GWS ColinJ.. DVT/Pulmonary Embolism
- Thread starter potsy
- Start date
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ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
Thanks all. I am just hanging about waiting for the call now. I will be surprised if the test results are negative because this feels like the early stages of what I had in 2012 & 2013.
Last year's clotting was nasty but nowhere near as bad as the first time, which nearly killed me. It was caught in time to stop it progressing. If it has happened again, then at least it will have been picked up early.
My stepdaughter is coming up for the weekend, and one of my sisters has just announced that she is coming up with her dog today, so I should have plenty to distract me for a few days.
I have a week in Scotland coming up in a few weeks time and had planned a couple of spectacular rides which I hope to still be able to do. I won't do anything silly. If I don't feel well enough, I will do something less challenging. If the rides go ahead, I will start early to give myself plenty of daylight hours to meander round.
Last year's clotting was nasty but nowhere near as bad as the first time, which nearly killed me. It was caught in time to stop it progressing. If it has happened again, then at least it will have been picked up early.
I started watching a recording of the Tour of Poland and eventually turned in at about 03:15. The trouble is, I had that thing you have as a child at Christmas - waking up early, knowing that something exciting is about to happen. In this case, I fear that I might not like my presents! Feeling pretty knackered now ...
The doctor said they would put a face mask on me and put me through various stress tests to see how my lungs cope. I went on the British Lung Foundation website and discovered that there are lots of things they can test for. Being mister wimp about needles, I am hoping that I wouldn't do the test that involves putting a tube into an artery to monitor blood gases ...
Yes, that's the one good thing to come out of the original illness. I gave up booze 2 years ago this week!
Well, I haven't actually stopped hitting the hills ... I just happen to have been going up them at a very non-elite pace!As others have said really, hope your back to hitting those hills very soon, you ........................elite athlete you
My stepdaughter is coming up for the weekend, and one of my sisters has just announced that she is coming up with her dog today, so I should have plenty to distract me for a few days.
I have a week in Scotland coming up in a few weeks time and had planned a couple of spectacular rides which I hope to still be able to do. I won't do anything silly. If I don't feel well enough, I will do something less challenging. If the rides go ahead, I will start early to give myself plenty of daylight hours to meander round.
hopless500
Trundling along
- Location
- not-as-flat-as-you-think Norfolk
All the best Colin - hope the result is good for you x
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
I just got the call. It was bad news. It was very bad news indeed ... 
They didn't take enough blood for the test so I now I have to go and give another sample, and then wait until Monday for the results!
They didn't take enough blood for the test so I now I have to go and give another sample, and then wait until Monday for the results!
Saluki
World class procrastinator
- Location
- ...Norwich over the water.
Didn't take enough? 
They always take gallons when I go for blood tests.
Have them take a couple extra this time, just in case.
They always take gallons when I go for blood tests.Have them take a couple extra this time, just in case.
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
It is a bit irritating but it isn't the end of the world, even for a needle-phobic like me. Having said that - they had better get it right this time!
I'm just waiting for the local health centre to reopen after lunch to see if they will take the blood sample. If they won't/can't, it will mean an 18 mile round trip to the hospital in Halifax at just about the time that some nasty storms are due to arrive up here.
I have absolutely no idea how much they take ... I am such a wimp that I have never seen what they do in the 2 years that they have been doing it to me! I turn my head away and close my eyes.Didn't take enough?
Have them take a couple extra this time, just in case.
My younger sister used to give blood and had no problem with it until one day she looked at the blood bag, saw her blood squirting into it in time with her pulse, and promptly fainted!
I'm not going to tell the nurse what to do, but I will tell her that it is for a d-dimer test and check that she knows what that involves. (I think all the nurses at the local health centres are female. I've only seen one male nurse and that was in the hospital.)
Glow worm
Legendary Member
- Location
- Near Newmarket
What a faff Colin - hope you get sorted very soon.
phil_hg_uk
I am not a member, I am a free man !!!!!!
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
I think I made a mistake not buying my own INR meter when I went back on warfarin. An INR meter is a bit like a diabetes blood monitor but does a different test on the blood sample from a tiny finger-prick. Diabetes monitors are pretty cheap and the NHS probably pays for them, but INR meters are much more expensive (about £300 for the domestic model) and I think it would be hard to get the NHS to fund one (though I am now going to try). I baulked at the idea of paying that much when I can be tested free on the NHS. The thing is, I didn't know that they were going to push the testing intervals out the way they did, eventually to once every 3 months.
