Anyone Evert Have Blood Clots?

I'm not sure if they explained to you, but this is extremely dangerous. And if you don't have any normal risk factors, you may have to be monitored closely.

I don't know about the hard lumps. You will not cough up the clots, they will just dissolve and be absorbed by your body. I'm also not completely sure about the dizziness.

I know this doesn't really answer your questions. But as a nurse and as someone who recently had a family member go through this, I know how dangerous and seriously life-threatening blood clots can be. Please make sure you do all follow ups and you may want to start keeping a little journal of your symptoms.

My sister has had a PE (she is 24). She is on coumadin and lovenox when the coumadin isn't cutting it.

Have you been to see a Hematologist and a Pulmonologist? You NEED to see both, asap. My sister has a blood clotting disorder, they have known this for years (Leiden Factor 5 mutation in her case). My mother has it and when she was diagnosed, we got tested too. So my sister is already under the care of a hematologist. He referred her to a pulmonologist. Have they done a FULL screening on your blood to search for any and all blood disorders (its like 20 or so vials of blood then take, or it was when I did it)? A hemo should insist on that first thing. A regular primary care doctor does not have the specialty training so you really need to have a regular hemo now. My sister just has periodic appointments with hers unless something is going on.

I believe my sister said it was about a month for the shortness of breath and dizziness to go away. I think that partly depends on the size of the clot. The knots in your stomach are normal. You won't cough up blood. In fact it can take a long time to dissolve. What they told my sister was that the blood vessels in your lungs can actually re-route themselves around the clot.

One more weird question for you. Have you been to the desert anytime recently? My sister had what she thought was a second PE (and was understandably freaking out) and it turns out she has Valley Fever. This is a weird fungus from the sand/dirt that gets in your lungs that can feel similar to a PE and on chest scans will look like dark patches on your lungs, like tumors almost. The only way to really diagnose it is to do a blood test or something specifically for it, and most docs have never even heard of it because it only happens in the desert. So they don't test for it. When my sister got her chest scanned it looked like she had huge dark patches all over her lungs. Fortunately she knew about it to mention it to the pulmonologist. The only reason I bring it up is because if you had been to the desert and picked it up, chances are no one would think to test you for that and you could be getting misdiagnosed. But I don't think it exists anywhere else, so if you haven't been there, it shouldn't be a concern. There is treatment for it, and I believe my sister's most recent check up shows that her body has fought it off on it's own.

I'm so sorry you've had to go through this. I know it must be so scary for you. And all the follow up care is no fun, but just remember you are really really lucky you went in and it was caught. I wish you the best!

Did you see a hematologist or just your regular doctor for the test? There are very specfic test to test for genetic issues that cause blood clots. The general doc may not hit all of them.

The hard lumps from the Lovenox are expected. The shortness of breath will continue until the clot is dissolved. The dizziness is from the shortness of breath, even if you don't feel short of breath.

The blood clot will dissolve. No coughing of blood.

Please make sure that you see a hematologist. I work for one and we see this pretty frequently.

You need to go back to your doctor and ask all these questions and everything else you want to know.
You have a very dangerous condition and are on medications that can have very dangerous side effects. You doctor MUST educate you about the scope of your condition, the effects of your medication, what to expect during the course of treatment and warning signs to look out for.

Please schedule an appointment today and get educated by a PROFESSIONAL!

Clots can develop from preservatives, pesticides and all other chemicals in foods. They can develop from birth control. There are many other ways as well. I have my family's blood checked regularly to see if there is stickiness in the blood. A simple live blood test will show you visibly if you are susceptible to them.

Investigate Nattokinase. It has been used by the Japanese culture for centuries and will dissolve a blood clot within 48 hours. (I believe it is from the yeast cell wall in Soy.) Coumadin is exactly the same formula they sell at the Feed Stores as rat poison. The reason many doctors believe it will dissolve a clot is because it thins the blood. The reason it kills rats is because they bleed out. Your doctor WILL confirm this. I know people that have developed clots while on coumadin.

Like I said, investigate. I refused to put my Mom (at age 84) on Coumadin after her hip surgery and everyone in the medical community told me I was killing her. She actually healed faster and her dementia from the anesthesia went away quicker than most.

God bless!

M.

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Did your doctor perform an EKG while you were there? An EKG will show what your heart rhythm is. Some rhythms, like Atrial Fibrillation (A-fib) can cause blood clots that can then travel into your lungs.

