Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) Support Group
Deep-vein thrombosis, also known as deep-venous thrombosis or DVT, is the formation of a blood clot ("thrombus") in a deep vein. It can be caused by something preventing blood from circulating or clotting normally. Join the support group if you are coping with DVT and find others who are going through the same challenges.
I was wondering if you guys could give me your opinions on whether or not I should return to work as a long distance Expediter. It is sort of like being a truck driver but I move loads all across the country in a 1 ton Chevy cargo van. I am really struggling with the decision to return to work. I can't do any other sort of work as I also suffer from really bad anxiety. I like driving for a living because most of my work is conducted over the phone and I only have to be around my customers when I am loading and unloading the truck. I also like to travel about without being tied down to one geographical location. I can't deal with just sitting here for the rest of my life in my parents house. One doctor says that I should never drive again, the other doctor claims that I will have leg pain forever, and yet another doctor claims I'm fine and to go out and live my life.
If I do decide to driver again I will get the bracelet that says I'm on warfarin and as a consequence of giving up my own company and partnering up with a major carrier, I am going to get back on a pretty decent healthcare plan. You guys might have recalled some of my other posts where I have stated that I do not have health insurance at this time. I am also going to either look into a more expensive alternative to Warfarin or simply shell out 1k for a self testing unit that way I can test myself a couple of times a week when I am on the road.
With this job I am on the road for 8-9 months straight. I do not come home for time off unless I get a load that brings me close to home. I live in the van during the week and splurge on hotel rooms on the weekend. That is how I keep my sanity. The job includes a lot of solid driving. I have driven 2200 miles in 47 hours before. That is sometimes driving 18 to 24 hours straight "only making fuel stops" before I take my first 5 hour sleep break. I am going to tone that down a bit. But I am still going to be doing a lot of long hours behind the wheel. I really miss the income from all of this. I can save 10k a year and live really well on the road with this job. But I am worried about doing more damage to my already damaged right leg. I mean pre-dvt I never stopped I could do 18 hours straight with just two 15 monute fuel stops. I was like a machine. I even drove 18 hours straight with only two 15 minute fuel stops while I was limping around with my untreated DVT.
I really don't have anyone to ask because I don't know of any fellow driver that have had this condition. I was doing kind of good with my own company where I was finding loads for other drivers and running a driver in my van. But since the beginning of the year I've barely been able to break even at it. I am now to the point where I know that I have to re-assume control of my van and get out there and rely on myself to make the money. In preparation I am down to 1 pain pill a day and slowly waining myself off of the pills. I can't driver commercially while on Narcotics, but I will still take them after long trips if my leg is in pain. I will just refrain from using them when I am driving. There is nothing else I can do as I am uneducated tha the economic situation i spretty bad. Plus I don't think I can work standing on my feet all day. I sit at home all day so whats the difference between sitting behind the wheel?
That being said do you guys think I'm crazy? I mean I really need to start generating an income by April. Please leave your feedback and I will gladly read through your posts and take some pointers. Once again, thanks for reading this, and I hope you are all doing well.
If I do decide to driver again I will get the bracelet that says I'm on warfarin and as a consequence of giving up my own company and partnering up with a major carrier, I am going to get back on a pretty decent healthcare plan. You guys might have recalled some of my other posts where I have stated that I do not have health insurance at this time. I am also going to either look into a more expensive alternative to Warfarin or simply shell out 1k for a self testing unit that way I can test myself a couple of times a week when I am on the road.
With this job I am on the road for 8-9 months straight. I do not come home for time off unless I get a load that brings me close to home. I live in the van during the week and splurge on hotel rooms on the weekend. That is how I keep my sanity. The job includes a lot of solid driving. I have driven 2200 miles in 47 hours before. That is sometimes driving 18 to 24 hours straight "only making fuel stops" before I take my first 5 hour sleep break. I am going to tone that down a bit. But I am still going to be doing a lot of long hours behind the wheel. I really miss the income from all of this. I can save 10k a year and live really well on the road with this job. But I am worried about doing more damage to my already damaged right leg. I mean pre-dvt I never stopped I could do 18 hours straight with just two 15 monute fuel stops. I was like a machine. I even drove 18 hours straight with only two 15 minute fuel stops while I was limping around with my untreated DVT.
