GWS ColinJ.. DVT/Pulmonary Embolism

[MartinQ]

Fingers crossed for the old man.

"Like" isn't the right reply, but hope he pulls through. You did all you could.

 

[ColinJ]

"Like" isn't the right reply, but hope he pulls through. You did all you could.

I am feeling really upset about it even though I only met the man once, about 25 years ago!

Everybody has got really fed up with me going on about DVT risks, but that doesn't mean that I am wrong.

If somebody could cut the risks of heart attack, stroke or cancer by 90% then they would have billions of pounds thrown at them. DVT/PE kills almost as many people and is largely preventable, but people don't want to know about it ...

 

[MartinQ]

If somebody could cut the risks of heart attack, stroke or cancer by 90% then they would have billions of pounds thrown at them. DVT/PE kills almost as many people and is largely preventable, but people don't want to know about it ...

Its probably the same problem with GPs diagnosing PEs/DVT, the initial symptoms are similar to many other (quite disparate) things and the physical/visible symptoms are largely non-existent. Also, a d-dimer test doesn't seem to be on the tick sheet that GPs have for blood tests, either that or my GP simply didn't tick that box. So people are more likely to accept a "diagnosis" of a familiar problem, even if the diagnosis is wrong. Remembering back a couple of years, I'd been to the GP with bad back pains, heart flutters, breathlessness (had difficulty cycling 100 m(etres)) and the response was poor (being generous). If they can't easily get it right, ...

Put yourself in the same position as that girl at Boots(?) who advised you to get checked out for recurrence. She gave good advice, but at the end of the day, thats all anyone can do. Advice can be right or wrong, but it is generally well meant

 

[ColinJ]

Its probably the same problem with GPs diagnosing PEs/DVT, the initial symptoms are similar to many other (quite disparate) things and the physical/visible symptoms are largely non-existent. Also, a d-dimer test doesn't seem to be on the tick sheet that GPs have for blood tests, either that or my GP simply didn't tick that box. So people are more likely to accept a "diagnosis" of a familiar problem, even if the diagnosis is wrong. Remembering back a couple of years, I'd been to the GP with bad back pains, heart flutters, breathlessness (had difficulty cycling 100 m(etres)) and the response was poor (being generous). If they can't easily get it right, ...

Put yourself in the same position as that girl at Boots(?) who advised you to get checked out for recurrence. She gave good advice, but at the end of the day, thats all anyone can do. Advice can be right or wrong, but it is generally well meant

Well, what's done (or not done!) is done. I hope the treatment is effective and that the old man doesn't suffer too much damage. I'm sure that his family are thinking about not spotting the similarities with my own case.

My own family don't really want to hear about the subject. Several of them are overweight and do not get enough exercise. My mum suffered from clotting problems too so there may be a genetic basis for my problems. (Note to self: ask doctor what happened to the genetic test results - I was never told what they showed.) If I cannot get my sisters to listen then it isn't surprising that other families won't!

 

[ColinJ]

Time for an update ...

Things had been going very well - my breathing had improved, my heart rhythm had settled down, my legs were getting stronger, I had got 2,000 hilly miles in on my bikes. After 2 traumatic years, I thought I was recovering and might have got away with the only long-term damage being a sore and swollen leg. And then what I had been dreading for 2 years finally happened - I caught a cold ...

I know that a decent cold or 'flu bug would probably have killed me when I developed my first blood clots in the summer of 2012. I had no reserves left to fight infection, and could barely breathe as it was.

Then I went through the same process in summer of 2013, Revenge of the Clots!

Fortunately, I did not catch my cold until June 2014, when I was much healthier and able to withstand it. Unfortunately, it seems to have done me some damage. Here we are, 6 weeks later, and the shortness of breath, fluttery heart, sore leg, and nausea are back. This is how I felt both previous times that I clotted. I have been worrying that I may have scored a rather unpleasant summer clotting hat-trick ...

I had an appointment with my consultant yesterday (Thursday) and he agreed with me that a cold should not have caused this much of a problem so there might be something more sinister going on. I had a blood-test done to check for fresh clotting and should get the results by noon today (Friday).

It would be a pain if I had managed to clot while taking warfarin because that would imply that I need to increase my dose significantly, and that would increase my risk of suffering serious bleeding problems. Still, that might be a better result than some of the other possibilities ...

I am probably going to have a lung function test, an ultrasound scan of my heart, and maybe yet another CT scan. (I had a chest x-ray yesterday which didn't reveal much, but they are not good for spotting clots.) At this rate, if clots don't get me, the radiation from all these scans probably will!

Oh well, here we go again! At least this time, if something bad is going on, then I am currently still capable of cycling, albeit slower than I was riding even 4 or 5 months ago. I will just have to wait for the call from the doc to find out what happens next ...

 

[ColinJ]

PS I forgot to mention ... The consultant listened to me describing how I had noticed that my breathing was not so good when out on my bike recently. He replied "Well, elite athletes are more sensitive to changes in their bodies ..."

Elite athlete - moi?

 

[AndyRM]

That's a bummer dude. Hope you get some good news today.

 

[Saluki]

Blimey Colin. You don't do things by halves, do you?
Take care of yourself and we are hoping for good news for you.

 

[ColinJ]

That's a bummer dude. Hope you get some good news today.

Blimey Colin. You don't do things by halves, do you?
Take care of yourself and we are hoping for good news for you.

Cheers.

I am quite pleased that the consultant is taking me seriously. You wouldn't think I was ill to see me at the moment, and hearing that I have been doing over 100 miles a week on my bike, but something is up.

With luck, an extra mg a day of warfarin will sort me out.

I pointed out that it is 6 weeks since my last INR blood test, and it is supposed to be another 6 weeks until my next. I think 12 weeks is too long an interval. The doctor said he would ask the clinic to test me more frequently in future, and said there was a possibility that I might be set up to do my own weekly tests using a loaned INR meter. That would really put my mind at rest because I could keep a close watch on what was happening and always be taking the optimum dose of warfarin.

I think I will veg out with a late film now. If I try going straight to bed, I probably won't sleep very well.

 

[Saluki]

Vegging out with CSI at the moment as I can't sleep. Practicing my chord changes 5 minutes at a time too.
Sleep well when you can.

 

[summerdays]

Good luck for the results today! What is involved in a lung function test?

 

[coffeejo]

Thinking of you.

 

[beanzontoast]

Keep smiling, Colin. Hope things pick up for you again really soon.

 

[The Jogger]

Good luck and think how much more fitter and lean you are now compared to two years ago

 

[Sara_H]

Oh dear @ColinJ . Hope things feel better soon.