Blood Clots/DVT

by Junction-Guy 7 Replies latest watchtower medical

• 

  Junction-Guy

  I was diagnosed twice last year with blood clots in my leg. the first time was last may. I had severe throbbing pain in my leg and my doctor and the nurses at work thought it was tendonitis or pulled muscles, I however knew in my mind that it was something much more serious. After about 2 weeks of this I went to see another doctor who is affiliated with mine, my doctor was off that day. I insisted that something serious was wrong, so he sent me to the hospital for an ultrasound of my leg, it was then discovered that I had a massive blood clot in my leg and I was admitted to the hospital. I was there for 6 days and they had me on a heparin drip I.V. I was released and given coumadin(blood thinner). Well after 3 months my family doctor decided to take me off the coumadin, he is such an optimist! within 6 weeks of discontinuing the blood thinner, I once again came down with a blood clot in the same leg. This time I was in the hospital for 6 days and then I was released. When I got home, over the next several days, my pain intensified and the thigh muscle locked up on me and I couldnt hardly walk. my leg was swollen to twice its normal size.This went on for several weeks, and I even purchased a cane to help me walk, and acquired a temporary handicapped sticker for my car. I will tell you this was the worst pain in my life, I never thought I was going to walk again, but thank God I recovered. finally after about a month the doctor had given enough muscle relaxers that my leg had finally released and I was able to stand up and walk normal. I am now on the highest dose of blood thinner 10mg and will probably be on this for the rest of my life, in fact the doctor will have a hard time convincing me otherwise. I know now that I need to be careful and that i will bleed more profusely from cuts and scrapes, but Its much better than the alternative. I also wear a vascular compression sock on my leg now when I go to work. Im glad that im not a JW, because if i ever have to have a transfusion now, I will

  do it in a heartbeat. anyone here ever have a blood clot?

  JG
• 

  Englishman

  I am now on the highest dose of blood thinner 10mg and will probably be on this for the rest of my life, in fact the doctor will have a hard time convincing me otherwise. I know now that I need to be careful and that i will bleed more profusely from cuts and scrapes, but Its much better than the alternative

  Me too. Having a leaky mitral valve can lead to blood clots forming, so I take 8mg of Warfarin every day.

  Re blood thinning: It doesn't actually make your blood any thinner, what it does it to slow down the rate that it coagulates. For example, ordinary blood is rated on the INR system as 1. Now, I need to be at 2.5, which means that my blood takes 2.5 times as long to clot as ordinary blood.

  It's a preventative measure to prevent a stroke. I've not had any side effects at all with Warfarin, matter of fact my blood seems to get into every little corner of my body at a prodigious rate.

  Englishman.
• 

  Valis

  I know now that I need to be careful and that i will bleed more profusely from cuts and scrapes,

  aw...does this mean no knife fights at Apostafest?

  Hey man I've known a couple people who have died from blood clots...Just awful...I hope you're OK and are getting better..Did your Dr. mention taking HeartHealth as well? One of my colleagues takes this for stroke recovery ..but it is also used for blood clots.

  Sincerely,

  District Overbeer
• 

  Junction-Guy

  Hi Englishman, I now go to the doctor once a month to check my PT time (pro-thrombin), I told my doctor this last time that I want to receive the highest dose possible and remain on it as long as I can. I know that as soon as I come off the coumadin again my leg will clot back up. No one knows for sure what caused this, I have a hematologist now and she cant find anything abnormal in my blood work. My doctor just says I need to exercise more and quit smoking. I believe I have some other underlying factor causing this, that they havent picked up on yet. I have learned so much in the past year on medicine,diseases, and disorders that I could receive an honorary doctorate degree in medicine.
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  Junction-Guy

  Hi Valis, Believe it or not I am not familiar with heart health, is that a new drug or something? I was perfectly healthy until last year and all of a sudden I developed high blood pressure and then my blood clots. I had never used health insurance my whole adult life and the last time I had been to a doctor was in 1991. My doctor thinks I worry too much, and im much healthier than I realize. I believe I have some kind of heart or vascular problem causing this and it just hasnt been diagnosed. And yes I do realize the seriousness of blood clots, I went for several days worrying that my clot would break loose and kill me. I dont worry about that too much anymore. I now know that boredom and depression will probably kill me first, but I will leave that for another thread, as Im in a good mood and looking forward to Dallas
• 

  PinTail

  What you describe has been my life for the past ten years. Please refer to this web site it may aid you right now, you may be one of us:

  http://www.fvleiden.org/

  I found out just two weeks ago that I have this condition don't wait like I did doctors won't tell you to have the blood test for this condition you must insist, its your life.

  Shane,
• 

  Valis

  http://www.neopharmica.com/heart_health_review.htm

  A bit technical but it appears that HeartHealth is mostly a ginseng abstract. Something you might consult w/the doc about anyway. My friend had several strokes very close to one another and afterwards he started taking that and sems mostly back to his normal redneck self..

  Sincerely,

  District Overbeer
• 

  lauralisa

  Hi Junction Guy,
  
  I'm sorry to hear you're going thru all this. I have only recently been dx'd with a very rare genetic disorder and participate in a DB about it. Recently a bunch of stuff was written about DVTs and I thought you and the others who have posted would find it interesting... (*ahem* I skipped the one that mentions the use of Coumadin and hair loss...!) Pin Tail's link is probably similar - people struggling to find clear information and who share it with others freely, along with support and compassion (a very healing thing!)
  
  Finding a Dr who will spend the time to educate you about all the intricacies of "rare" disorders is pretty difficult. Finding one who is ABLE to do such a thing is next to impossible! If I did not live near Mayo Clinic, I'd be paralyzed right now. If I did not have the internet, I would have virtually NO information about my condition or how to manage its symptoms; since doctors rely so completely now on diagnostic testing (which assumes ALL people fall into "reference ranges" or not) and are not paid by insurance companies to take clinical histories, I find that the "art" of practicing medicine is the rarest thing of all...
  
  Wish you well, lauralisa
  
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Factor V Leiden
  Factor V deficiency is an inherited abnormal blood coagulation disorder caused by a deficiency of the plasma protein Factor V. Normal blood coagulation is a complex process involving as many as 20 different plasma
  proteins, which are known as blood coagulation factors.
  
  A series of complex chemical reactions using these factors takes place very rapidly to form an insoluble protein called fibrin that stops bleeding.
  
  When certain coagulation factors are deficient or missing, the chain reaction does not take place normally. Factor V deficiency is caused by inheriting a defective Factor V gene. In this disorder, bleeding ranges from mild to severe.
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  
  In 1995 they made us watch a full length video and then gave us a binder with many bulletins in it and a menu sheet with a long list of foods to avoid.
  
  Spinach can be eaten but the PT time will drop for 72 hours. So when I do eat spinach I have to remember not to test until the 72 hours is up.
  
  The methylsoloxine is the worse item on the list as it lasts a full 10 days and can immediately cause large clots.
  
  The trouble with methylsoloxine is that it appears in many many foods without us even knowing it unless we get the dietary ingredients list. Fast food places are the worse for using methylsoloxine... as it helps keep the shelf life of their fried foods.
  
  I have not had KFC, Burger King, Wendys, Hardees or other fried foods since September 95.....and yet the methylsoloxzine finds it's way into other restaurants or foods...even some frozen prepared foods in the supermarket....expecially potatoes.
  
  My PCP tells me it is ok to eat some of the green foods in "moderation" just once in a while. Cauliflower is not green and it is worse than the other.
  
  So is tea.