I really don't have anyone to ask because I don't know of any fellow driver that have had this condition. I was doing kind of good with my own company where I was finding loads for other drivers and running a driver in my van. But since the beginning of the year I've barely been able to break even at it. I am now to the point where I know that I have to re-assume control of my van and get out there and rely on myself to make the money. In preparation I am down to 1 pain pill a day and slowly waining myself off of the pills. I can't driver commercially while on Narcotics, but I will still take them after long trips if my leg is in pain. I will just refrain from using them when I am driving. There is nothing else I can do as I am uneducated tha the economic situation i spretty bad. Plus I don't think I can work standing on my feet all day. I sit at home all day so whats the difference between sitting behind the wheel?
That being said do you guys think I'm crazy? I mean I really need to start generating an income by April. Please leave your feedback and I will gladly read through your posts and take some pointers. Once again, thanks for reading this, and I hope you are all doing well.
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Look at what my best friend did with my picture!
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We all have 24 hours in a day. How we spend these hours is important. Watching a little bit of a video about how sitting affects us made me aware of how much sitting and laying down I do. Gonna have to work on that.Your turn. Tell me another truth.
I fear driving any distance at all right now and on top of that my ankle swells if I drive. So I am modifying what I can and cannot do.....hopefully you and your Dr can discuss this in detail and if he gives his blessing then sweet!!
Have a good day sir....
John
Wrote that previous reply on my phone.....crazy spell check! I just read what I wrote and I sound intoxicated! Sorry man!
I was just saying the questions you pose we're tough......and the Dr and you will have to determine your path.....best of luck sir!
John
If you're anticoagulated, you're safer than a lot of folks on the road to do long-haul trips.
I know time is the name of the game when driving, but you might have to start switching up your routine. I mean, consider stopping once an hour to walk around your truck a couple of times. Try to stay really hydrated. Also, are you wearing compression stockings? Those can help with pain and help you avoid further issues. And, if there's a way you can keep light heat on your leg while driving, that might also help with pain.
Also, if you wind up with health insurance, you might be able to get them to pay for the home tester. My insurance covered it at 100% under "Durable Medical Equipment." Considering that it sounds like you are a lifer and considering your lifestyle, it would make perfect sense to ask them to cover the home tester since you'll have a hard time keeping your INR in line otherwise.
Ultimately, you have to decide what is right for you. If you're going to go nuts sitting at home and if you need to earn some money (and really, who doesn't?) then it is definitely in your best interests to figure out how to make this happen for you. I mean, you don't want to stop living your life so its up to you to make it happen.
Best wishes!
So the three things that I need to overcome is first to get rid of the Warfarin side-effects (of which my doctor claims I have none) Then adjust my driving habbits to stop every three hours (I can't just stop every hour because my deliveries are very time sensitive) and third to see if I can manage the leg pain while driving! I am usually a pretty tough person. I can go 300-400 mile stretches without stopping while holding in all of my bodily functions (sorry to be so blunt) and I can even ignore pain if need be. I am a different person when I have someone counting on my delivery to be there...I become a machine that only has one thing on my mind, to deliver my product on time or early. I once had a load from Chichago to the Mayo Clinic in Minnessota (I believe it was Rochester MN). I had a pallet of filters for the breathing machines that needed to get to the intensive care unit. There were people depending on me to get them there on time. I got them there 2 hours ahead of schedule and received a handshake from the maintenance men at the hospital loading dock. I didn't stop one time for 350 miles. I had my van fully fueled up, I had energy drinks, coffee, and even my food right there. When I'm under dispatch I do everything while driving.
That is what really messes with my head when I sit down and think about how I used to be able to go from Jacksonville FL all the way to Grand Island Nebraska with three fifteen minute fuel stops and 1 thirty minute nap in the drivers seat on an onramp. I look back at doing almost 1400 miles direct and I wonder how it is all going to play into my new life. It was a challenge. This one is for Dero. I once took a load from Barry Ontario to Woodhaven Michigan in 6 hours. That is 350 miles in 6 hours (to include passing through customs). I was going 85 mph on the 401 all the way down to Windsor. And as Dero knows the speed limit is 120 Kilometers per hour, which is rough 60 mph in American terms. When I got to the factory the assembly line was seconds away from shutting down and me and the plant manager ran boxes from the back of my van to the line until they were all gone. I got another thank you and pat on the back! But I don't think i'm going to be able to do that kind of driving anymore. So I have a lot to think about.
