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Heart issues - looking for input from Doctors/Nurses or someone with same issue (Read 2983 times)

HoosierDaddy


GreyBeard

    I wonder how the doc will react when he hears what he missed.

     

    "It wasn't present when I checked him out".

     

    Too much liability to admit anything. 

     

    Very glad you got it figured out. 2 clots!  Explains a lot.

    2020

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      55-year-old male, swelling in one leg only, onset corresponds to angiogram.  Swelling and pain significantly worsen upon activity.  ZERO diagnostics performed to check for DVT, let alone rule it out.

       

      I don't see huge actual damages to the OP (although he's not yet medically stationary), but I'm sweating at least small-caliber bullets if I'm the doctor.

       

      (FWIW: I had a calf strain in early summer 2009 (I'm younger than the OP, about as active, and work a desk job).  A couple days after seeing my doctor, I put the affected leg up on my desk and noticed some swelling.  Called their office to let them know, since it hadn't swollen at all for the week or so I'd had the problem.  The doctor instructed me to drive directly to the ultrasound place, where he'd be calling as soon as we hung up to make an appointment.)

       

      [edited -- spelling]

      "I want you to pray as if everything depends on it, but I want you to prepare yourself as if everything depends on you."

      -- Dick LeBeau

      northernman


      Fight The Future

        cberger got it right. Excellent thinking.

        JerryBZA


        Runs with the pack

          I'm not a doctor...but I keep thinking DVT.  Did they check for that?

           

          Yeah, I owe you a big thanks cberger.  I probably wouldn't have gone in to the emergency for a while longer without knowing the term DVT and looking at that wiki page.  Even though Trent here, my wife (pharmacist) and sister (nurse) all suggested it was a blot clot, the "AHA!" moment was looking at my picture against the Wikipedia page and reading the description.

           

          Otherwise it was their opinions against my GP and cardiologists opinions.  In fact I called my GP just before going into emergency and I asked him one more time why he didn't think it was a DVT.  He said my leg wasn't swelled enough, the blood veins would be more enlarged and even if it WAS  a DVT it should have shown signs of improvement by now.  I was still expecting the test to be negative.  How could my cardiologist and my GP be wrong?

          Trent


          Good Bad & The Monkey

            To be frank: it was not opinion versus opinion when a simple, easy, economical test can provide a definitive diagnosis.  And per my point above, when the thought of DVT enters a clinician's mind, they should obtain a definitive test before the sun sets.  There is ample research that shows that the clinical exam is useless in ruling out a DVT.


            Maggie & Molly

              Yeah, I owe you a big thanks cberger.  I probably wouldn't have gone in to the emergency for a while longer without knowing the term DVT and looking at that wiki page.  Even though Trent here, my wife (pharmacist) and sister (nurse) all suggested it was a blot clot, the "AHA!" moment was looking at my picture against the Wikipedia page and reading the description.

               

              Otherwise it was their opinions against my GP and cardiologists opinions.  In fact I called my GP just before going into emergency and I asked him one more time why he didn't think it was a DVT.  He said my leg wasn't swelled enough, the blood veins would be more enlarged and even if it WAS  a DVT it should have shown signs of improvement by now.  I was still expecting the test to be negative.  How could my cardiologist and my GP be wrong?

               this whole deal would make me want a new Primary and Cardio!

               "It does not matter how slow you go so long as you do not stop."
              Wisdom of Confucius

              HF 4363

              Trent


              Good Bad & The Monkey

                He said my leg wasn't swelled enough, the blood veins would be more enlarged and even if it WAS  a DVT it should have shown signs of improvement by now.  I was still expecting the test to be negative.  How could my cardiologist and my GP be wrong?

                 

                Again, the clinical exam has no predictive value for ruling out DVTs.  Your doctors were wrong because they placed value in a test (their exam) that research has shown to be no better than a coin flip.

                 

                Certain diseases can reliably be identified or ruled out based on the clinical exam.  Some cannot.  Strep throat cannot.  DVT cannot.  Meningitis cannot.  Appendicitis cannot.  This is why these diseases need to be excluded using other methods, such as specific testing demonstrated to be more predictive.

