Pulmonary Embolism Support Group
By far the most common form of pulmonary embolism is a thromboembolism, which occurs when a blood clot, generally a venous thrombus, becomes dislodged from its site of formation and embolizes to the arterial blood supply of one of the lungs. Symptoms may include difficulty breathing, pain during breathing, and more rarely circulatory instability and death.
I had my follow-up appointment with the cardiologist today and he said the ultrasound of my legs indicated no clots and good blow flow so he wants to remove my IVC filter. He said his office will call me to set an exact date but the procedure will take place in the next two to three weeks. I'm sure this will come as no surprise to anyone that reads my posts, but I am very nervous about this. Maybe I should be more worried about the procedure itself but what is really freaking me out is I will have to stop the blood thinner for a couple of days. Should I ask about bridging??
And for those of you that are familiar with my story the cardiologist does not feel there is any indication of a heart problem from the PE. So far I have had a follow-up echo, Holter monitor, and stress test. The only thing he has found is that I have sinus tachycardia at times. He still feels this is deconditioning and he wants me to work out at least 30 mins a day and push myself harder to the point my HR gets up to 150 bpm. I will have another follow-up in three months and at that point he might even take me off the blood thinner which causes me concern because I do not want to clot again. I know some of you have had to endure multiple PE's and I honestly can't imagine going through this again.
And for those of you that are familiar with my story the cardiologist does not feel there is any indication of a heart problem from the PE. So far I have had a follow-up echo, Holter monitor, and stress test. The only thing he has found is that I have sinus tachycardia at times. He still feels this is deconditioning and he wants me to work out at least 30 mins a day and push myself harder to the point my HR gets up to 150 bpm. I will have another follow-up in three months and at that point he might even take me off the blood thinner which causes me concern because I do not want to clot again. I know some of you have had to endure multiple PE's and I honestly can't imagine going through this again.
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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 totally understand your fear about not wanting to risk another pe...If I am given the choice to stop or continue the blood thinner, I will more than likely opt for staying on.
It may not be the time to really discuss this, since you won't be facing the decision for several months, but you shouldn't choose to stay on anticoagulants for the next 30-40 years out of fear. Those of us who are lifers would prefer not to be. Anticoagulants are dangerous drugs that have their own risks, some of which increase the longer you take them.
Obviously, everyone's case is different and your particular risk factors will need to be evaluated before decisions are made on this. No choice is 100% safe and you need to be educated and comfortable with what you want to do--and what you decide to argue for in terms of your care. Doctors tend not to want to keep you on anticoagulants any longer than necessary, especially if you have a clear cause for clotting that can be avoided in the future.
Try not to worry about being off anticoagulants for the procedure. You shouldn't be off them that long prior to the procedure. Usually when you get your instructions for an upcoming procedure, they tell you when to discontinue your anticoagulants, but if they don't, just ask.
I can't tell you how many procedures I've had where I couldn't restart my anticoagulants right away and I was fine.
You're doctor sounds like he's doing all the right things, making sure you're heart is ok, checking you to make sure you don't have any clots in your legs, doing regular follow ups. Just take each thing as it comes.
I've been on Eliquis now for 6 months. No real unexpected issues. My period is very heavy to first two to three days (on Warfarin is was a bit heavier which is hard to believe it could get any heavier) and my cycle has changed from every 30 days (this was clock work my whole life until now) to every 24 days. I tend to feel nausea if I take Eliquis on an empty stomach. This primarily occurs with my evening dose - I'd wake up needing to throw up if I did not eat prior to taking my evening dose. I've learned to eat dinner later or a small snack with my evening dose.