GWS ColinJ.. DVT/Pulmonary Embolism

[ColinJ]

Urology report at the hospital today ...

Kidney #1: Minor calcification which has not developed since the first scan in August 2012.

Kidney #2: A couple of minor stones which may well stay put and not cause problems.

Verdict: No particular cause for concern. If I ever develop pains in the kidney area or pee blood, get in touch for a follow-up.

I am pretty pleased with that!

I am feeling better month by month, apart from my bad tooth, and chronic backache.

The tooth is next on my list to sort out. I have a dentist in mind, and am just scraping together the cash to pay for treatment.

I need to work on my core strength and flexibility to sort my back out.

Onwards and upwards!

 

[ColinJ]

I am hearing rumours that I might be able to get a self-test machine on the NHS later in the year, so I am going to hold fire on buying my own. If the rumours turn out to be wrong, I'll cough up the £300-odd myself later.

The pharmacy have now automated my prescription so at the appropriate time I get a text message telling me to come and pick it up. Previously, I had to contact the doctor every time for a new prescription and take that to the pharmacy. This is a proper 21st century solution. Oh, and I hadn't ticked the box for text reminders of GP appointments. That is sorted too now - very handy!

I'm still feeling pretty good, except for my gammy leg swelling up if I stand or sit still for too long.

I have been given a nice wooden rocking chair. I think that if I make a footrest to elevate my feet and push against that to rock the chair back and forwards, I will keep the blood moving and avoid problems with it pooling in the calf area. Hopefully, that should mean that I can finally work at a desk again after 3 years lying down with a laptop or tablet.

And ... my cycling is getting better and better. Progress is definitely much slower than it would have been pre-illness with this weight loss (nearly 5 stone) and about 3,700 miles of hilly cycling a year, but I should get up to a reasonable standard of fitness in the end.

Back in the autumn of 2012, I barely dared to dream of ever getting back to this level. I got lucky! (Ok, it wasn't very lucky becoming seriously ill in the first place, but 1/3 die straight away, and many more die in the next year or so, or survive with crippling problems. I am one of the lucky ones! )

 

[ColinJ]

It was nice seeing honorary Irishman @MartinQ on my long Cheshire forum ride on Saturday.

You looked well, Martin, and were able to pull away from me with apparent ease so your fitness seems good. I hope that your health is too? I didn't get round to asking you on the ride.

Well, it finally happened, for the first time since 2012 - I forgot to take my Warfarin! I had been out for a curry and my medication alarm went off on the train home. I didn't have the pills with me; I was intending to take them when I got back. I have configured the alarm to snooze for 30 minutes if I do not clear it, but it sounds for a full minute unless I manually snooze it. I was getting a few stares on the train from people wondering what the racket was and I dismissed the alarm by mistake, instead of snoozing it. I thought I would remember when I got in, but I didn't until just now. That is why I have an alarm in the first place - I have a memory like a sieve!

Oh well, it probably won't hurt me just this once. Much better to miss a dose than accidentally take a double dose ...

 

[coffeejo]

It was nice seeing honorary Irishman @MartinQ on my long Cheshire forum ride on Saturday.

You looked well, Martin, and were able to pull away from me with apparent ease so your fitness seems good. I hope that your health is too? I didn't get round to asking you on the ride.

Well, it finally happened, for the first time since 2012 - I forgot to take my Warfarin! I had been out for a curry and my medication alarm went off on the train home. I didn't have the pills with me; I was intending to take them when I got back. I have configured the alarm to snooze for 30 minutes if I do not clear it, but it sounds for a full minute unless I manually snooze it. I was getting a few stares on the train from people wondering what the racket was and I dismissed the alarm by mistake, instead of snoozing it. I thought I would remember when I got in, but I didn't until just now. That is why I have an alarm in the first place - I have a memory like a sieve!

Oh well, it probably won't hurt me just this once. Much better to miss a dose than accidentally take a double dose ...

D'oh! I keep my meds in a pot by the kettle, as that's the one place I'm likely to see them whatever the time of day, and use a sharpie pen to write the days on the packaging so I know whether I've remembered or not! Over the winter, I was on 11 a day so also wrote the 1st, 2nd or 3rd dose on them, otherwise my head would have exploded.