But if I do drive again I'm going to show off my 90 dollar socks and possibly stop by and say hi to one or two of the members in this forum. I just feel all gun ho one day and then tired and weary like an old man the next. Docs claim I am fine but my body doesn't always feel fine. Any how, thanks for the replies, I appreciate all of your concern and support.
If I walk more than half of a mile my legs are burning and I have to stop and rest for at least 15 minutes. I'm not sure if maybe I have damage in both of my legs from undiagnosed DVT's in the past. But the main problem is havign no medical insurance. There isn't really much that I can do in the way of getting answers to my questions because I am paying cahs for my meds and the doc has agreed to monitor my INR for free. Office visits are 60 bucks a pop and I am just going to leave things the way they are for now. I asked the doc about Perphrial Artery Disease and he told me that I probably don't have anything wrong that the burning is only from physical exertion. That is why I drove for a living. I let the engine do all of the work for me.
My PE was a massive saddle embolism. It was so big apparently that even without any clotting factors the Hematologist decided to keep me on anticoagulants for life. The big mystery is that I barely felt pain. I mean just some minor low grads chest pain. I don't know if the PE's were acute or chronic. They might have been acute because they were supposed to use clot busting meds in my IV and after they moved me to the intensive care unit when they saw the CT scan of my lungs they decided not to use the clot busters, Perhaps the clot was chronic, or it was so big they didn't want to risk moving it. Who knows. They never said anything to be about it other than I was too young to have a clot and that I'd be fine. So I am tired of dealing with docs. I'm just going to let this play out on it's own. Thanks for the response Toss. I'm going to check out the PE boards next.
Over the years (since 2007) I have seen so many young people with clots make their ways through this site and others.
The youngest one, had had clots since the tender age of 8 years old and was still fighting through life (and she is a FIGHTER).
I think Tom had the privilege of meeting her in person, I only met her on the net, but you can feel the life , she was NOT a quieter, was not the one to say, waaaaaaaa, I'm too young to have this happen to me... She is so strong, stronger then many people that are my age and I just turned 53.
If you look around you will also meet numerous people that are even younger then you Jerry, DVT and PE are conditions that have no age target, no sex target, no physical shape target, they are not picky on who they afflict.
So that Dr. telling you that you are too young to have a clot, that's a load of BS. (hope nobody gets offended by that, but it's the only way of describing it)
Jerry, the other thing is, since this is your life, you have the right to DEMAND answers from these Dr.
It's like when you bring in your rig in the shop, because you losing tranny oil, and nobody can tell you why, but they still charge you for trying to fix it, don't you ask satisfaction for your money? Then you finally get someone that finds a piece of metal that has pierced a seal and that's how you lose your oil...
Same thing, DEMAND satisfaction. It's your life and your money.
I really feel for ya-- and I appreciate everyone's advice on this board. (Dero, I think you made a great point about demanding answers-- and when you have a chronic medical condition you MUST learn to do that. This is not an optional skill!)
I'm on my second clot, no PEs, and have another serious health condition. I got my second clot after two things happened: I went back to mountain biking, and I was working on a big project that required sitting in a chair longer.
The connection with biking is VERY speculative, almost superstitious, probably nothing to it.
The connection with a sedentary profession is less so. IMHO, you put yourself at serious risk by continuing long-distance driving. Particularly the way you describe it. Recreationally, I used to be the same way. Loved driving fast, keeping track of how quick I could get from one place to another, how few stops I could make.
What would I do? Change careers-- maybe not right away, but soon. Treat the anxiety. It's not worth the risk; you can find other jobs you love.
Do it slowly. Do everything everyone else is saying-- take more breaks, slow down-- but also cut down on the number of runs, retrain, and find a therapist who is really good with anxiety.
Therapy doesn't always cost a lot of money. I work as a mental health intern, I get paid nothing, my clients pay $20-$100 a session, sliding scale (many pay nothing.) A lot of the people who do what I do are really, really good at it and it usually doesn't even involve drugs. It does take a long time, though, so figure at least 6 months to a year to see results. Take a long time for the transition, and take VERY good care of yourself while you're doing it.
Anxiety is usually treatable... and think of all the other stuff you could do if you decreased the symptoms!
I know I left my previous high-stress job, took a huge pay cut, and it was the best decision I ever made.
Just my two cents...
--Cat