Okay, it's time for an update. Apparently the vein that is affected by this so called blood clot is the basilic vein. Everyone keeps telling me how it is a superficial vein which is supposed to make me feel better I guess. When I think superficial it makes me think that it's not important or no big deal. But really what they mean by superficial is that it is close to the skin, it's not a deep vein. All veins still lead to the same place so in my mind it's just as much of a big deal as a deep vein.
Either way my INR readings are coming up very slowly, which is a good thing. I just wish they would come up quicker. INR stands for 'International Normalization Ratio'. The way it was explained to me by my doc is that normal blood is represented by a 1.0, meaning that your blood clots normally. As the number increases your blood is that much less likely to clot. Basically an INR reading of 2.0 means that you are twice as likely to bleed than someone with an INR of 1.0. Now I'm sure this is quite a rough representation but the idea is that as the number goes up your ability to coagulate goes down. From what I understand I am looking for an INR of between 2.0 and 3.0. Hopefully I won't have to be on this crappy med for too long. I am told that it will be a minimum of 3 months but possibly as much as 6 months. And if I develop another clot I may have to stay on it for a lifetime. Yay me, things just keep getting better.
On the good side of things I did hear from the Thrombosis clinic at Hamilton General Hospital and I have an appointment for about a week before surgery. They tell me that it is very rare to cancel surgery because of a clot, so it looks like it is still game on. Of course at this point I'm not sure how I should be taking this as nothing has gone right so far. Sheesh.
Another thing that I have almost worked out is that I went and saw the sleep doctor to find out the results of my sleep study. It turns out that I stop breathing 26 times per hour, that's 208 times in an 8 hour sleep. So I have another study tonight in which I will be using a CPAP machine so that they can write me a prescription for what I will need. By this time next week I should be using my very own CPAP. One of the good things about this is that the government pays the first 75% for the machine and I pay the rest which of course will be reimbursed by my benefit plan. So long story short is that I will have no out of pocket expense for this. And it should improve my quality of life significantly. Plus I will have much less of a worry post operatively.
Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it...
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
The never ending story...
Well I may have to reset the timer. Surgery may get postponed, again! I am starting to get a bit tired of this. My doctor has put me on Coumadin, which is just a trade name for warfarin. Coumadin acts as an anticoagulant. Sounds wonderful doesn't it?
This new twist on my quest to have my spine repaired starts with my appendectomy. Post surgery I had a bruise where the IV was. So naturally I figured it was normal for my arm to be sore in that region. After a week I noticed that my arm was a bit swollen above my elbow and it was quite tender and warm. I went and saw the doctor who figured it was cellulitis and prescribed an antibiotic. When I ran the course of antibiotics the swelling went down and the pain went with it. About a week later I was noticing that the pain was migrating to the lower part of my arm. I was slowly getting warm and inflamed. The final straw was that I could feel the veins in that region, which I could never do before.
I went and saw my family doctor who thought it was phlebitis but sent me for an ultrasound on the 1 in a million chance that I had a blood clot. So apparently I should buy some lottery tickets because I hit the jackpot, I've got a big clot in my arm. Apparently the IV that I had for the surgery has caused it.
So now I get to have injections of innohep which keeps my blood from coagulating until the coumadin kicks in which can take from 3 to 5 days. This round of treatment lasts a minimum of 3 months, and up to 6. As it stands the surgeon will probably not want to operate on me if my blood won't clot. So we may be postponing again. Grrrr.
The one upside is that I have been referred to a thrombosis clinic which may do something called bridging. Basically if my understanding is correct means that they will take care of my blood by weening me off the coumadin long enough to have the surgery then get me back on it and monitor me throughout. Basically they take responsibility for me not bleeding to death. Sounds like so much fun. I don't know how I get all the luck.
This new twist on my quest to have my spine repaired starts with my appendectomy. Post surgery I had a bruise where the IV was. So naturally I figured it was normal for my arm to be sore in that region. After a week I noticed that my arm was a bit swollen above my elbow and it was quite tender and warm. I went and saw the doctor who figured it was cellulitis and prescribed an antibiotic. When I ran the course of antibiotics the swelling went down and the pain went with it. About a week later I was noticing that the pain was migrating to the lower part of my arm. I was slowly getting warm and inflamed. The final straw was that I could feel the veins in that region, which I could never do before.
I went and saw my family doctor who thought it was phlebitis but sent me for an ultrasound on the 1 in a million chance that I had a blood clot. So apparently I should buy some lottery tickets because I hit the jackpot, I've got a big clot in my arm. Apparently the IV that I had for the surgery has caused it.
So now I get to have injections of innohep which keeps my blood from coagulating until the coumadin kicks in which can take from 3 to 5 days. This round of treatment lasts a minimum of 3 months, and up to 6. As it stands the surgeon will probably not want to operate on me if my blood won't clot. So we may be postponing again. Grrrr.
The one upside is that I have been referred to a thrombosis clinic which may do something called bridging. Basically if my understanding is correct means that they will take care of my blood by weening me off the coumadin long enough to have the surgery then get me back on it and monitor me throughout. Basically they take responsibility for me not bleeding to death. Sounds like so much fun. I don't know how I get all the luck.
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