Life DOES go on after DVT
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 DVT Is The First Thing To Ever Say 'No' To Me Successfully

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Sharon

Sharon


Posts : 19
Join date : 2007-12-21
Age : 66
Location : Friendswood, Texas--USA

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PostSubject: DVT Is The First Thing To Ever Say 'No' To Me Successfully   DVT Is The First Thing To Ever Say 'No' To Me Successfully Icon_minitimeSat Jan 12, 2008 5:25 am

Hi. My Name is Sharon and I live in Friendswood, Texas in the U.S. I've been wi/ my awesome husband Micheal for 31 years--married 29. We have a son Chris who is 26 and daughter Dena 23. Beautiful kids and I am thankful to my Lord for allowing me a few more years w/ my family--hopefully a chance to see my grandchildren--after they get married. I'm a hard-headed persistent individual. I started a nonprofit agency almost 20 years ago and hae never quit--tho it is a hard business. I have been close to death more than once in my life, had many accidents and many painful challenges. DVT is the only thing that has ever told me "No" and I am listening.

At the time I got my first known DVT, I was 49. One day, it felt as tho my right thigh was slightly bruised between the knee and groin. I only noticed it when I walked. The next day was like I had been hit in the inside of my thigh with a line-drive softball or kicked by a mule. The next morning, I got out of bed and had searing pain thru the thigh in a line like a cord from the groin to the knee. It was 5 am and I could not wait until my doctors office opened that morning. I let my husband sleep for as long as I could stand it bcs the pain came and went at first, but every time I moved the leg at all, it would burn and feel like a cramp, but w/o the contraction in the muscle.

We went to the ER where I was patted on the arm and told that he felt it wasn't a strong possibility that I had a DVT, but that he would feel bad if he sent me home and I had a PE (I should hope so)--so he would do a Dopplar Ultrasound to make me feel better. He came back pale and told me, "Maam, you have a major DVT from groin to knee!" I patted his arm and told him, "It's okay, you can't get them all right."

On day 2, I told them that the DVT was growing down my calf. They said, "That's impossible maam, you've been on Lovenox and Coumadin since you got here. 11 days later, and every test for cancer you can imagine. I was still in excrutiating pain and my INR was not therapeutic. I forced my transfer from a regional hospital to the medical center nearby in Houston. I went to Methodist Hospital and for a thrombolysis procedure. When they did the Dopplar, they said it had grown down to my ankle! So much for 'impossible." They placed an IVC filter in my abdoment to catch any PE that broke loose during the procedure. After 24 hrs in ICU, the clot was cleared from my thigh, they left it in the calf bcs it wasn't dangerous to me. It was the worst 24 hrs of my life. I couldn't move the leg w/ the catheter in it. My back--especially the right kidney area was hurting really bad. I had a migraine that would kill a horse, and they would not give me my migraine meds bcs they didn't want it to contract my vein down on the catheter in my leg. The only thing that made it tolerable, was having the best nurse in the world--Alex--an angel from God.

I had asked for a hematologist when I got out of surgery. They ran a battery of tests before I went back on anticoagulant. I found out I had Factor V Leiden and Antiphospholipid Syndrome and would have to be on blood thinner for life. I was told I could not ride my motorcycle and would need to sell my beloved horses--that if I fell off any of them and hit my head, I could die of cerebral hemorrhage. After another 12 days, I was finally therapeutic. However, after researching the medication and finding that they wanted to keep me at 4.0 and I would have to have to test my own blood on a very expensive machine at home every day bcs Coumadin is so easily affected by food, and I was such a persistent 'thrombopheliac'--I opted to go home on Lovenox instead.

I was home overnight and felt the clot come back in the thigh. I went to my family doc and told him and he said, "Sharon, I don't think that is possible, but go back to your vascular surgeon and see if he will do an US in his office since he has the comparison films. I did. It was back the same as it was. Since I had found out about the clotting disorders after the lysis procedure, my surgeon was reluctant to do it again. I convinced him to try it again, keeping my INR high--that maybe I'd reclotted from coming off of it. He did--back to ICU another 24 hrs and lots of prayers by awesome friends that their would again be no cerebral hemorrhage and the procedure successful. It was and they did angioplasty for good measure this time to make sure they got as muchout as possible. It was clear. Another 5 days before going home. My blood pressure was extremely low and they tested for adrenal fatigue--low reserves. My blood pressure was 52/20 when it was time to go home and they didn't know how I was standing.

Another few days at home and I knew I was clotted again. "We don't think that is possible, but even if you are, we've done all we can do for you....' worst words in the world. I wondered if I was just supposed to sit home until my whole leg clotted and fell off--by now I had 3 major deep veins clotted in the right leg. My hematologist wanted me to have an Intervention Radiologist see if they could thrombolyse it again and place a stent to improve the flow. There was about 5 inches of very old clot in the upper part of one vein and they thought that might do it. 48 hours in ICU this time. Veins wouldn't clear enough to place a stent. I was clotting heparin lines coming out of my leg! I called my husband to the hospital bcs I thought I was going to clot all my capillaries and organs and die that night. Even the nurses were freaked by how fast I was clotting. They called my hematologist's partner, who said their was nothing more they could do. They tried to take blood, but it clotted the instant it came out of me, so the lab couldn't do much w/ it.

When the Int. Radiologist said the vein would not clear, I was heart sick. I truly thought at minimum, I would lose my leg or life. Finally, I just stopped clotting one day! But here I am. I was in the hospital a few more times before it was all over, but this is the jist of it. I was inpatient for a total 40 days and nights from May 22 to Sept. 24, of 2007.

When I got out, I got 3 resignations bcs people were afraid for the company's stability. Its been a rough year. M docs still have me on 30 hours a week of work, which makes it hard to keep up--especially after losing very seasoned employees. However, I am doing what I'm supposed to do to stay well. Take care everyone!
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Janinerenee




Posts : 1
Join date : 2008-03-17

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PostSubject: Re: DVT Is The First Thing To Ever Say 'No' To Me Successfully   DVT Is The First Thing To Ever Say 'No' To Me Successfully Icon_minitimeTue Mar 18, 2008 1:53 pm

Hi sharon,
Now I know you whole story... I wondered how your DVT began and now I know the story. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for always sharing your info too..
take care
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Kristina




Posts : 3
Join date : 2008-05-17
Location : Houston, TX

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PostSubject: Re: DVT Is The First Thing To Ever Say 'No' To Me Successfully   DVT Is The First Thing To Ever Say 'No' To Me Successfully Icon_minitimeSun Jun 08, 2008 5:27 pm

Thanks for the story. Thank goodness for the medical center!

Kristina, Houston
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Sharon

Sharon


Posts : 19
Join date : 2007-12-21
Age : 66
Location : Friendswood, Texas--USA

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PostSubject: Re: DVT Is The First Thing To Ever Say 'No' To Me Successfully   DVT Is The First Thing To Ever Say 'No' To Me Successfully Icon_minitimeFri Jun 27, 2008 2:09 am

Kristina--Where in Houston do you live? I am actually in Friendswood. --sb
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PostSubject: Re: DVT Is The First Thing To Ever Say 'No' To Me Successfully   DVT Is The First Thing To Ever Say 'No' To Me Successfully Icon_minitime

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