximal clots than distal ones (that is to say those closer to the central trunk of the body than those nearer the hands and feet) because the veins are larger the closer you get to your trunk and a large clot, if it dislodged, could then embolise in the lung causing a PE - which is a life threatening emergency.

However a small clot in the finger would almost certainly not be large enough for such a concern, except in so far that it might be an indicator that you blood cehmistry was less than ideal. In many cases clots in distal venous systems are left to resolve naturaly.

While what you describe does not sound like a DVT, you should certainly still get it checked when convenient just to be safe. Also if it were a small clot then because of the distal location, it quite likely that all that would be required was some adjustment to your blood chemistry to increase your INR.

Unfortunately proper DVT's generally are considered a major contraindication to HRT, but as a real DVT could become fatal, that fear is absolutely not a valid reason to avoid getting checked over if you are worried.

I would also add that if your finger is numb, tingling or cold to touch you should get it checked immediately because complete failure of circulation in a digit could in theory lead to ischemia and amputation. Bottom line if you are worried get it checked.

:/ I'm a little less enthused about that one but I'm just going to focus on the "what you describe does not sound like a DVT" part of that and talk to my doctor about everything. Thanks for your input you sound very knowledgeable and seeing you say that makes me a little less panicky.

Quote from: CreepyCourtney on October 18, 2015, 01:48:55 PM
:/ I'm a little less enthused about that one but I'm just going to focus on the "what you describe does not sound like a DVT" part of that and talk to my doctor about everything. Thanks for your input you sound very knowledgeable and seeing you say that makes me a little less panicky.

4th year medical student... 

I am a person who apparently bruises easily. I'd be rich if I had a penny for every time my wife asked me "How did you get that bruise?" or "Doesn't that hurt?". My response always being "Huh?"

I am also a person with for real circulatory issues between bad genetics, obesity as a kid, and often driving a desk a for hours on end without moving. A person with about half a dozen veins dispatched by one means or another. My wife's biggest concern about me starting on E was not what it would mean to the "Us" but the big chance of a DVT or stroking out with my massive varicose veins.

As already pointed out the major component for a DVT is a Deep Vein. Not a surface vein that may look knarly, swollen, kinked or even seeps. You more than likely simply banged or pinched the finger hard enough to rupture some blood vessels but not hard enough to take notice of it or to completely forget about the trifle.