Originally Posted by
banerjek
Thanks -- the process has been weird. Here is basically how my last two days have gone:
Me:
Hey Doc, I feel fine but last week my leg hurt
Doc:
You seem like a healthy guy and are probably fine, but I'll order a scan for the sake of being thorough. <orders scan>
Doc:
You have DVT. I'm going to send you home with a grand worth of drugs, but I also think you need a colonoscopy
Me:
I come in for a sore leg and I need a camera up my butt? What gives?
Doc:
I saw some stuff that's weird in a guy as fit as you. No need for concern at this point, but I want to follow up just to be safe.The stuff they gave me (rivaroxaban) should not reduce aerobic capacity, is not sensitive to diet, and does not require monitoring. But it is stupid expensive.
I normally play rough so they've expressed concerns I could trigger internal bleeding in my head or somewhere else if I take a hard blow, so I've been asked to dial things back while the clots dissolve.
Mine was Coumadin Warfarin which was inexpensive, did require regular monitoring to get my INR level right, and left me tired and cold. If you've ever tried to wade through waist-deep water ... that's how I felt all the time. Like everything I did took so much extra effort.
I've got a genetic predisposition toward clotting, so my blood clots quickly normally. I was on quite a high dose of Coumadin for the first few month to dissolve the clots, and was advised to exercise but the suggestion was that I should walk a lot, and if I did go for a bicycle ride, I was to choose quiet roads and ride with someone who could ring an ambulance if I happened to fall.
Then about 6 months later they lowered the dose to bring my blood clotting level to what most people consider normal. And finally about 6 months later, they took me off the Coumadin ... thank goodness. Within about a week, I felt like myself again!
Now, every time I fly or go in for surgery, I need a whole series of Clexane injections.