Mystery Bruises

[gnat23]

Got into work's locker room today and spotted my backside in the mirror, and... noticed three golf-ball sized bruises on the back of my right knee.

Don't remember those being there earlier. Mind you, that's not really a place I look. Definitely don't remember any sort of blunt trauma there - I would have remembered getting hit there, especially in that pattern. Boyfriend swears he hasn't been kicking in his sleep. Is it possible this is just from my regular cycling and rockclimbing? Like microtears or something?

The initial googlehunt for "mystery bruises exercise" have suggested everything from anemia to B12/C deficiency. I take a prenatal vitamin (not pregnant, tho) and a bonus Calcium/Magnesium/Zinc every day. I eat like a million fruits and veggies every day and I'm well past when I last gave blood. I don't get it.

They don't hurt, so I'm not overly concerned, but dangit, it's supposed to be flirty skirt season. *wah!*

-- gnat!

[OakLeaf]

Miniature vampires?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

From gym equipment/machines? Like maybe those things where you have a roller in back of your knee and lift weights with your feet? Hanging from your knees and doing pullups or something??

[Grog]

Anemia (low iron) was my first thought. Not sure the prenatal vitamin would do much for that, but I don't know anything about prenatal vitamins. Are you a vegetarian? How much iron is in your diet? Have you had some blood work done recently?

Otherwise, please keep an eye on them and if they stay for longer than bruises normally stick around, see a doctor. As a child, my brother had persistent bruises on his knee that wouldn't go away after weeks, and he did not remember hitting his knee on anything hard. They turned out to be bone cancer in his knee. That was 1984 and he's still around to tell the tale, but ever since then I've kept an eye on my own mysterious bruises.......!

[michelem]

Keep an eye out and if more start to appear in the next day or so, get thee to a dr. asap! A family friend was out cycling one day and noticed brusing starting to appear. His friends took him to the er where he was kept until they diagnosed leukemia. He was dead within 3 months (in his early 30's), leaving a wife and two small children. He was a very fit, healthy person until then. No other warning signs.

Not saying that this is the case for you, but also not something to mess with.

Keep us posted.

[gnat23]

Eep! Ok, calling the doc now, thanks!

-- gnat!

[bmccasland]

If you didn't bash into some gym equipment, have you twisted your knee? How's the ITB? Is there a remote chance you had some sort of minor, or seemed minor, knee injury that's causing the bruising?

I find that if I pinch something I'm more likely to bruise than if I bash into it straight on.

How's your blood sugar? I've been checked multiple times for diabetes because of my propensity to bruise easily, and heal slowly.

[ima_bleeder]

I've always had low iron. Not low enough to generally need supplements, but always hovering around the bottom of normal. And mystery bruises are normal for me.

Of course I also have really thin skin, and bleed really easily. So normally at the end of a ride I'll be bleeding from somewhere on my legs ... usually the result of brushing up against something while I'm riding (branch, blackberry bush, nettle, ... whatever). And sporting some new bruise.

So clearly, I'm a mess! I get mystery bruises pretty often and don't give them a second thought. Since these bruises are unusual enough to be worrying you it seems unlikely to me that you've had a long-term low Iron issue. Maybe it's a recent nutritional deficiency? Or as Beth suggests a blood sugar issue? (I've been tested for that too, but always somewhere within normal).

Let us know what you find out!

[gnat23]

Stephanie, I'm starting to think more along the low iron hypothesis. I've always been right on the edge of being able to donate blood with my hemocrit, and since I've recently upped my mileage, I suppose I could make a borderline situation worse.

Here's how it looked yesterday evening:


The one right on the crease has gotten darker, and there's a smaller/lighter one that just appeared on the inner part of my thigh today. Again, I beat up myself on a pretty regular basis, especially with rockclimbing, but those injuries are usually on the *front* of my legs, and I can remember bonking them. These, absolutely no recollection of anything hitting there except for, you know, office chairs and couches. And why only the one leg? Weird.

Doc appointment is for Monday morning, so I'll see if he has any advice. In the meantime, I've been reading up all about anemia, so I find it funny that the internets recommend everything from eating liver to getting EPO. No thanks.

-- gnat!

[TahoeDirtGirl]

Funny you have this on here, I keep getting one right below the patella on my knee and I can't figure out WHERE I am hitting it. Furniture? Who knows...

I know from a friend that was taking meds where they bruised easily that the bruises from that don't feel like bruises, they don't hurt. Do they hurt? Mine does below my knee, therefore I know I'm hitting it somewhere.

They are pretty nasty looking though. You said rock climbing tho, if it is bruising, that would be my first guess?

Hope it's nothing!but just bruises.

[emily_in_nc]

I'm glad you called the doc -- more than one bruise "out of nowhere" (I'm forever getting a bruise I don't remember how I got, but just one) doesn't seem normal. Hope it's something simple and innocuous! Do keep us posted.

By the way, you have nice legs (bruises and all).

Emily

[gnat23]

Doc says:

My iron was fine. My overall blood count was borderline low due to timing with a heavy period. Sheesh. All other blood numbers looked good.

The Mystery Bruises raised an eyebrow, but he said not to worry unless they keep appearing or don't ever seem to go away. They will just have to go into the chronicles as "of unknown origin".

I am cleared for play! There was a part of me that wanted an official Rx for steak tho.

-- gnat!

[TahoeDirtGirl]

Good deal gnat!

I was thinking about you the other day when I got a huge bruise after mountain biking. But it was somewhere I wouldn't be taking a pic of haha..

[Tokie]

Have you been taking more aspirin or ibuprofen than usual? Sometimes my friends realize it's time to scale back on the anti imflammatories when they start to bruise unexpectedly. Better a bruise than a GI bleed! (which has also happened to a friend using too much aspirin for aches and pains) Tokie