 

[MartinQ]

Didn't want to spoil a good ride, weather and company with "shop talk" about illnesses on Saturday. Its weird at the moment, a lot of the time I feel fairly rubbish (fatigue, muscle tingling, chest and stomach pains) but fitness wise I'm not too bad. I've been fairly stubborn about getting on the bike (commuting) and hoping that health will follow fitness ... Like yourself, I've lost a bit of weight so while my legs don't feel strong, l'm probably at a similar fitness level to before the clots. Still wary about doing long rides after coming off a couple of times last year, which was probably down to mental tiredness.

As you say for missing a dose, I'm fairly sure I've done it a few times in the past. Only real reason to get in contact with the clinic is if your test is due in the next few days. Otherwise you'll be reasonably protected and its not worth worrying about too much.

Otherwise, I'll ignore the obvious provocation

 

[ColinJ]

Didn't want to spoil a good ride, weather and company with "shop talk" about illnesses on Saturday. Its weird at the moment, a lot of the time I feel fairly rubbish (fatigue, muscle tingling, chest and stomach pains) but fitness wise I'm not too bad. I've been fairly stubborn about getting on the bike (commuting) and hoping that health will follow fitness ... Like yourself, I've lost a bit of weight so while my legs don't feel strong, l'm probably at a similar fitness level to before the clots. Still wary about doing long rides after coming off a couple of times last year, which was probably down to mental tiredness.

As you say for missing a dose, I'm fairly sure I've done it a few times in the past. Only real reason to get in contact with the clinic is if your test is due in the next few days. Otherwise you'll be reasonably protected and its not worth worrying about too much.

Otherwise, I'll ignore the obvious provocation

Well, good luck anyway!

My heart and lungs are much better than they were last year, but my DVT-side leg seems to have stopped improving. It is ok as long as I elevate my leg while at rest, or wear my travel socks when standing around. (I don't wear full-on compression socks but get enough support from tight travel socks from supermarkets.) The bad leg was fine throughout the ride but started to get uncomfortable in the car on the way home. I think if I fly again I will have to book a seat with extra leg room.

 

[MartinQ]

Yeah, I've never really had any significant after effects of the DVT, assuming the muscle tingling etc isn't related.
However, my father went through this ~ 15 years ago and his leg is a real state, very swollen, blue ... and it makes him almost immobile. Gives our kids a bit of a shock when they happen to see it.

 

[ColinJ]

I finally made my mind up to start taking a vitamin K2 + D3 supplement to try and protect against some of the possible side effects of taking Warfarin. Some people have reported being able to do this without having negative effects on the medication. Others have not.

I contacted my local Warfarin clinic and they were very helpful. They agreed to do more frequent INR (blood clotting time) tests for a while to make sure that I am still being adequately protected.

If I can take the supplements, then my peace of mind would be greatly improved. As it has been until now, I have been worrying that I risk having calcium leached out of my bones and deposited instead in dangerous places such as internal organs and arteries. There is quite a lot of evidence to suggest that Warfarin can make this problem worse. There is also evidence [EXAMPLE] to suggest that nearly everyone would benefit from taking a D3/K2 supplement for similar reasons. (Warfarin makes the problem worse, but most people do not get enough D3/K2 these days.)

If the supplements interfere with my Warfarin, then I would have to decide whether to continue with them and up the Warfarin dose to compensate. It would be counter-intuitive to do that though. If the supplements don't take me out of therapeutic range then there is no obvious reason not to continue with them. The only remaining worry would be that one day I might bleed to death due to the Warfarin!

 

[The Jogger]

I take the Troo Vit K2 MK7 200mg ( good value and quality) a day I occasionally take Vit D3 but need to be careful with that because of my kidney stones which I'm prone to.

 

[ColinJ]

I take the Troo Vit K2 MK7 200mg ( good value and quality) a day I occasionally take Vit D3 but need to be careful with that because of my kidney stones which I'm prone to.

That would be 200 mcg (microgram) - 200 mg (milligram) would be a HUGE dose!

From what I have read, the vit D3 helps the body absorb calcium. If you don't have enough vit K2, the calcium can end up in the kidneys (and other organs) and the arteries. If you take both together then that calcium goes to where it belongs - into bones and teeth. (Obviously, double-check that!)

I found 'Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox: How a Little-Known Vitamin Could Save Your Life' an interesting read - LINK. There are hundreds of references in it to academic papers backing up what is described in the book.

 

[The Jogger]

Yes Colin 200mcg I meant. I got that book and found it very interesting. I'm not sure they know exactly the balance of the K2 D3 to take. But K,D and A all work together.