To illustrate the problem and the dangers, take a look at this diagram which I found on a medical website ...
Let me explain what that means - When tested 4 times a month, 8.1% of patients ended up with dangerous INR values (clotting/bleeding times). When tested only once a month, the figure rose to 15.9%. I am only being tested once every 3 months! I think it is clear that 12 weeks is too long an interval, and the only reason for it is to save money.
To illustrate the problem and the dangers, take a look at this diagram which I found on a medical website ...
Let me explain what that means - When tested 4 times a month, 8.1% of patients ended up with dangerous INR values (clotting/bleeding times). When tested only once a month, the figure rose to 15.9%. I am only being tested once every 3 months! I think it is clear that 12 weeks is too long an interval, and the only reason for it is to save money.
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
Great news - the local health centre will be happy to take a blood sample ...
ON AUGUST 28TH - aaargh!
I'll wait for my sister to arrive and get her to drive me to the hospital to get it done there.
Incoming ... Hah - it gets better and better. There has been an accident on the M1 ahead of her and jams are building up so now she is heading off onto A-roads to get round it. Still, I think the outpatient ward I want is open until 7:30 pm so I should be ok.
ON AUGUST 28TH - aaargh!
I'll wait for my sister to arrive and get her to drive me to the hospital to get it done there.
Incoming ... Hah - it gets better and better. There has been an accident on the M1 ahead of her and jams are building up so now she is heading off onto A-roads to get round it. Still, I think the outpatient ward I want is open until 7:30 pm so I should be ok.
What a clot ...
coffeejo
Ælfrēd
- Location
- West Somerset
They didn't take enough blood for the test so I now I have to go and give another sample, and then wait until Monday for the results!
Great news - the local health centre will be happy to take a blood sample ...
ON AUGUST 28TH - aaargh!
indeed.
phil_hg_uk
I am not a member, I am a free man !!!!!!
Shame they dont have a mobile service
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
At least the storms have arrived as scheduled!
Good job I checked ... the Phlebotomy department shuts at 5:00 pm. I can't get there in time by public transport and I'm not riding there on my bike in a thunderstorm! My sister will not arrive in time to drive me there, and I am not going to spend £30 and rush there in a taxi! As for the ward that I had been directed to where I 'might get a test done later' ... the nurse there politely said 'no'! My only other choice would be A&E but that would be stupid, so I'll wait until Monday and get it done during normal opening hours.
By the time I finally get these tests done, I might actually be well again!
Anyway, that's enough of that for now. When I get better, get worse, or stay the same but find out what is going on, I'll let you know the score. If I suddenly pop my clogs, someone else will tell you about it!
Good job I checked ... the Phlebotomy department shuts at 5:00 pm. I can't get there in time by public transport and I'm not riding there on my bike in a thunderstorm! My sister will not arrive in time to drive me there, and I am not going to spend £30 and rush there in a taxi! As for the ward that I had been directed to where I 'might get a test done later' ... the nurse there politely said 'no'! My only other choice would be A&E but that would be stupid, so I'll wait until Monday and get it done during normal opening hours.
By the time I finally get these tests done, I might actually be well again!
Anyway, that's enough of that for now. When I get better, get worse, or stay the same but find out what is going on, I'll let you know the score. If I suddenly pop my clogs, someone else will tell you about it!
Sara_H
Guru
Excuse Me! There'll be no popping of clogs round these parts. Who will be my near death experience buddy if you shuffle off?At least the storms have arrived as scheduled!
Good job I checked ... the Phlebotomy department shuts at 5:00 pm. I can't get there in time by public transport and I'm not riding there on my bike in a thunderstorm! My sister will not arrive in time to drive me there, and I am not going to spend £30 and rush there in a taxi! As for the ward that I had been directed to where I 'might get a test done later' ... the nurse there politely said 'no'! My only other choice would be A&E but that would be stupid, so I'll wait until Monday and get it done during normal opening hours.
By the time I finally get these tests done, I might actually be well again!
Anyway, that's enough of that for now. When I get better, get worse, or stay the same but find out what is going on, I'll let you know the score. If I suddenly pop my clogs, someone else will tell you about it!
