Hi, it is scary. But the good news is that it was diagnosed and you're getting treatment, and knowing you have some clotting risks will help you be able to manage things going forward.

Going back to school and getting back into your routine can sometimes cause swelling and fatigue because you're body is adjusting to being more active. Don't fret about that. It will improve. I think too that going back to school will help you get your mind of things. It's important to be around friends and reestablishing some normalcy.

Hang in there!

I can relate to some extent. I'm 27 and was diagnosed with a DVT out of nowhere...healthy, exercised 7 days a week, ate right, non smoker, etc. I even rode a 50 mile bike race a few days before I started experiencing symptoms. I felt the same way, scared and like my body was letting me down. I've only been dealing with it for a month and a half but talking to my doctor and also a therapist for the onset of anxiety and depression I have experienced has helped. Also knowing that there are many others out there who have had similar experiences helps.

Hopefully your doctors can help provide a treatment plan and you can start to get back to some normalcy. It will get a little easier with time.

You have clearly several underlying risk factors for clotting. With respect to factor viii and an antithrombin deficiency, there is not much that can be done. If the DVT is caused somehow by an vein compression due to the thoracic outlet syndrome, then this may be solvable, e.g. by a surgery. I do not certainly want to play any doctor here, but perhaps a life-long anticoagulaiton would be best option in your case (especially if the thoracic outlet syndrome is vascular and not treatable). Anyway, your doctors will provide the best advice, so please ignore my advice on life-long anticoagulation. However, they may suggest (maybe in the future) that a life-long anticoagulaiton. Generally, life-long anticoagulant treatment is for patients after their 2nd DVT but sometimes for patients after 1st DVT that have large number of underlying risk factors. There have been recent advances in making anticoagulants safer and at some stage there will be on a market anticoagulant that is much safer than the current ones with respect to bleeding risks and side effects (cannot remember its name now). If you will recieve a short anticoagulant treatment (e.g. 3-6 months), after it is finished you need to be careful to avoid any risk factors that can promote clotting. As an example, if you have finished you anticoagulation, then if you break your arm and are put in cast, demand heparin, or some other fast-acting anticoagulant e.g. xarelto. If they say no, then detail your history of DVT, and demand fast-acting anticoagulant.