                 

                And this is patently false:

                 

                if it WAS  a DVT it should have shown signs of improvement by now.

                 

                 

                I am sorry you had to go through this.

                JerryBZA


                Runs with the pack

                  Little follow up with some good news.  My right ankle finally is back to looking normal and not all swollen up.  And the only pain I get running are those you normally get while running, no more cramping.  Ran the Disney Half Marathon last month, it looks like my running is back on track.

                   

                  I am still on 10mg of Coumadin a day though and doing blood tests every other week.  IIRC, we'll do more testing in February to see I'm really clot-free and look at the need for continued therapy.

                   

                  While going through this I learned that blood clots and DVT's kill more people every year than AIDS and Breast cancer combined so it's nothing to ignore.  Guess I was pretty lucky.

                  Trent


                  Good Bad & The Monkey

                    Good news Jerry!

                     

                    And yeah, there are a load of majorly mortal diseases that folks don't think about.  Influenza being another...

                    JerryBZA


                    Runs with the pack

                      After all this time, none of the doctors have been able to find why I had a DVT in the first place.  Finally was referred to a hematologist and had some additional blood work done and they found what they believe to be the issue with the "spontaneous" DVT.   They found a genetic mutation called Factor V Leiden Mutation, one copy.  Apparently that increases your risk of a DVT by quite a bit, I read somewhere up to 4-8 times.  They also found something called MTHFR gene mutation (which I insist on calling the mother-effer mutation) with a C677T and A129C mutation.  Also one copy each.  I guess those are not so serious, at least not for me.  Never heard of any of this stuff before, so doing some research on it to see what it's all about an how it will be treated, if it can be at all.

                       

                      Anyone else here with mutated blood genes?  Smile

                       

                      <h6>
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                      Trent


                      Good Bad & The Monkey

                        Yeah, if you have a Factor V Leiden mutation, that is a fairly good risk factor in itself. Will you need to be on blood thinners for life?

                         

                        Glad you are getting it cared for!

                        JerryBZA


                        Runs with the pack

                          Blood thinners for life, maybe.  But I'll talk to my primary about it.

                           

                          According to this report, maybe not

                          .

                          http://www.genome.gov/15015167

                           

                          How is factor V Leiden thrombophilia treated?

                           

                          The management of individuals with factor V Leiden depends on the clinical circumstances. People with factor V Leiden who have had a DVT or PE are usually treated with blood thinners, or anticoagulants. Anticoagulants such as heparin are given for varying amounts of time depending on the person's situation. It is not usually recommended that people with factor V Leiden be treated lifelong with anticoagulants if they have had only one DVT or PE, unless there are additional risk factors present.

                           

                          Trent


                          Good Bad & The Monkey

                            Yeah, I wonder what influence the additional mother-effer mutation will have on the decision around the length of blood thinning.


                            Gang Name "Pound Cake"

                              I want to thank the OP "Jerry" for this thread. It really illustrates that what your doctors don't know can kill you. Your health care is really in your own hands and you can't know too much when it comes to your health. Medicine and the human body is so complicated that doctors certainly do not know it all (hence all the specialization). In many cases it appears that the best course of action when dealing with doctors is to assume that they do not know the answer and you must keep asking questions.

                               

                              My first wife was diagnosed by a clinic with the flu. She did not have the flu. She had a separation in the internal structures of the arteries feeding her brain stem resulting from a whip lash injury the week before. Her brain was dying from lack of blood flow. Less than 24 hours after the initial mini strokes she was dead. It took a research university hospital to make the correct diagnosis but at that point it was too late for her.

                               

                              I guess the moral of the story is to be skeptical of doctors. While I know that they do their best, the body is a complicated bit of bio-machinery that can present problems beyond the experience and knowledge level of many medical practitioners. 

                              - Scott

                              2014 Goals: First Marathon - BQ2016 <3:40 (3:25:18) - 1/2M <1:45 - 5K <22:00

                              2014 Marathons: 05/04 Flying Pig (3:49:02) - 09/20 Air Force (BQ 3:25:18) - 11/01 Indianapolis Monumental

                                I am so sorry filmshooter Sad

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