The last few weeks...

So here is the crunch. Here is why I started this blog. It has taken a little while to get here but I think the back story is relevant to help understand what happened at the start of September 2008.

It started with a cramp feeling in my right leg. Nothing too serious, thought I could walk it off, but this stayed for over a week and was getting more and more painful. Then came the swelling in the inside of my calf muscle. Then came the realisation that this could be a clot.

I made a promise to my wife several years ago that if anything ever happened to me that I thought was related to a blood clot, that I would seek immediate medical attention and not do the 'bloke' thing of 'sitting it out cause it will make its self better eventually'. (Didn't do that with the ulcer admittedly, but that was a skin alignment and not clot related.) So one evening I told my wife I would make an appointment with the GP for the following day. The next morning the swelling was worse, noticeably red, more painful and hot to the touch. I then decided to call NHS Direct to ask if I should see my GP or go to A&E. NHS Direct advised me to get a blood test done at a local clinic and by-pass the 4 hour wait in A&E. This I did. The next 3 hours I spent waiting to hear what the results were. I went back to work but could not concentrate at all. Eventually the phone rang and I was told the test suggested that I had a clot. I actually broke down in tears in the office for a moment. The tears totally took me by surprise, although its maybe not that surprising when you consider what has happened in our family over the past 6 months. (More on that later I think).

I actually work in our local hospital and was in a position to go straight to the anti-coagulation clinic. I was seen within 20 minutes and had taken my first low molecular heparin injection to the stomach. The anti-coag nurse gave me a box with several more syringes in and sent me on my way with an appointment for an ultrasound and with the haematologist to follow. She also at this time advised me that warfarin for life was almost certainly on the cards.

The ultrasound confirmed that there was indeed a clot in one of my collateral veins in my leg.

I administered the injections as advised which took me up to the weekend, then on the Friday evening I noticed a lump on my chest towards the bottom on my sternum. Thought it a bit weird and decided to keep a watchful eye on it over the weekend. By the Monday morning it had grown to 5 inches long at least, from about nipple height downwards and was considerably painful. I had not mentioned anything to my wife at this point as I wanted to get more information about what it was and what could be done to fix it before I spoke to her.

On the Monday I called in to work and said that I was taking my self to the anti-coagulation clinic first thing and would give them an update as soon as I could. I was extremely anxious and to be honest had started to think negative thoughts about the possible outcome. Back in April this year my Dad died suddenly from a massive pulmonary embolism. So developing new clots myself so soon after his death was not helping. Developing clots in other places other than my legs had sent my imagination haywire. I really did start worrying about what my wife would do if the worst happened. Oh and just to add to the tension, we are expecting our second child in November this year. So as you can imagine I was not at my best.

The anti-coagulation nurse kindly negotiated a consultation with a haematologist that afternoon. He reassured me that the clot in my chest was not something to be too worried about since I was now back on the heparin injections nothing more was likely to happen with it. We discussed the use and risks of warfarin as well as the new drugs that are expected to be on the market within the next couple of years. This reassured me a little as I know there is a 3% risk per year that you may suffer from a large bleed of one kind or another whilst on warfarin. I left feeling concerned but reassured. The doctor was extremely blunt, factual and to the point which is how I need to take these things on board.

I went home immediately to speak to my wife. I told her all the news, apologised for not telling her about the chest clot and discussed lightly how the warfarin will stop this happening again and that other drugs will be available soon. There were tears and hugs. The memory of what happened to my Dad is still far to strong for this to not have a serious impact on all of our emotions.

The following day I went back to the clinic to have my first INR measurement for over 5 years. The first of no doubt hundreds and hundreds of measurement's during rest of my life.