The blood begins to clot, if it stops and becomes stagnant. Vein thrombosis occurs when a person becomes immobilized, and the muscles are not contracting to push blood to the heart. This stagnant blood begins to form small lumps along the mountain walls of the vein that gradually grows partially or completely block the vein. In atrial fibrillation, the atrium or upper chamber of the heart does not beat an organized manner. Instead, jiggles, and the blood tends to a halt along the walls of the atrium. Over time, this may cause a small blood clot. Blood clots can form the chamber after a heart attack, when part of the heart muscle is injured and can not normally.
http://www.insideheart.com/causes-of-blood-clots.html

Hi,
I see this all the time right now on my medicine rotation. I admitted someone yesterday with an extremely similar situation. You don't need to see a hematologist or a pulmonologist as long as your primary care doctor is doing all the appropriate follow-up. If they didn't check for certain changes in your the way your blood is clotting in the hospital, then they should do it once you have stopped the coumadin. Also, they should do some cancer screenings to be sure there isn't something they are missing. If this all comes back negative, then you could see a hematologist, and/or try to use foods to help prevent future clots. Some good foods are garlic, tumeric, and ginger, drinking plenty of water, and the natto someone else mentioned sounds promising. Other causes could include any type of hormonal medication including birth control or hormone replacement therapy, or a direct injury to one of your lower limbs, like being kicked during sports, etc. Feel free to PM if I can help in any other way.

Yes I had multiple blood clots in my left lung when I was 25 yrs old. I was flying home from Europe. I had a minor cirulation (sp wr) called Rayound's Syndrome. Other than that I did not fit the profile for someone who had blood clots. I was thin, biked often, non-drinker,non-smoker, However I was on birth control since my periods were very iregular. I also had pleusiry at the same time.
I left me with some scar tissue on the left side of my body. I recovered good.Although I can't lay on my left side its still tender and sore. Its been over 16 yrs.
If you have damage in your lungs area. I would take up some type of exercising ...possibly hiking its good for your lungs.

Yes the Lovenox will cause lumps where it's been injected, but they will disappear as they heal. It may also cause bruising. You shouldn't cough up blood, as the clot dissolves the segments will remain in the blood stream and your circulatory system will take care of them. The shortness of breath should resolve depending on the clot and when it resolves and if there is any damage caused to the tissue on the far side of the lung where the clot is. As a nurse, I would recommend that you discuss with your doctor the shortness of breath and what activity restrictions he may recommend etc.
Good luck and take care!

It looks like several others have posted some good comments but I would like to chime in that this is a very serious health issue. My sister died from a blood clot in her lungs at age 28. The blood clot was due to the birth control pills she was on. You didn't mention whether you were on birth control or any other hormones. I would think that would be the first question your doctor would ask but if not find another doctor.

They never tested her to find out if she had the genetic disorder which also sometimes causes this because I don't think they had the test when she died in 1995. When I became pregnant in 2003 I was tested and fortunately do not have the genes that cause this. My mom got a blood clot last year too and they found out she did have the gene that causes the blood clots.

See a hematologist right away and make sure you know what kind of follow up checkups you need to have done to make sure the clot is gone.

I work with Coumadin and Lovenox every day. They won't break down the clot itself, but they will help prevent further clotting as your own body breaks down the clot. The Lovenox causes quite a bit of bruising on the stomach, so don't be too alarmed about that. The lumps in the stomach may be from the bruising. The bruising will last longer than you may expect. You won't cough up the blood (if you do cough up blood, call your doctor).

Usually PEs are treated for 3-6 months with Coumadin. So, if you are only on it for 3 months, check with your MD to make sure it is gone. They could maybe do another CT. You will be quite short of breath, and since it takes time for the clot to be broken down, take it slowly for awhile.

I guess the only other thing I would recommend is that you make sure to get your INRs checked routinely while you are on the Coumadin. Usually the level needs to be checked frequently (a few times a week) at first since everyone needs such different Coumadin doses, but over time you won't need it checked as often. It must be frustrating to not know a reason, but unfortunately there isn't always an identifiable reason for a clot. Did they check clotting factors before they starting the anticoagulation? Usually, they need to check those while you are off of anticoagulation, so check with your MD to see it anything should be checked once you are off of the Coumadin. Hope this helped and hope you are feeling more like yourself soon!

I agree run do not walk to a hemotoligists office. I also have a blood clot disorder, Prothombin gene mutation. It is hereditary but you never know you've had it till you have a stroke or heart attack. The stroke was my sis at 38 yrs old and me with a heart attack at 39. I am on coumadin for life and you need to learn what foods, specifically, green veggies you can and can not have. I thank God that I didn't know about my condition until my son was 2 years old and a witness to my heart attack. I probably would never have had him as now I'd be super high risk. Hence why baby number 2 was not to be because hubby didn't want to lose me in the delivery room. Please follow up with a specialist, they know all the right tests to give you.

No, you won't cough up the blood---your body will dissolve it, but the shortness of breath will last as long as the blood is blocking a part of your lung. Think of an air filter with a big blob of mud on it--air won't pass through that part until the mud is gone. The most disturbing thing to me is they didn't find the origin. Clots form somewhere in your body and are carried to your lung. Irregular heart rythyms can allow clots to form in your heart and travel to your lung. Also, sitting or laying for long periods (not just on a plane) can cause them. There are also foods to avoid when taking coumadin. I think the tummy lumps will go away in time, but you really need to get more info from your Dr. If you have to, make an appointment so you can sit down and ask your questions.