Dear Walt and others,
This past Wednesday I was diagnosed by doppler ultrasound with a blood clot in my upper right chest (where the cephalic vein joins with the subclavian). Thus began a surreal adventure, the impact of which still has not fully sunk in.
I had gone to the vascular lab for my lunch hour. Instead of returning to my office, I was instructed to admit myself to the hospital. I was hospitalized from Wednesday evening till Saturday afternoon. Blood was found in my stool, so there was some concern that a malignancy might be present. I will eventually have my gut scoped from top to tail. I've had such stuff before and they've shown nothing. During my hospital stay all the cancer markers were negative, so I am not too concerned about that. In fact, my blood analysis just prior to my hospital entry was normal for everything (including the gross measures of blood coagulation).
I am 42 years old. I have leaky gut. I have been doing skilled relaxation for years, but have never verified that I am in alpha or theta. I also usually do it only once a day, though I did it twice a day for two years.
I do best on a mostly meat diet.
Anyway, in the hospital I was placed on IV heparin to thin my blood. Thursday night I also started taking oral Coumadin to do the same. I left the hospital told to continue the Coumadin and also to take an anti-ulcer drug--Axid. I have been repeatedly tested for ulcers in the past and know I have none. But being on blood thinners with blood in the stool the doctors are concerned about any possibility of gastric bleeding.
I used to take all kinds of supplements. But in the last weeks I had tapered off all of them since I wanted to try Robert McFerran's Hunter-Gatherer diet. I wonder know if I might have induced this clot by stopping Vitamin C, or E, or Coenzyme Q-10, or something else. I don't know if it's possible to induce a clot, but I sure don't want to induce another one if it is possible.
Anyway, I am just starting to educate myself about blood clots. I am sure there is a lot of knowledge to be gleaned here, so here is where I am starting.
BTW, I feel perfectly fine and have felt that way throughout the entire experience. I visited a physician initially because there was a very slight soreness in my right arm, accompanied by some pale pink streaking that was initally assumed by both me and my physician to be from an infection.
I am sure there is a lot for me to learn from all this, and perhaps there will be something that others can gain from it as well.
Warmest regards,
Mike
Follow Ups:
Re: Deep Venous Thrombosis
Posted by Zarin on October 05, 1998 at 09:05:33:
In Reply to: Deep Venous Thrombosis posted by Mike Kramer on October 04, 1998 at 18:20:05:
Please go to the website http://www.Wisconsin.4biz.net/health/factor-v
DVT is NOT something you ignore.l If you would like to contact me personally please do so, my e-mail address is
azarin@pc.jaring.my
Re: Deep Venous Thrombosis
Posted by Walt Stoll on October 05, 1998 at 11:54:45:
In Reply to: Deep Venous Thrombosis posted by Mike Kramer on October 04, 1998 at 18:20:05:
Dear Mike,
Bad stuff!
I am sure that you know how much difference there is between venous & arterial thrombosis. The causes are pretty different too. A clot in your vein, at that location, is a VERY big risk for "pulmonary embolism". I hope you are keeping tabs on that!
If I had that kind of problem, at your age, I would be going to one of the most advanced Functional Medicine physicians in the country to be seen in consulation for WHY. There has got to be a why and purely conventional docs don't have a clue.
Be sure you have complete copies of ALL your medical records at home so, if you decide to look for the why (professionally), you will at least be able to do so efficiently.
Walt
Thanks Walt and Zarin!
Posted by Mike Kramer on October 05, 1998 at 22:24:17:
In Reply to: Deep Venous Thrombosis posted by Mike Kramer on October 04, 1998 at 18:20:05:
You've impressed upon me the seriousness of my condition. I intend to investigate the suggestions you've both made.
Thanks for your support! The unknown and previously unexperienced is always a little scary. But I find that just learning more about a condition makes it seem more manageable.
Follow Ups:
Re: Thanks Walt and Zarin!
Posted by Zarin on October 06, 1998 at 05:48:42:
In Reply to: Thanks Walt and Zarin! posted by Mike Kramer on October 05, 1998 at 22:24:17:
It is very managable with modern science. Don't worry about that aspect. It is more important to find the cause of your DVT